Flower Building offers much to consider

GRANT COUNTY — Grant County residents can get plenty of ideas for their own gardens in the Flower Building during the 2007 Grant County Fair.

Karen Edwards of Moses Lake-based Edwards Nursery had many examples in the building for her display, including a gingko plant.

"It's the only survivor of its species from the Ice Ages," Edwards explained. "They thought they were extinct, but they found one in a monastery in China."

The gingko was included as part of Edwards' informative display of edible, woody plant materials. Its leaves are used medicinally.

"You have to be careful about eating berries in the wild," she said.

The information is so people can identify which ones are edible, Edwards said.

"You need to know what you're harvesting because some, like Oregon grape and elderberry really need to be cooked before they're used. They're good in jam or syrup or juice, but if you eat too many of them raw, they'll give you diarrhea."

There's a big movement by plant enthusiasts to use native materials, Edwards noted, particularly for areas around a lake.

Flower Building Superintendent Steve Kalamakis noted an influx of dahlias and gladiolas, with fewer youth entries.

He's been in charge of the building for about 12 years, he estimated. He's responsible for cleaning the building, and noted he has a lot of volunteers and family members who have done the decorating. His wife and another superintendent look over different categories within the building, he added.

When Kalamakis first began working in the building, he said, he had to devise a serial numbering system to better keep track of each entry and help out the judges.

"The whole fair started using the serial numbers," he said. "I don't know if other departments are utilizing them or not, but they put them on all the cards now."

Judges began looking over the flower entries in the building Tuesday at 9 a.m.

"A lot of it is the requirements that are in the (Grant County Fair) book, like if a rose is supposed to have a leaf on it," Kalamakis said. "Then they look at probably I imagine color and uniformity."

Terry Critchlow and Norma Boswell came to the fair from White Pass and Richland, respectively, to be amongst other judges looking over Flower Building entries.

"With the Danish (judging) system, we're comparing it to the best of its kind we've ever seen," Boswell explained.

Boswell has judged in the Grant County Fair many times before, while this was Critchlow's first time.

"It's just a love of flowers for me," Boswell said.

"We're both accredited national flower show judges," Critchlow explained. "What also we look for is nice, perfect foliage and bright colors on the flowers."

The entries in the flower building can be a learning experience for visitors, Critchlow added.

"Everyone can enter, and we hope lots of people enter, to show off what they've been growing in their gardens to other people," she said. "Other people then can see what's growing in the area."

"When people come, they like to make lists of things they'd like to grow in their own garden," Boswell said. "And they'll see good examples of wonderful horticulture here."