Fine Array Of Blooms At Flower Show

Chronicle (Levin), 12 February 1949, Page 2

Fine Array Of Blooms At Flower Show

. Glad'iolus and dahlias shared pride of place at the mid-summer show staged by the Otaki Hortieultural and Daffodil Society ry.es'ter- i day. While the entries could have been larger numerically, the show| was not lacking in quality e'xhibits,,! and some exceptionally fine blooms j were displayed. ! Mr. J. W. Neill, a local groWfer who has a reputation f or .produjeing ; blooms of the highest possible qual- ; ity, won a dlual championship suc- ; cess with a "Southern Command" j gladioli and an "Aldath Joy" dahiia. Possibly the most striking j bloom at the show was a dahiia exhibited by Mr. A. H. Smith. Of a j golden yellow hue, this flower was quite 15 inches in diameter. The show was officially open by Mrs. Knox Gilmer, F.R.I.H.N.Z., who was welcomed by the president, Mr. J. G. MacKenzie, formerly director ton, who now resides in Otaki. In ton, who no wresides in Otaki. In thanking Mrs. Gilmer for attending, he said, that their offleial guest was the most widely known horticulturist in New Zealand. In addition to being a life member and honorary fellow of the Royal N.Z. Institute of Horticulture, Mrs. Gilmer had on more than one occasion won the Bledisloe trophy for the best gardsen, depending on the beauty of its native plant display. He reminded those present of the part she had played in getting the Plant Protection Act placed on, the Statute Book, while she had been almost wholly responsible for the revival of Arbor Day.

Continuing, . Mr. MacKenzie said that as this was the jubilee year of the society, he would like to comment on the almost continuous work for, and service to horticulture in the Dominion, of the family ' of the club's first president, Mr. W. ~ H. Simcox. His daughter, Mrs. C. I • V. Swabey, was the present ' patroness of the society, and her j daughter, - Miss Barbara Swabey,, was a very active member of the executive. Mrs. Gilmer, in returning "fhanks for the welcome given her.'sa'id how pleased she v/as to come to Otaki) J and that she would work for horti- ( culture to the end of her days.j "Horticulture and all that it stqrjds ! for, the preservation, of ' our fiora, ' our birds and our bush, isV'the backbone of New Zealand,'* the j speaker continued. She foresaw no need for atomic energy,, but rather a wonderful peaceful outlook was! the reward for all who worked in their garden. The speaker congratulated Otaki on what it was doing for the people in the ' city. "Daily in the mark,ets can be seen the fruits of your 'labours. I am sometimes uhhappy at the prices that the growers get though," she added. In referring to the day's display, Mrs. Gilme.r oflered her congratulations to all growers and exhibitors on the many beautiful blooms arrayed, making special reference to "the wonderful dahiia of our grandmothers that we always look for." In concluding, the speaker paid a tribute to the work of Mr. Macceived the recognition he deserved ceive dthe recognition he deserved when, as the "right hand man of that eminent botanist, Dr. Cookayne, he had helped to bring the plant museum in Wellington into being." She paid tribute also to Mr. MacKenzie's yeoman service in keeping the fields and playgrouiids going for the people of Wellington during the war years, adding that Mr. MacKenzie was a "barrow and spade man who kept pushing