Ontario Region Peony Show - Seven Weeks of Bloom

By Judi Denny
While the peonies in the Oshawa Valley Botanical Garden were well past their prime due to the early arrival of warmth in early spring, thanks to the ingenuity of the exhibitors, who made the effort to store blooms in refrigeration, the blooms on the show tables were absolutely fabulous. There were
574 peonies in bloom and all seven weeks of bloom were represented.
Yes, we even had a few tenufolias! Twinned with the Chinese Peony Festival held in the region, the show drew large numbers of enthusiastic viewers. Artisans and musicians in the garden kept festivalgoers entertained and speakers on topics of interest provided visitors with information on growing and displaying peonies. A fun Silent Auction raised dollars for the OVBG Peony Garden
and the sale of seeds and donations for peony blooms added funds to the Canadian Peony Society.
Of course, the weekend would not have been the success it was without the effort of the exhibitors
and volunteers. To the judges - Ken Brown, who also helped with set-up all Friday and ensured the
OVBG blooms were tagged and entered into the show, and Gordon Wick, our great appreciation.
A key task is definitely the show set-up, the clerking, and the clean up over the three-days. Special
thanks to Mary Ellen Simerson, my "right" hand in all the CPS stuff I do, including helping with our
garden over the last several years helping to dig, divide & send to display gardens, root sale and growing on the little pieces left over to eventually add to the future root sales. And thanks go to Tom Harris and Dennis Gerbhardt for their tireless and good-natured help, to Hazel Vincent, Gini Sage, Sandy Rackstrow, Elaine Davidson, who also staffed the CPS info table on Saturday and Sunday, Terry Kelsey who worked tirelessly all day Friday and Saturday.  Margaret Sequeira and her husband Brian were excellent clerks and clearly demonstrated expertise in handing out CPS information and
promoting the seed sale on Saturday.  Fond and affectionate gratitude to Val Hosty, who has contributed so much to the CPS over the years, and to her friend Irene who responded to visitors’ enquiries all day Saturday at CPS table in the Garden outside. Special thanks to Sharon W Yu, who
picked up and dropped off Val & Irene at the GO station and who brought buckets of peonies to sell
for a donation and still found time to work at the CPS Garden info booth.  The CPS web mistress,
Lana Taylor-Mills, attended her first peony show and did a great job with selling seeds and providing visitors with information about peony roots.

Yeoman service on the Silent Auction table was done by Janette Vallance, who also stayed to help
with ALL of the clean up, including folding all those tablecloths, and who kept us laughing.
Ron Adams and my dear Michael answered questions at the CPS table in the Garden all day Saturday and Sunday. And last, but not least, sincerest thanks go to Rose Mary Mason, Coordinator Events &

Ron Adams, Grand Champion peony 'Coral Charm'

Community Engagement with the Recreation &
Culture Services at the City of Oshawa. I've worked
with Rose Mary through all eight Festivals and without all her help and support this show would simply not happen.
For the full list of winners in the Oshawa Valley Botanical Garden Peony show, please visit the CPS
website www.peony.ca/

Margaret and Brian Sequeira, Ken Brown

                                      CPS Ontario Region Peony Show 

                                                   June 16-17, 2012 

                          8th Annual Peony Festival, OVBG Oshawa, ON 

                                              COURT OF HONOUR 

BEST SINGLE Specimen:              Name of Exhibitor:      TOM HARRIS
                                                         For class #4:                 Peony SINGLE light Pink
                                                         Name of Cultivar:       “Pride of Blasdell”

BEST SEMI-DOUBLE Specimen: Name of Exhibitor:      RON ADAMS
                                                         For class #11B:            Peony SEMI-DOUBLE Coral 
                                                         Name of Cultivar:        “Coral Charm” 

BEST DOUBLE Specimen             Name of Exhibitor:       HAZEL COOK
                                                         For class #14A:             Peony DOUBLE light med. Pink
                                                         Name of Cultivar:         “Walter Faxon”

BEST Japanese Specimen:              Name of Exhibitor:       THOMAS HARRIS  
                                                         For class #19A              Peony Japanese dark Red
                                                         Name of Cultivar:         “Midnight Sun”

BEST Itoh Specimen:                      Name of Exhibitor:       THOMAS HARRIS
                                                         For class #23:                Peony Intersectional (Itoh)
                                                         Name of Cultivar:          “Garden Treasure”

BEST Tree Peony Specimen:          Name of Exhibitor:        RON ADAMS
                                                         For class # 30:                Display of three peony blooms
                                                         Name of Cultivar:         “Angelet”

GRAND CHAMPION:                 Name of Exhibitor:      RON ADAMS 
                                                         For:                               Best Semi-Double Specimen 
                                                         Name of Cultivar:        “Coral Charm” 

        TOTAL # OF ENTRIES: 508                                       TOTAL # OF BLOOMS: 574