Small wonders

Miniature landscapes make a big statement at a garden club show

While many representatives of the plant kingdom will be competing for attention at the "The Silk Road Garden Show," one of the biggest draws just might be the items smallest in stature: miniature landscapes.

The Silk Road Garden Show Sponsored by the Garden Club of Honolulu On display: 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. today and tomorrow; 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday Place: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 900 Beretania St. Admission: Free Call: 532-8700

The tiny landscapes measuring about 18 inches square have always been among the biggest hits, according to Garden Club member KC Collins, a member since 1994.

"Miniature landscapes are always one of the most popular entries people like to see," said Collins. "The container is small, and not only are there many different plant materials, all rooted, but they are tiny and intricate. Like flower arranging, it's challenging and interesting. The arrangements don't look like what you would expect."

The three-day Garden Club of Honolulu spectacle gets under way today. Last time this event was held, in 2003, it drew about 5,000 spectators in a two-day period. This year, the Garden Club hopes to see 5,000 to 8,000 faces peering at efforts members have labored over in such exotically named classes as "Persian Miniatures," "Dining with Genghis Khan" and "The Yin and Yang" -- not to mention a special exhibit by six incarcerated women who have grown their plants and assembled their arrangements from within the Oahu Women's Correctional Center.

Planning for the Garden Club show begins long before rows and rows of beautiful plants -- in categories of horticulture, flower arranging, photography and, yes, jewelry -- are gently set on the tables at the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

"We work for two years to put this show on," said Collins, who chairs publicity for the club. "Things get into gear 18 months out, really ramp up 12 months out, and the final four months are high-stress time."

MEMBERSHIP has grown for this Hawaii club, which now numbers 170 but started off in 1930 with just 20 members professing a love of gardening and an interest in horticulture.

After taking part in more than five major shows combined, current members Paulette Stone and Tanya Alston could probably recite the Garden Club mantra in their sleep. But Stone would rather you see the biggest selling point of the event: It's free.

Stone and Alston have paired up in the miniature-landscapes category, interpreting their own version of the theme "Shangri-La" and shuttling their project between their homes the past few months.

Members who enter this category must fit their idea of the perfect green paradise (or hotel or even prison if one desires) into the containers provided.

Alston and Stone scoured Chinatown for accessories such as miniature buildings for their landscape and looked at plant materials like bamboo and mini-mondo grass that might easily fit within the perimeter. Though they turned in the list of potential materials back in January, they spent many months planning, fitting, photographing and rearranging their practice pieces. They originally picked up 60 plants, and it is likely they will use about 10 of them by process's end. Some contestants are using plants they have had for years, if not decades.

"This is a challenge," said Alston, a retired teacher. "I've never done a miniature garden before. ... I've sketched out ideas on pieces of paper and tried different things."

"It's part of the process -- learning about plants, finding out about plant families, genus and species," seconded Stone.

Alston does not know what others are doing, saying it is an atmosphere of hush-hush for some who take competition very seriously: "A lot of people just don't talk about (it). Others want to participate and enjoy the process.

"(For us,) we've purchased a lot of plants," she added. "It's been a process of elimination, but as it grew, it became calm and peaceful, an idea of what a Chinese garden would be like. A place to go and relax."

Last month's wet weather wreaked havoc with many contestants' prized entries.

"The idea is to show a plant in its prime," Stone said. "Now some have died, some have grown mold and some have drowned. Plants grew used to cloud cover; now they're burnt and unhappy."

"All hort people are sweating it out," added Collins.

Stone gave a hypothetical example: "'My hibiscus got too much water.' It can be terrible. 'The wind is whipping it.' You're at the mercy of the elements."

Shangri-La entries will be judged on scale, balance and design; cultural perfection; and suitability and compatibility of plant material. Winners receive blue ribbons; others receive constructive criticism in the form of placards placed next to their entries, offering advice and direction for the next show.

Fifty Garden Club of America-approved judges will be flying in for the nationally sanctioned event; the judging will be finished by the time doors open to the public.

Flower arrangements are assembled in place two days before the show begins. The rooted miniature landscapes will remain in place throughout the show, but wilted blooms in other categories are replaced before the show opens each day.

Friends who've known each other for more than 15 years through the hula dancing community, Stone and Alston are quick to sing each other's praises. Alston is the artistic one with an eye for color. Stone is the enthusiastic one, the one with the ideas, including entering this particular category.

"We're partners in crime," said Stone, a self-described "62-year-old grandmother who likes to play with plants."

"This is the chance to shown what you've done. It's a nice gift to Hawaii."