Flowers ready for show

Former president of the Barbados Horticulture Society and Chelsea coordinator Jean Robinson with a bromeliad. (Kenmore Bynoe)

Wed, May 16, 2012 - 12:04 AM

WITH AN ENVIABLE RECORD of 15 gold and a host of other awards won at the internationally popular Chelsea Flower Show, the Barbados Horticulture Society (BHS) was again gearing up early yesterday at Balls, Christ Church, where flowers of myriad hues, shapes and sizes were being readied for shipment to England.

Barbados’ display this year will have the theme Summer Holiday, which is sung by Sir Cliff Richards, who has made Barbados more than a summer home. He is expected to be the guest of honour at Barbados’ display in Chelsea.

Former BHS president Jean Robinson, who coordinated Barbados’ challenges at Chelsea for 23 years before retiring in 2010, displayed mixed emotions as she surveyed the flowers waiting to be boxed.

“I decided that I needed to take a break . . . . Even so, I still feel strange here . . . as if my body is saying that I should be getting ready for Chelsea,” said Robinson.

Holding up some heliconias and bromeliads, Robinson said it was strange that the bromeliads, one of the BHS’ main forces, always bloomed around April, just in time for Chelsea.

“I have confidence that, although the team is relatively new, the members have gained adequate Chelsea experience over the years for Barbados to gain more gold this year,” she said. (KB)