What a week this has been. Jessica and I are in Orlando, attending the annual convention of the Society of American Florists, the national trade association for everyone — florists, growers, importers and wholesalers — involved in the production and sale of flowers. There are about 400 attendees from across the United States and Canada, as well as from Colombia, Ecuador, Thailand and Holland with us here in Orlando. There are seminars and lectures and dinners, and there are flowers everywhere.
One of the highlights of the meeting is the new flower variety competition. Growers from around the globe send their finest and best to be judged. There were nearly 350 entries. This is a very serious event and I was, again, privileged to be a judge. Two years ago, I judged the roses and this year it was the lilies, some 85 vases of them, and specialty flowers such as orchids, delphiniums, anthuriums and more.
There were three judges — a retailer, a grower and a wholesaler — thus giving an across-the-board opinion. Flowers are judged, 10 points each, on first impression: the flower shape and form, the stems and foliage, commercial value and color. It took 43 out of 50 to get a blue ribbon.
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