Division Consultant: Jim Donahue  (401) 683-1267     jdonahue@newportmansions.org

Passing and Registration for entries in Division I
Thursday, June 26, 2008 from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm 

Please see guidelines on potting, under Horticulture Division Rules. Containers should be 12” or larger (except where noted). Containers are not limited to terra-cotta pots: baskets, vegetable crates, window boxes, troughs, watering cans and wagons are just a few of the possibilities. Hanging baskets or plastic containers are not permitted.  Containers may be viewed from all sides where staging allows and will be situated according to class cultural requirements (ie: shade, sun).

Above all, please choose your container and plant material thoughtfully, to convey the intended spirit of the class.  Judging criteria include creativity, design and horticultural merit.



Class 1             “The John Josselyn Gentlemen’s Vegetable Challenge”

John Josselyn was the youngest son of Sir Thomas Josselyn of Essex, and one of the earliest Europeans to describe the natural history of 17th century New England. Josselyn was the ultimate gentleman tourist and his trips were purely for pleasure, resulting in two small, quasi-scientific accounts: "New-England’s Rarities Discovered: In Birds, Beasts, Fishes, Serpents, and Plants of That Country" (London, 1672), and "An Account of Two Voyages to New England" (London, 1674). Besides extolling the virtues of Native American women and the existence of mermen in Casco Bay, Josselyn’s writings advocated the adoption of American fruits and vegetables by European gardeners.

You need not be the son of a knight to enter this challenge, but you must be a gentleman.  Please present a mixed planter of vegetables and edible ornamentals, of any kind,in a container of your choice.

Class 2             “The Wildflowers of Lewis & Clark”

On February 28, 1803, President Thomas Jefferson secured an appropriation from Congress for $2,500 to fund a small expeditionary group, whose mission was to explore the uncharted American West. The Corps of Discovery would be led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Over the next four years, the Corps would travel thousands of miles, experiencing lands, rivers, animals, peoples and plants that no Americans ever had before. Meriwether Lewis was an amateur botanist, yet documented plants of medicinal, agricultural and horticultural value.

Please grow a naturalistic, mixed, wildflower planting, in a container of your choice, to include but not necessarily limited to, one or more of the following wildflowers which Meriwether Lewis described: Clarkia pulchella (Clarkia elegans may be substituted,)  Eustoma grandiflora, Gallairdia grandiflora and Camassia qaumash.

Class 3             “Robert Fortune’s Dwarf Trees”

The Scotsman Robert Fortune (1812-1880) was Botanical Collector to the Horticultural Society of London and made several trips to the Orient, often masquerading as a native to gain access to forbidden provinces. Fortune is credited with the introduction to the West of several varieties of roses, tree peonies, azaleas, chrysanthemums and the cumquat. In his writing, "Three Years’ Wandering in the Northern Provinces of China" (1847), Fortune described, in detail, the method of creating dwarfed trees, instigating a Bonsai craze during the Victorian era.

Please enter your prized Bonsai tree into competition.

Class 4             “The Ernest Henry ‘Chinese’ Wilson Invitational” For commercial plantsmen

Ernest Henry “Chinese” Wilson (1876-1930) introduced over 1,000 plant species from the Orient to Western horticulture. Wilson began his career as a plant hunter for a British nursery and after several decades of acclaimed work as a plant explorer, was appointed the director of Boston’s Arnold Arboretum. Two of Wilson’s most notable introductions are Cornus kousa var. chinensis (Kousa Dogwood) and Lilium ‘Regale’ (the Regal Lily.)

We invite six firms to create a mixed planting in one of the ornate cachepots along Rosecliff’s balustrade, incorporating one or both of the above-mentioned plants.

Class 5             “Not your Grandmother’s Pelargonium…“

In his 1999 book, "The Plant Explorer’s Garden," our guest of honor, Daniel Hinkley wrote: “With a durable demeanor, handsome foliage and delicate but substantial blossoms, hardy geraniums are among the workhorses of the American border.” Whether planted as groundcover, or for foliage or flower effect, the vast array of hardy geraniums available today present endless design options.

Please present a mixed planting, in a container of your choice, to include at least one of the hardy geraniums listed in the index of "The Plant Explorer’s Garden."   Click here for the list.

Class 6             “The Wardian Case”

The accidental discovery in 1829, by London surgeon Dr. Nathaniel Ward, that plants could thrive in sealed environments, revolutionized the collection of botanical specimens. Hence forth, plants collected in exotic locales were shipped back to the West in these terrariums, greatly improving the survival rate of botanical finds. Wardian Cases soon sparked a Victorian passion for growing humidity-loving, exotic plants, especially ferns and begonias, in ornate cases.

Please enter your Wardian Case, planted in the Victorian fashion, into competition.

Class 7             “Natural Selection”

Perhaps no naturalist is better known than Charles Darwin. During his studies of the Galapagos Islands, Darwin collected many botanical specimens, which were then described and identified by his noted colleague and friend Joseph Dalton Hooker, an accomplished botanist, plant explorer and director of Kew Gardens in London. Like the fauna of the Galapagos, the flora was unique, containing several plant species found nowhere else on Earth. Moreover the mix of plants on any given island could be highly unusual and exotic; cacti, succulents, orchids and passion flowers could be found growing within the same square mile.

Create an eclectic and exotic mix of plants, in a container of your choice, reminiscent of the unusual landscape of the Galapagos Islands. Passion flower Vine, in bloom, must be included in the mix.

Class 8             “American Plants in King George’s Court”

John Bartram (1699-1777) founded America’s first nursery in Philadelphia in the 1730s. Bartram’s extensive plant explorations along the Eastern seaboard gave rise to his very successful transatlantic trade in American plants. Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Benjamin Franklin were also his customers. In 1764, when “American Gardens” were the craze in Europe, John Bartram was made King’s Botanist to George III. During his career, Bartram shipped many native, American plants to Britain, some of which we now consider staples of the English garden, amongst them Phlox paniculata and Delphinium exaltatum, (which has since become endangered in the US.)

Please grow a mixed perennial planting to include Garden Phlox and Delphinium (Delphinium elatum hybrids may be substituted) in a suitably English container. Garden ornaments may be incorporated within the container.

Class 9              “Explore your Botanic Passion!”  
The Walpole Woodworkers’ Garden Club Challenge

Every serious gardener has developed, at one time or another, an obsession for a particular plant family. The Newport Flower Show invites area garden clubs to explore their obsession with a favorite genus.

Please compose a planting, grown in an estate planter box to be provided by Walpole Woodworkers, including at least three plants within the same genus. Accent plants, from outside the genus of choice, may be included, but must remain in the minority. Containers will be provided in early spring, at the Horticulture Division’s “Get Growing!” event on March 27; please see the invitation above. Entries will be staged very prominently, in full sun, at the Walpole Woodworkers Entrance Pergola in front of Rosecliff.