Weston Garden Center’s approach to the challenge was to create 7 different stations, each with a different Game theme and applicable AAS Winners. They encouraged visitors to read the plant tags then, using the clues given, asked them to guess the game. This helped teach visitors about the plants and their English and Latin names in a fun way. Although someone called it a collection of bad “Dad jokes” it successfully met the mission.
Station 1 – “Dungeons and Dragons” used Dragonfly and Red Ember peppers around a castle wall with Galahad Tomato growing out from the castle.
Station 2 – “The Count Counts” (Sesame Street) had a Dracula Celosia in the shade of a Midnight Snack tomato known for its black and blood red fruits.
Station 3 – “Bullfighting” used Escamillo Pepper and other props to give the feel of an arena.
Station 4 – “Roulette” featured peppers of various heat levels including Roulette. Without knowing the proper names of the peppers, eating any of them became a game of chance.
Station 5 – “Pickle Ball” used three varieties of AAS winning cucumbers (Green Light, Parisian and Diva) up the side of a Gazebo with some Pickle Balls hanging among the fruits.
Station 6 – “Duck, Duck, Goose” used the Big Duck collection of Marigolds (Gold, Yellow, and Orange) and paired them with Gooseneck Loosestrife plants.
Station 7 – “The Hunger Games” featured the plants Katniss, Rue and Primrose (names of some of the movie and novel characters) and Sparky Tomato to represent this game.