Flower entries down at fair

Flowers were in bloom at the Roosevelt County Fair Tuesday afternoon, but Portales Women's Club members said Flower Show entries have declined from last year due to weather.

Christina Calloway: Portales News-Tribune

Portales Women's Club members assist Flower Show judge Aileen McAlister (second to right), while she award ribbons to flower entries, Tuesday afternoon at the Roosevelt County Fair. Pictured, from left, are June Ferguson, Linda Leaming, Aileen McAlister, Della Kobernick.

The Portales Women's Club has sponsored the competition annually for about 20 years, collecting flowers, plants and arrangements from local gardeners across the county.

"This year we're low on entries," said Della Kobernick of the club.

Kobernick said they received 100 entries this year but are used to double that amount.

She added they usually see entries in each of their 51 categories, which include sunflowers, daisies and potted plants.

"It was a hard year to get flowers to bloom," said June Ferguson, state president of the women's club. "Usually we have lots of roses; this year there's only one entry."

Members of the club walked around the tables with the colorful entries atop, assisting the judge of the Flower Show Aileen McAlister of Butterfly Floral in Portales.

McAlister had been a judge in previous years and has owned Butterfly Floral for 30 years. She said she was impressed with the entries presented this year.

"This is wonderful; participation is great for how the weather has been," McAlister said looking around at the entries.

She said due to the lack of rainfall in the area, she expected gardeners to struggle with their flowers and plants. With weather conditions such as this year, McAlister said flowers require a lot of tender loving care.

"I can see there has been a lot of work put into growing these flowers," McAlister said.

Her criteria for judging and distributing the blue, red and white ribbons, depend on the category, she said.

"Sometimes it's the bloom of the flower, or sometimes it's the strength of the stem," she said. "The zinnias stood out to me this year. They're (entries) are all beautiful."

The difficulty of growing the flower or plant is also weighed in judging criteria.

Kobernick said she enjoys working this competition because it's a good opportunity to see what the community does.

She noted that several entries this year came from youth and she plans on suggesting next year that they have a separate category for younger competitors.

McAlister also enjoys being a part of the competition using her expertise.

"I like just being able to share my love of flowers," McAlister said.

The flowers will be on display in the Youth Building for the rest of the fair.