Flower Show School
The National Garden Clubs, Inc. Flower Show School is an all-encompassing school that teaches you about judging, entering, competing and chairing a NGC flower show.
The Garden Club of Georgia is currently sponsoring a Flower Show School in Marietta, Georgia, that runs through 2024. Each of the four courses begins on a Sunday evening and concludes the following Wednesday morning. Dates are listed below.
All four courses have a specific curriculum that includes horticulture, design and flower show procedure. The curriculum is outlined in the Handbook for Flower Shows. Courses are taught by NGC certified instructors who provide study outlines to students.
Examples of horticulture and design are displayed and critiqued through a point scoring method, the same one that flower show judges use to evaluate exhibits in a flower show.
In Flower Show School, you learn what it takes to get a blue ribbon. You learn about awards, types of shows and the committees needed to produce a show. It’s an intensive, highly rewarding experience. The horticulture curriculum covers more than just how plants grow. You will discover how to select, groom, and exhibit your plant. You’ll write a flower show schedule and critique exhibits.
Registration information is posted on the National Garden Clubs website for the Garden Club of Georgia school as well as for other schools around the country.
Classes are taught by certified and nationally known GCG accredited instructors. You’ll get advice from the best in the business. You do not have to take the courses in order but it is preferred. Click here an overview of the entire NGC curriculum, scroll to the bottom of the page.
We invite you to join this unique experience and become an active part of flower shows. See the NGC Handbook for Flower Shows and all related forms on the Flower Show School Resources Page.
Currently, North Georgia Judges Council, Creative Studies, Designers Club, and Redbud and Laurel Districts are sponsoring the series. All classes will be held at the Marietta Garden Education Center in downtown Marietta, Ga. Dates are:
2022 1st Session: Aug. 21, 22, 23, 24
2023 2nd Session: April 23, 24, 25, 26
2023 3rd Session: Aug. 27, 28, 29, 30
2024 4th Session: Feb. 25, 26, 27, 28
Class II brochure and registration form
Questions about this course? Contact Anna Burns, Course Chairman or Diane Hunter, Co-Chair or Cookie Roland, Registrar
Watch an NGC video about Flower Show School
Want to sponsor a flower show school in your area?
Contact Flower Show Schools Chairman:
Flower Show Grants
GCG has established a matching grant program to encourage garden clubs who have never sponsored a flower show (or have not sponsored a flower show within the past five years) to undertake such a project. You can apply right here. The Designers Club in Redbud District has published a Flower Show 101 booklet that will walk everyone through each step of producing a quality flower show. Contact Faye Frazier for more information on this guide.
Judges Symposium
The Georgia Council of Nationally Accredited Flower Show Judges sponsors in depth three-day symposiums on various aspects of Flower Shows both design and horticulture. These are held biannually and seek to help judges maintain their credentials but anyone interested in design are invited to attend. There are plans to host a symposium in 2023. Details will follow.