Blue Ribbon at the NC State Fair!!!

NC State Fair means one thing to me- floral design competition! Well actually I do like to check out the other exhibits too: beautiful garden designs, bonsai "treelets", the cows and goats and chickens-- especially the chickens-- I love them, (too bad the town of Cary does not allow chickens in the town limits). And of course the food- I am not brave enough to try the Fried Oreos, but I really can chow down on the funnel cakes.
Well back to the Floral Designs- thanks to Erv Evans (who does an INCREDIBLE Job with the Flower & Garden Show) and Cleveland Plant & Flower Co., professional florists in Wake County have the opportunity to showcase their stuff just for the fun of it!
One of this year's categories was "Surprise- something special for the new mom and baby". I still have a "fair" amount of pink in the garden so of course I wanted to do something to welcome a new baby girl.
And here's the design that I entered this year. I purchased a wooden box from Michaels and whitewashed the exterior. Next I glued on pressed Larkspur florets to the box. See the DIY Wedding Flowers- Pressed Flowers from April. I also glued Larkspur to the Baby Card as well.
I grow larkspur each year from seed. NOW is the time to plant larkspur seeds for next year's blooms. I plan to put up a post next week about how to plant it.
Other flowers from the garden included dainty pale pink dahlias called Chilson's Pride and bright pink Fairy roses, scented geraniums, lamb's ear and Green Spice Heuchera leaves- these are some of the best heucheras in my garden beds!
Other flowers from my wholesaler included ivory Majolica spray roses and something I was thrilled to see- fresh pink Larkspur!
I was also thrilled to receive a Blue Ribbon for my design