Road Town, Tortola - The National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands is encouraging the public to share their blooms and plants for the 7th annual Flower Show slated to take place this Saturday, March 13 at the Joseph Reynold O’Neal Botanic Garden.

Speaking on a recent GIS Public Eye programme, Director of the National Parks Trust Mr. Joseph Smith Abbott illustrated how essential sharing was in the development of the J.R. O’Neal Botanical Gardens and how important it still is today.

“We want to foster that sentiment and feeling for individuals to share their blooms and plants with others, as this is how the gardens grew over time. Individuals who went abroad brought back cuttings and shared them with us, originally with the Botanic Society and ultimately the National Parks Trust,” Mr. Smith Abbott said.

He further acknowledged the community for the role they played in amassing the variety of plants found today at the gardens, “A lot of the diversity in plants found at the J. R. O’Neal Botanic Garden today is as a result of the community. It may appear at first that it was driven institutionally but it was really driven by volunteers. The annual flower show therefore provides an opportunity for individuals to showcase their own gardens, showcase their own blooms and celebrate that with us.”

Judging for the garden competition segment concludes on Friday in preparation for Saturday’s Flower Show. Adults and children wishing to compete in the floral competition may deliver their exhibits and be present at the gardens between 7:30 - 9:30 a.m. on Saturday morning.

Winners in the floral, garden and the art and craft competitions will be announced at the flower show which will be opened to the public from 12:30 until 5:30 p.m.

The theme for this year’s flower show is “Let’s celebrate Plant Diversity in Harmony and Colour” and reflects the international community’s 2010 focus on biodiversity.

In keeping with the theme, the National Parks Trust and the Ministry of Natural Resources aims to highlight the diversity in plants, not only of conservation importance but to highlight and feature those plants which beautify our surroundings and provide us with necessary resources.