The JHS still blooming at 70

THIS WEEKEND, Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27, the Jamaica Horticultural Society (JHS) hosts its Annual Flower Show under the theme, ‘70 Years & Still Blooming’, on its showgrounds at the corner of Gibson Drive and Gibson Close in Hope Pastures, St Andrew.

The current JHS was established in April 1955 with George H. Scott being one of its founders, and its first president. A previous society was defunct around 1950. Scott, a government worker, expressed a desire for such a society to be reactivated, but founding-father credit is given to Allan Virtue, then an officer in the Jamaica Agricultural Society.

Now, the JHS is indeed still blooming at the ‘ripe old age of 70?’, but things were not always rosy over the years. There were meteorological and financial droughts, plant diseases, the seesaw of membership wilting and proliferating, power struggles, waning interest in the society, et cetera.

The greatest challenge was the inability of the society to acquire its own property to establish its headquarters. That struggle withered away in 1990, when under the leadership of President Hosford Scott and the strident support of Secretary Yvonne Laidlaw the JHS was leased five and a half acres of Hope Estate lands, its present headquarters/showgrounds, for 49 years.

Land acquisition was not the end of the need, for there was no building to shelter the Society from the sun and the rain. Coverage came on April 27, 2007, when it opened its own show hall on the property acquired in 1990. Along with a team of other members, President Margaret Sinclair was instrumental in the construction of the building that houses the show hall, and which was named for her in November 2023.

There have been some notable presidents over the seven decades . The longest-consecutive-serving was Cleve Simons. Hosford Scott founded the Jamaica Horticultural Society Flower Arrangers Group founded in 1990, and the Hosford Scott Cup, given to the exhibitor who wins the most blue ribbons, is named after him.

The G H Scott Cup for the Most Points in Horticulture is named after his father, first JHS president, George Hosford Scott, who was a member of the committee that selected the lignum vitae as Jamaica’s national flower in 1962. His mother, Beryl Scott, was also a legendary member of the JHS.

Fay M. Williams, who served from 1996-1999, was the first female president, during whose tenure, the slab, which constitutes the foundation of the JHS Building, was laid. Margaret ‘Peggy’ Sinclair served three times (total of 10 years), and was a champion at selling tickets for JHS fundraisers, and would often quip, “nobody can tell me no”.

In October last year the Government of Jamaica posthumously conferred on Sinclair the Badge of Honour for Meritorious Service for her contribution to religion and education, and to the development of horticulture. She had died in July after a “short and sudden battle with illness”.

Current JHS president, Christine Williams, too, was conferred with the same honour. She has been associated with the JHS for over 40 years, serving as president since 2020, and has won many major prizes at the annual JHS flower show.

Other outstanding members included Aimee Delisser Webster, who wrote under the pen name, ‘Green Leaf’, was also a journalist, whose ‘Garden Page’ in The Sunday Gleaner had been a source of information and education to all horticulturalists. Lois Cruise, a foundation member, acted for many years as secretary of the JHS.

Bernice Lloyd was the longest-serving exhibitor, 31 years. She is said to have been the winningest exhibitor, and has been the winner of the Banksian Medal on six occasions. This medal is awarded by the Royal Horticultural Society of Great Britain to the competitor in the JHS’ annual flower show who has gained the most points in the horticultural classes. On many occasions, she has been the recipient of the President’s Medal, which is awarded to the competitor who achieves the second-highest number of points in the horticultural classes.

One of the JHS’s greatest achievements was winning a gold medal for ‘Best Tropical Flowers, Fruits and Foliage’ at the prestigious Royal Horticultural Chelsea Flower Show in London, England on Monday, May 21, 2012. This was the first gold for the JHS at Chelsea after winning 11 silver gilt awards over a 16-year period.

This weekend’s event starts at 9 a.m. each day, closes at 6 p.m. on Saturday and 5:30 p.m. on Sunday. Adults are expected to pay $1000 to enter, while children under 12 get in for $200. Horticultural exhibits, spot prizes, plant sales, et cetera are some of the features of this year’s show.

Looking ahead, President Christine Williams said, “My most immediate wish for the JHS is to see the transformation of the grounds into a horticultural showpiece, especially highlighting our indigenous and endemic flora. We owe so much to our sponsors, patrons and supporters who have kept us growing over the years.”