Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-12-25
BY w. H. YoUNGMAN

The 1855 year Started-inSofar
as exhibitions are concerned
with q fine flower show in the
Armory. 1t had all of the color,
the variety, and the interest that
can be expected Of a big show
And. because it was well patron
lied there was no question about
having one in 1856. The National
Capital Garden Club League,
which represents nearly half Of
the garden clubs in the area, did
such an outstanding job that the
show could not fail to appeal to
the public.
The winter of 1954-5 was not
severe and so most Of our gar
dens came through the winter
with little or no injury. How
ever, the freeze on April 8 did in
jure the azaleas and number 81
other kinds of the more tender
shrubs that had responded toe
quickly to the warm balmy days
Of late March and early April
There was some injury and loss
However, the early spring flow
ering bulbs put on a grand dis
play and the spring flower shows
were well filled with good quality
bloom. So much so that many
home gardeners vowed that they
would add many new varieties
to their paintings come bulb
planting time.
Dogwoods Very Impressive
The azalea display last spring
was all that could be desired
Washington loves azaleas which
make the borders bright with
their myriads Of bloom In April
and May. This year the dogwoods
put on a spectacular display and
with the azaleas it was a sight
really worth seeing.
And so the floral parade went.
Excellent flower shows in all
areas and noteworthy displays in
the wide shows. Not only
did the gardeners display their
finest but the new home owners
flocked to the shows to see what
could be grown in the Washing
ton area. They had their ques-
tons well answered because
Washington grows nearly every
thing.
The Camellia Society of the
Potomac Valley put on its first
show and it was wen entered and
patronized. Interestingly. many
Of the southern camellia shows
were cancelled because Of freeze
injury to their blooms. The
Washington display did not show
much injury.
Rose Show q Revelation
The Rose Show Of the Fourth
District, American Rose Society.
was q beauty. a credit to the
Potomac Rose Society. the host
club, and an eye-opener to the
newcomer. Washington can and
does grow as fine roses as any
section Of the East.
OF course, the fall rose show
Of the Potomac Rose Society Is
known far and wide for its ex-
cellence. and this year was nc
exception in spite Of a hot, dry
July and early August. The two
hurricanes were not helpful to
local gardeners, although they
did break the drought. But the
continuous rains for several
weeks prevented the normal dis
ease control and many rose
growers complained of blackspot
and mildew. September was al
most bone dry, 6 of an inch of
rain, which is hardly enough to
keep plants alive, not to mention
good growth.
However, the Harvest Show at
the Bethesda Chevy Chase
School was well supplied with
excellent quality bloom, al
though not In the usual quantity
The dahlias seemed to have suf-
fered the most from the del
uges.y The same may be said
for the other area-wide flower
shows-glads and dahlias.
Shows Were Educational
The local shows were up tc
their usual standards and pro.
vided very fine educational dis
plays for the benefit OF theil
Y1eighborhoods. Perhaps some
viii want to question the use Of
the word educational" in this
connection. But we insist that
displayed flowers are highly
educational to the beginner who
does not know flowers by name
nor does he know those kinds
that win provide such excellent
,uuuV