About the Judges Council
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Judges
Council of the Garden Clubs of Ontario is the body which maintains the Registry
of Design and Horticulture Judges accredited by Garden Clubs of Ontario and
Royal Botanical Gardens respectively. The 1st School for Judges and Exhibitors
of Flower Arranging, the first of its kind in Canada, was conducted in Toronto
(1956-58). Of the ninety-seven who registered, fifty-four wrote the
examinations and thirty-six graduated. The course was modelled after the
judging standards expressed in the National Council of State Garden Clubs’ Handbook for Flower Shows. It was not
long after that accredited judges started to work on a handbook for Canadian
judges. Garden Clubs of Ontario judges and the Ontario Horticultural
Association eventually produced Horticultural
Judging Standards, Publication 34 with the co-operation of the Ontario
Ministry of Agriculture. This handbook was revised in 1994 and again in 2003
and is now known as the Ontario Judging
and Exhibiting Standards for Horticulture and Floral Design.
In 1966, G.C.O. established the Council of Judges which later became the Standards Committee of the Garden Clubs of Ontario. Its purpose was to maintain a high calibre of judging, arrange Judging Schools, keep Judges up to date and to establish a policy regarding a Judges Registry to be up-dated as required. In 1983, all Decorative Judges accredited by the Garden Clubs of Ontario became members of G.C.O. In 1984, Horticultural Judges accredited by Royal Botanical Gardens agreed to join the Decorative Judges in becoming members of G.C.O. and the Standards Committee became the Decorative and Horticultural Judges Association of the Garden Clubs of Ontario. In 1995, this evolved into the Judges Council of the Garden Clubs of Ontario. To date, there have been six schools for Judges of Floral Design and five schools for Horticulture Judges. G.C.O. Judges have an excellent reputation. Many have travelled internationally to judge in England, France, Holland, Belgium, Italy, New Zealand, Japan, South Africa, Scotland, Bermuda and the big U.S. Flower Shows in Boston and Philadelphia. |
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