FLOWER OLYMPICS?: COUNCIL OF GARDEN CLUBS WILL DEMONSTRATE HORTICULTURE PROWESS

Local gardeners will demonstrate their horticultural prowess Saturday in the Fall Floral Olympics.

The flower show is sponsored by the Council of Garden Clubs of Cape Girardeau, an association of five local garden clubs.

Charleen Back and Jo Wikel serve as general chairmen for the show.

Back said the flower show serves two purposes. "It is an effort to show the community what garden clubs are all about," she said. "And the ticket money goes to support the Rose Display Garden in (Capaha) park."

The show will be held from 1-5 p.m. in the Family Life Center at Centenary United Methodist Church, 300 N. Ellis. Donations of $1 are requested.

Contests in the flower show are based on an Olympics theme. Entries are open to all amateur gardeners and arrangers in two general divisions artistic and horticulture.

While the show is sponsored by local garden clubs, it is open to anyone in the community.

"We never know how many entries we will have until the last minute," Back said.

But she said 40 arrangements have been entered in the artistic design portion of the competition.

"These are designed for competition and will be judged," Back said.

Out-of-town judges will score the entries according to a national set of rules.

In the artistic design division, the countries featured are England, Brazil, Japan, France, Austria, Spain, Kenya, Trinidad, Tobago, Sweden and U.S.A. Each country competition has a theme. England, for example, will be a design for high tea on a round table.

"There will be a lot of exterior and interior decoration," Back said.

The horticulture division, spotlights plants, including chrysanthemums, marigolds, zinnias, roses, African violets, and a variety of other plants. All horticulture entries must be botanically named.

The show also features a competition for youngsters age 15 or under and an educational category will provide exhibits on the rain forest and bulbs.