Horticulturist Marigold Harding sits in the Yuyuan Garden in Shanghai, China. The garden is a classic creation of the Ming Dynasty and Shanghai Old Street that originated in the Qing Dynasty. Right: Dr. Oswald Harding and wife, Marigold, stand in front of the Benxi Water Caves in China.
The concluding round of judging at the International Horticultural Exposition 2006 took place in Shenyang, China, from August 23-28 and judges from the first part of the event held in May, reconvened to award prizes.
"The exposition represents architectural schools and styles all over the world demonstrating the quintessence of the art of Chinese urban landscape; iterating, viewing, education and technology as an organic whole and highlighting the theme 'we live harmoniously with nature'."
Jamaica's Marigold Harding, one of three international judges, told Lifestyle she was impressed with with the "superb level of maintenance of the gardens and I noticed physical improvements over the month before. The organisers saw the need to judge the gardens twice because it was important for them to maintain an excellent standard throughout the six months of the expo," Mrs. Harding said.
The first part was marked out of 60 and the second out of 40. Prizes were awarded for the following categories:
- Comprehensive prize for exposition garden
- Design
- Construction
- Plant allocation
- Site furnishings
- Garden plants
Winners receive: bronze, silver, gold optimum and ultimate, with optimum being the top award and and ultimate being 'Best in Show' in western language. Shenyang withdrew from competition being the host.
International Gardens
These included: Holland, Australia, Singapore, Japan, Canada, India, The U.S.A., Germany, Turkey, Greece and North and South Korea. All were maintained by their respective countries. There were 53 domestic gardens.
Over eight million people viewed the expo which saw 120,000
attending on opening day. The entire area was litter-free and there were adequate recreational and entertainment areas throughout.
Mrs. Harding observed that the Chinese are great hosts who pay close attention to detail, are precise and hardworking. Hosted by the government of Liaoning Province, China; Ministry of Construction, Council of the Promotion of International Trade, National Tourism Administration and China Association of Flowers, the entire exposition was put together in one year.
Mrs. Harding was accompanied by her husband, Dr. Oswald Harding, who gave a lecture at the Northeast University on 'Law and Morality', in Liaoning Province.
Left: This is the entrance to the exhibit put on by the United States of America. The burgundy and gold coleus leaves make an intricate pattern.
Center: If you guessed Dutch, the windmills gave it away. This is a section of the Dutch garden exhibit at the flower show and it walked away with a gold medal in the international exhibits section.
Taken from The Daily Gleaner, Tuesday April 10, 2006
