Dozens of Northeast Florida residents entered the 2023 Horticulture Show, organized by the Garden Club of Jacksonville at the Greater Jacksonville Agriculture Fair. Giant patio plants, fluffy ferns, delicate African violets, prickly cacti, juicy succulents, and much more lined the tables of the show.

On November 1, nine judges studied each entry to determine blue-, red-, and white-ribbon winners as well as the Best of Show and Sweepstakes winners. The winners are listed at the end of this blog post.

People’s Choice Award

About 750 people voted for their favorite plant in the 2023 Horticulture Show. After all the votes were tallied on November 11, Dillon Eskridge’s Vanda Pakchong Blue orchid received 125 votes to become the winner.

Sponsor’s Choice Awards

This year’s Horticulture Show included sponsorship prizes from several local plant stores and nurseries, with each having a cash prize of $200:

  • Aura Plant Studio Choice Award: Variegated Mahoe, Tabatha Hayatatian
  • Liberty Landscape Choice Award: Ponytail Palm, Gloria Salmon
  • Lush Leaves Choice Award: Carnivorous, Billy Dorsheimer
  • Standard Feed & Seed Choice Award: Vanda Gorgon Dillon “Lea,” Dillon Eskridge

Garden Club Supports the Home Gardener

Proctor Ace Hardware on University Boulevard provided plants and tables for the #GardenClubJax booth, showcasing a beautiful array of patio plants for the home gardener. Bird feeders and wind chimes provided by Wild Birds Unlimited added whimsical decoration to the booth, while showing a way to “Bring People and Nature Together” among lush trees, shrubs, and flowers. #GardenClubJax fliers promoting programs throughout the year were available and games of giant Jenga and cornhole provided a chance for visiting families to relax and have some fun.

Adult Category Winners

  • Best of Show: Angel Wing Pink Torch Begonia, Cindy Powell
  • Sweepstakes: Marie Merritt
  • Sweepstakes Runner-up: Christine Mahr

Section A: Gesneriads

  • Blue: African Violet Blooming, Marie Merritt
  • Blue: Arctic Frost, Christine Mahr
  • Blue: No ID, Christine Mahr
  • Blue: No ID, Christine Mahr
  • Blue: No ID, Christine Mahr
  • Blue: Le Antares, Christine Mahr
  • Blue: No ID, Christine Mahr

Section B: Begonias

  • Blue: Begonia Longicillata, Emma Jordan
  • Blue: Begonia, Liz Range
  • Blue: Begonia Kinginia, Emma Jordan

Section C: Ferns

  • Blue: Foxtail Fern, Patrick Vriesenga
  • Blue: Rabbitfoot Fern, Christine Mahr

Section D: Succulents

  • Blue: Cactus, Marie Merritt
  • Blue: Cactus, Marie Merritt
  • Blue: Cactus, Marie Merritt
  • Blue: Opunta Snow Fuzzy Cactus, David Papaj
  • Blue: Christmas Cactus, Audrey Adams
  • Blue: Rhisalis Haughey, Marie Merritt
  • Blue: Euphorbia, Marie Merritt
  • Blue: Hawarthia, Marie Merritt
  • Blue: Inctea Cactus, Patrick Vriesenga
  • Blue: Euphorbia Trigona, Alejandra Miller
  • Blue: Jacob’s Ladder, Aline Clement
  • Blue: Euphorbia Maleolens, Aline Clement
  • Blue: Aloe Alli, Marie Merritt
  • Blue: Candelabra Aloe, Patrick Vriesenga
  • Blue: Aloe Vera, Alejandra Miller
  • Blue: String of Hearts, Emma Jordan
  • Blue: Hawarthia Swirl Succulent, Marie Merritt
  • Blue: Goldenmoss Sedum, Marie Merritt
  • Blue: Cucumber Cactus, Aline Clement
  • Red: Pencil Cactus, Audrey Adams

Section E: Bromeliads

  • Blue: Bromeliads, Liz Range

Section F: Orchids

  • Blue: Vanda Roll All Red, Dillon Eskridge
  • Blue: Vanda Gorgon Dillon “Lea”, Dillon Eskridge
  • Blue, Award of Merit: Vanda Pakchong Blue, Dillon Eskridge
  • Blue: Cattleya Nancie Thomas, John Burr

Section H: Plants Growing on Wood

  • Blue: Staghorn Platiceryum Biforcatum, Cindy Powell

Section I: Special Container Plants

  • Blue: Red Sweet Potato, Gloria Salmon
  • Red: Black Sweet Potato, Gloria Salmon
  • Blue: Succulent, Gloria Salmon
  • Blue: Terrarium, Emma Jordan
  • Blue: Pygmy Sundew, Kimberly Doctor
  • Blue: Succulent Spear Plant, Myra Stokes
  • Blue: Ti, Marie Merritt
  • Blue: Cordiyline Fish Planter, Marie Merritt
  • Blue: Hawarthia (Zebra Plant), Patrick Vriesenga
  • Blue: Succulents, Martha Collins Davis

Section J: Patio Plants

  • Blue: Powder Puff Tree, Ginger Ayer
  • Blue: Variegated Hibiscus, Gloria Salmon
  • Blue: Foxtail Palm-Patio, Marie Merritt
  • Blue: Purple Waffle Plant, Aline Clement
  • Red: Rubber Plant, Audrey Adams
  • Blue: Variegated Mahoe, Tabatha Hayatatian
  • Red: Thai Constellation, Tabatha Hayatatian
  • Blue: Gold Dust Croton, Marie Merritt
  • Blue: Agave, Gloria Salmon

Section K: Fruit, Vegetable, or Herbs

  • Blue: Holy Mole Peppers Capsicum Annuum, Lauren Bedford
  • Blue: Shishito Peppers Capsicum Annuum, Lauren Bedford
  • Blue: Meyer Lemons, Peter Bragan Jr.
  • Blue: Datil Pepper, Stephen Stanton
  • Blue: Key Lime, Stephen Stanton
  • Blue: Valencia Orange, Stephen Stanton
  • Blue: Oregano Origanum Vulgare, Lauren Bedford
  • Blue: Ginger Zingiber Officinale, Lauren Bedford
  • Red: Apple, Jacques Georges
  • Red: Mango, Jacques Georges
  • Red: Pineapple, Jacques Georges
  • Red: Pineapple Ananus Cosmosus, Martha Mercado Quintero
  • Red: Pineapple Ananus Cosmosus, Martha Mercado Quintero
  • Red: Cuban Oregano, Alejandra Miller

Section L: Hydroponically Grown

  • Red, Lush Leaves Choice Award: Carnivorous, Billy Dorsheimer
  • White: Carnivorous, Billy Dorsheimer

Section M: All Other Blooming Plants

  • Blue: Sanchezia Oblonga, Marie Merritt
  • Blue: Swedish Ivy Blooming, Marie Merritt
  • Blue: Best of Show, Angel Wing Pink Torch Begonia, Cindy Powell
  • Blue: Brazilian Plume, Cindy Powell
  • Blue: Swedish Ivy, Myra Stokes
  • Blue: Snake Plant, Marie Merritt
  • Blue: Cactus Blooming, Marie Merritt
  • Red: Egyptian Starculuster, Marie Merritt
  • Blue: Firecracker Plant, Audrey Adams
  • Red: Impatient Blooming, Marie Merritt

Section N: All Other Foliage Plants

  • Blue: Zig Zag Fishbone, Marie Merritt
  • Blue: Creeping Charlie, Marie Merritt
  • Blue: Hoya Cactus, Audrey Adams
  • Blue: Rattlesnake Plant, Christine Mahr
  • Blue: Pothos, Christine Holland
  • Blue: Tractor Seat Plant, Myra Stokes
  • Blue: Prayer Plant, Myra Stokes
  • Blue: Cryptanthus, Marie Merritt
  • Red: Dracena Gold, Marie Merritt
  • Blue: Whale Tail, Marie Merritt
  • Blue: ZZ, Marie Merritt
  • Blue: African Mask, Marie Merritt
  • Blue: Ponytail Palm, Gloria Salmon
  • Blue: Flax Lily, Gloria Salmon
  • Blue: Flax Lily, Gloria Salmon
  • Blue: Dracaeana Marginta, Alejandra Miller
  • Red: Guiam Chestnut, Alejandra Miller
  • Blue: Pothos Devil’s Ivy, Aline Clement
  • Blue: Black Velvet Aloasia, Aline Clement
  • Blue: Philodendron Grandipes, Aline Clement
  • Blue: Agloaonema Siam Aurora, Marie Merritt
  • Blue: Pitcher Plant, Holly McMurry

Junior Category Winners

  • Junior Best of Show: Hylaeaicum Eleutheropetalum, Reika Vriesenga
  • Junior Sweepstakes: Cynder Vriesenga
  • Junior Sweepstakes Runner-up: Reika Vriesenga

Section C: Ferns

  • Blue: Rabbits Foot Fern, Ryleigh Altman

Section D: Succulents

  • Red: Sansevieria Zeylanca, Reika Vriesenga

Section E: Bromeliads

  • Blue: Hylaeaicum Eleutheropetalum, Reika Vriesenga
  • Blue: Royal Burgundy Neoregelia, Reika Vriesenga
  • Blue: Aechmea Stalker Bromeliad, Reika Vriesenga
  • Blue: Dyckia Grape Jelly, Cynder Vriesenga
  • Red: Pepperomia Obtusfiolia, Cynder Vriesenga

Section J: Patio Plants

  • Blue, Junior Award of Merit: Dracaea, Cynder Vriesenga

Section K: Fruit, Vegetable, or Herbs

  • Blue: Persian Lime, Cynder Vriesenga

Section M: All Other Blooming Plants

  • Red: Pentas Lanceolata, Reika Vriesenga

Section N: All Other Foliage Plants

  • Blue: Dusty Miller Jacobae Maritima, Cynder Vriesenga