Dave and Bullwinkle in Cananda

Great thread over in Canadian Gardening! The Dave and Bullwinkle Chronicles #3. I will have to go back and read numbers 1 & 2. Michaela, these travelers are from Vancouver. You should check them out, if you haven't already!
I am going to introduce them to Ingvar and Sven my Swedish gnomes from IKEA and to Larry, the gnome who appeared in my first ever Flower show design back in 2004. He only got an honorable mention in this category as the judges felt he should have mowed his lawn before the show. Here's his show photo.
Martha

Neat ! The gnome looks like it is in a pot, with the cousin of Cousin IT.

I grew him his own lawn. It had stepping stones in it, but you couldn't see them. I cut the grass once before the show but it grew back too fast. As I was directing our club's first ever show, I didn't get time to cut it again. He coulda been a contendah!
Martha

Nice international set of figures with the Mexican Chicken and the French Saint Francais.
Glad you were PC on that one.LOL :---)

As soon as there is a ribbon or cash award the competition gets insane. Your entry was beautiful. I do not do shows for just the observed reason. Competition ruins a lot of nice activities.

Well, this show was the first in 30 years for our garden club. It was kinda my idea. I don't disagree with the judges. They were right. I just didn't have time with everything else to make it more show quality. I knew the ropes, I just didn't pull the right ones.
martha

Oh, Martha. Your entry was definitely the hands down winner! Maybe a violet in the lawn for authenticity next year? Also, water features are all the rage. If you're short of time next year consider filling the pot with water, a bit of algae and add some goldfish (babies).
L

I never disagree with the judges. I am one in another activity. The judge of the day has personal preferences. To compete one must know what an individual tends to like and work to show the judge what he or she likes to see. Does not always work but it gives anyone better odds for doing the homework. I like activities that change judges yearly and that choose them from different areas.

Our county fair often uses the same judges. That gets stale for me in a hurry.