Ohio State AV Show

The Violet Barn

2008 Ohio State AVS Convention Show

As always, the 2008 Ohio State AVS Convention show was held at the Kingwood Center in Mansfield, Ohio. The mid-September weather was terrific, which meant the gardens were beautiful and much was still in bloom.

Inside the exhibit hall, there was plenty in bloom, too. We brought only a few plants for show, and were quite surprised at how well we did. Shown at left is 'Rob's Chilly Willy', one of Rob's entries, which won Best in Show as well as Best Miniature African violet. This is a terrific variety, having also won Best miniature at the national show earlier in the year. It's an excellent bloomer and really does grow small--the plant seen here is only about 3 inches in diameter! It was dwarfed by the other plants on the stage.

Second Best in Show and Best Standard African violet was won by Donna Turner for her plant of 'Victorian Parasol', shown at right. This is a very showy variety that can look spectacular when grown well--obviously, this one was.

Two more plants that appeared on the Court of Honor are shown at left. At far left, is Mary Martin's entry of 'Florida Sunshine Trail', which was the Best Trailer in show, as well as 3rd Best in Show.

At near left is one of our entries, Nematanthus 'Lemon Lime', which was the Best Other Gesneriad in show. Olive grew this one, and the photo doesn't do it justice. This was a spectacular plant, just covered in (yellow!) blooms.

Of course, there were plenty of entries in the design division of the show. Shown below are some of the more memorable entries. The theme of this year's show was "Violets Rock!", and was referenced in each of the classes.

At far left is Olive's interpretation of "Rock-a-bye Baby". This interpretive plant arrangement was awarded Best in Show. Though not required, it was a "suspended" design (not easy to see in the photo). 2nd Best in Design went to Karyn Cichocki for her (underwater) interpretation of "Bridge over Troubled Water". If it's small and beautiful, it's probably Karyn's! The next two pictured are Olive's entries of "Jail House Rock" and "Percolating", two interpretive flower arrangements which won Best in Class awards. At far right is "Ruby Tuesday", a plant arrangement created by Mel Grice, and another Best in Class entry.

Next year's show is scheduled for September 17-19, 2009, again at the Kingwood Center. We'll be there.