The Fifth Annual Dahlia and Gladiolus Show will be taking place on Aug. 23 and 24 at Bower Place Shopping Centre, presented by the Alberta Dahlia & Gladiolus Society (ADGS).
Wayne Roberts has been with the ADGS since its beginning and is looking forward to presenting another year of colourful dahlias and gladioli.
“The whole idea of the show, and the good part for myself, is having people see what kind of flowers can grow in Alberta. You can have flowers blooming late in the year – dahlias are really the best right now until freeze up,” Roberts said. “All of the other flowers are sort of going downhill, but with these, there is still a lot of colour left. People are amazed that these flowers are grown here. Lots of people ask where we bought them. It’s very satisfying.”
Each year, the ADGS hosts two main events – a tuber sale in the spring and a flower show in the summer. The goal of these events is to spread awareness of the types of flowers that can be grown in Alberta and to bring interest and new faces into the Society.
The arrangements of the ADGS will be on display at Bower Place Shopping Centre on Molly Banister Drive during regular mall hours this weekend.
Roberts has been showing his award-winning flowers for decades. His expertise, combined with other long-time growers in the Society, is sure to bring a wide variety of beautiful flowers, just as years before.
Year-after-year, the Society continues to grow as the plants become more known and more popular.
“We have gotten more interest in dahlias in Central Alberta anyway, because the show is here. We can tell that by our tuber sale,” he said. “There are all these people that come in the spring to buy tubers. They are trying them in their gardens and seeing what they can do with them.”
Since the beginning of the Society, the group has grown from 22 members to over 60. New memberships are always welcome.
“We’re all about promoting gladiolas and dahlias in Central Alberta, and getting more people to enjoy them,” said Roberts.
For more information on joining the Society visit www.albertadahliaandgladsociety.com.
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