Gardeners
Interview Series

September/October, 2002

Here Comes The Judge

An Interview with Olga Sandilands (e-mail Olga )

by Jill Dean

Olga Sandilands

You have what you think is the perfect plant or flower exhibit for the horticultural show. The creative floral design that you have slaved for hours on looks spectacular and is a guarantee for first place. The judge, though, has another opinion. Instead of that first place ribbon you are shocked to learn that your shoo-in exhibit received a mere 3rd place, or maybe is out of the awards entirely. What WAS that judge thinking of?

Olga Sandilands has the credentials to tell you what the judge might have been thinking of. She is an accredited horticultural show judge with the Garden Clubs of Ontario. She is an assistant instructor on floral design for flower arranging classes in the G.T.A. A member of the Aurora and Newmarket Horticultural Societies, and the Milne House Garden Club of Toronto. Olga is also a Bridal Consultant, working with brides to create the perfect wedding flowers for that perfect day.

Judges are much in demand, few in number, and work hard to earn their qualifications. Horticultural and floral judging courses are offered through the Garden Clubs of Ontario, and take approximately two years to complete. Unfortunately, courses are usually held only every 8-10 years. The next round of design courses should take place in 2003, or 2004. Rose judging courses are a one-year intensive course offered sporadically through the RBG. To qualify for horticultural judging courses through the Garden Clubs of Ontario, prospective judges must have a basic knowledge of plants, and have won first place ribbons in exhibitions. Courses are pertinent to the season of growing - i.e. spring courses concentrate on bulbs; September focuses on shrubs; winter courses outline landscapes, tropicals, pot-et-fleurs and houseplants, of which African Violets in particular are important. Judging candidates progress to demanding three-month courses followed by intensive exams before graduation.

Once a student becomes an accredited judge, they are put on a horticultural, rose, or floral roster by the Garden Clubs of Ontario from which Horticultural Societies may request their judging services. Oh yes, judges are also expected to be diplomats on occasion!

Students interested in judging in specific areas only such as Gesneriads, Peonies, Iris, or Hostas must attend judging schools offered in Canada or in the U.S. to receive accreditation. These judges are much in demand for the large specialized shows throughout North America.

Judge Olga's Tips for Winning Exhibits

For all categories:

1. Make sure you know your cultivars, and exhibit in the right class!
2. Invest in a copy of "Snippy Tips" or "Snippy Tips II" for conditioning tips. Available at the Civic Garden Centre, or often through your local horticultural society. Pick up Publication 34 for judging standards. It is the law of judging. (Currently, Publication 34 is being revised, so keep watching for the update.)
3. Exhibitors should be critical of their exhibits. Look for crimping around flower edges. Check for frost damage. Check for fallen pollen. Criticize the form of your exhibit against what the perfect specimen of the cultivar should be.
4. Judges aren't ogres! Remember, they have to exhibit as well. They understand.

Tulips

• Clear colour. Freshness of stamen (there should be no pollen showing.)
• Straight Stem
• Conditioning can make the difference between night and day. Keep tulips in a cool place in about 1" of water.
• Tulips should be exhibited with 2 leaves only. The tulip bulb will be depleted if more if taken off the plant
• Don't mix Daffodils in with your tulips before exhibiting! Your tulips will be very, very sad looking, if not dead.

Narcissus

• Exhibit without a leaf. You don't want to deplete the bulb.

Iris

• Again, know your cultivars. Recognize the difference between dwarf, tall bearded, etc. An Iris stem should be no more than 16" - 18" tall.
• Clean, clean, clean! Use a small paintbrush if necessary to flick off dirt particles. Dirt can cost you points.

Peonies & Flowering Shrubs

• Make sure your peonies are the freshest cut they can possibly be. Peonies tend to go off quickly when they are cut and they will fade at the edges. A winning peony will have consistency of colour and texture throughout the bloom.
• Flowering Shrub exhibits should show an evenness of flowers throughout the branch. Terminology is important. If the schedule calls for a branch of no more than 30", make sure that the branch is slightly less than 30"

Mums

• Mum exhibits are categorized by bloom sizes, measurements, and position on the stem. It is important to understand the criteria for the show you are entering for colour, form of ball, pompom, or dinnerplate categories.
• Specimens must be free of insects and disease. Infested plant material can be removed from the show and not judged.

Lilies

• Know the cultivars, and the various facings of lilies.
• Clarity of colour is most important. For trumpet lilies, the freshness of the pollen is an indication of its age. Use containers weighted to the height and weight of the lily.
• NEVER remove pollen on lilies in horticultural competitions. DO REMOVE pollen when doing floral designs.

Daisies, Poppies & Delphiniums

• Nothing looks better in a garden, or is easier to grow, than daisies. The form is simple, but the daisy must be perfect in form and free of insects and diseases to win.
• Conditioning of poppies is essential for award winning. Burn the ends, and then put the stems in water. They will show their best for a longer period of time if given the burn treatment.
• To condition Delphinium stems, fill the stem with water then turn the delphinium over without losing the water in the stem. Use little plugs of cotton batten to hold the water in the stem. The perfect delphinium exhibit will show 1/3 of florets open at the bottom; 1/3 slightly opening in the middle; and 1/3 showing colour at the top. There should be an even distribution of colour and form all around the stem. Pacific Giants are the best Delphinium specimens to display.

Vegetables

• Refer to Publication 34 - Ontario Judging Standards, on which vegetables require stem end on; which should have their root systems intact; and which should have their tops remaining (i.e. carrots). Green onions should have their roots trimmed to just below the base. Carrots should have tops trimmed to ½" above the crown.
• Be sure to exhibit only the number of vegetables that the schedule calls for. If the schedule asks for 5, then display 5!

Orchids

• Orchids are a challenge to judge. An orchid can have a naturally beautiful flower, but horrendously ugly leaves, or vice-versa. Leaves are normally a minor consideration when judging orchids. When in doubt, Olga will reference a guide from the Orchid Society when judging. The judge will look for flower evenness on the stem, and good colour.

African Violets & Houseplants

• African Violets should always be exhibited with just one crown. The exception is a trailing African Violet, which is smaller than a regular African Violet but larger than a miniature. Trailing and miniature African Violets are rarely seen in local horticultural exhibits, but interest in these is growing.
• Do NOT display more than one cultivar in a pot. An award winning African violet will have a single crown that forms a perfect circle all around.
• In general, houseplants should be devoid of insects, disease, and dirt on leaves and stems. A good idea is to wash the plant before exhibiting. To achieve exhibition quality, keep turning your plants to promote even, all round growth.

Roses

• When preparing to exhibit sprays (e.g. with 5 buds), disbudding the centre bud will cause the other four to open at approximately the same time. This creates optimum show condition. Remember that a bud showing colour is considered a bloom.
• For Polyanthas, take tired buds off as long as they don't destroy the natural line of the stem.
• Climbers and Floribundas should have a well balanced cluster of blooms.
• Hybrid Teas should have good colour, no streaking in bloom, and a stem straight and sturdy enough to hold up the head.
• Rose stems, leaves and blooms should be clean, and free of insects.

Container Choices

• Colour and choice of container can affect judging outcome. Clear glass will show the outline of stems, which may affect the judging.
• Placing exhibits in too large a container may leave flowers flopping. Most judges will accept propping to some extent, as long as it is not visible. For example, a piece of Styrofoam or a twig in the shape of a "V" at the back of a stem can achieve a straighter look, as long as these props remain invisible from the front view.
• Exhibits may be too big for the vases on hand, or too awkward to display in available containers. Take a beer, wine, or milk bottle or something more suited to the height/weight of the specimen to ensure that your specimen shows its best.
• Use jam jars for Flowering Branches and Iris'. Show committees should be flexible as to what containers are used, as long as the containers are clean and hold the specimens firmly in place.

Floral Designs

• Judges look to see if the design fits the title theme. When in doubt, look up every word on the design schedule in a dictionary to make sure your design complies. For instance, a title theme of "Blythe Spirit" should be interpreted as a playful design. Blythe = "playful" in the dictionary. In another case, a design entered for the theme entitled "Soul" failed to win because it was done in multiple colours, rather than the all white design that was inferred.
• Pay attention to the fundamentals of design - style, balance, form, texture. Form especially. Flowers should be free of insects and disease, and lack evidence of mechanical bruising. Choice and placement of colour, even with foliage, can affect a judging decision.

The Show Chair's Responsibilities

A show secretary should make a judge aware of special circumstances in a show before the judging event to prevent "incidents" in awarding ribbons. An example would be the permissibility of roots showing during a long show, as long as no soil is evident. Show chairs can divide classes before an event (i.e. Mum classes). Judges are very accommodating, as long as they understand beforehand why the categories were set in a particular fashion. The convener should walk through the show with the judge prior to judging to prevent disagreements. Judges notations are not usually given for 1st place awards. The judge may make notes on 2nd or 3rd place ribbons. With cut specimens, the notes may relate to positioning on the stem. If comments are desired, the Show Chair can also ask the judge to give comments on the show to the general meeting, or ask the judge to make points for the show secretary to distribute.

Olga - On Judging and Exhibiting

Judging is an enjoyable challenge for Olga. It can also produce a lot of anxiety. Judges don't want to offend people. She sees judging as an educational tool to help people enjoy their plants. Sometimes, as a judge, she wonders if she could have done something better, but in the end it is her horticultural knowledge and experience that she trusts. She especially enjoys seeing new plant specimens on the tables.

An exhibitor's attitude towards showing their plants can affect if they win or lose. If an exhibitor takes pride in his exhibit, and enjoys showing off his specimens for the sheer pleasure of it, then he has won even if there is no tangible ribbon award. Shows give exhibitors a chance to show off their gardening efforts, and Olga considers it a social occasion. Many aging members of Hort Societies no longer have gardens, or can't physically garden themselves; so exhibiting is a way of bringing pleasure into other peoples lives. Sharing nature - is this not better than a ribbon?

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