Tropical Splendor becomes fact as well as fantasy when the Horticultural Society of The Bahamas (HSB) opens its 2012 Show of Horticultural Excellence at Queen's College Auditorium, Village Road, April 14 and 15. Show hours are 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Thousands of show-worthy plants will be on display to vie for blue ribbons and 95 Pluses which make a plant and its owner eligible for the coveted awards of merit, best of sections and the ultimate Sara Bardelmeier Award of Horticultural Excellence for the plant the judges deem the best of show.
As the bromeliad section is so spectacular each year, international bromeliad judges will be helping to determine the prize winners for this show, according to show co-chairmen David Higgs and Dail Pearce.
There are 16 classes for bromeliads, half for single specimens and half for multiple specimens in a container. Bromeliads are a vast family of plants which include astounding varieties from the edible pineapple to wild pines or tillandsias including many Bahamian natives and Spanish Moss.
Orchids also are expected to be spectacular again with eight classes specified.
And, it's not just flowers and plants on display. Terrariums, bonsai, driftwood planters, rocks with plants growing on them, topiary, container gardens, water gardens, unusual containers, fruits, vegetables, herbs, and native trees and shrubs will also be on display.
The HSB is famous for its annual plant sale and has invited eight different plant vendors to participate in the show to fill the need for plants to buy, as most members are too busy with the show to sell plants on show days.
Invited vendors include Rocky Farms Nursery, Tropical Nursery, Flamingo Gardens, Marina Greives Plant Pleasers, Duke Strachan's Garden of Eden, The Potting Shed, Selina Huber's Native Orchids and Patricia Cartwright.
All plants must arrive tagged and ready to go into the exhibits between the hours of 12 noon and 8 p.m. on Friday, April 13. Cut specimens will be accepted from 7:30 a.m. until 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 14. Plants may not be removed until 6:15 p.m. on Sunday, April 15 and must be removed by 7:30 p.m.
Minister of Agriculture Larry Cartwright will open the show at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Admission is $5 for adults, $2 age 12-18 and under 12 free when accompanied by an adult.

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