Bloom-tastic Exhibit Under the Big Top

The Naples Flower Show™, Under The Big Top, took center ring at the Naples Botanical Garden on March 13 and 14, 2026. This floral extravaganza was presented by the Naples Garden Club™, together with Naples Botanical Garden, and is the largest juried flower show in southwest Florida.

Volunteers ushered visitors to “The Most Magnificent Spectacle on Earth,” and acting as ringmasters announced, “Step right up, ladies and gents, boys and girls, feast your eyes, tickle your noses, and delight your senses at the most bloom-tastic bonanza of the season.” Activities Under the Big Top included floral designs, exotic plants, temporary gardens, photography, youth and educational displays, daily demonstrations, and a garden market. Kapnick Hall featured award-winning floral designs, tablescapes, and petite floral arrangements.

The event tent featured horticultural displays; the plants featured had specific rules such as “plants must be grown for at least 90 days by the exhibitor and can be grown in a pot, on a hanging container, or can be a cut from a specimen plant, and “free of insects.” The Botanical Arts Floral Designs are fun botanical projects as they seem to break the strict rules of the National Garden Club for floral design.

Photography was formally added to the National Garden Clubs Flower Show in 2017 and is now an officially designated section within the Botanical Arts Division. They highlight members’ photographic abilities promoting gardening interest - people and pets are not permitted in the photos.

Kapnick Hall was a carnival of award winning floral designs of blue ribbons (first place), red ribbons (second place), yellow ribbons (third place), and white ribbons (honorable mention). In addition, floral designs also received the coveted rosettes of gold, red, blue, yellow, and purple. The tiny but mighty menagerie of petite floral designs is in the categories of 5-inches, 8-inches, and 10-inches for judging, and fresh or dried plant material may be used. This was a fun and challenging category!

The Naples Garden Club (NGC) is in its 73rd year of giving back to the community. In 1953, thirty men and women met to form NGC, which was held at the Naples Women’s Club. They funded the opening of the Caribbean Gardens (now Naples Zoo) and had their first house and garden tour and first flower show in 1955. Naples was then a very sleepy fishing village with a population of less than 200!

• In the 1970s, Naples population spiked to nearly 65,000 and NGC’s membership rose to 140! They led the drive to restore the old railroad depot.
• In the 1980s, growth and changes came to Naples – the Ritz Carlton, new airport, and Naples Philharmonic.
• In the 1990s, membership rose to 200 and the club donated majestic palms to the courtyard of the Sugden Theater!
• In 2004, Naples Botanical Garden welcomed NGC and the Naples Flower Show was moved to the Botanical Garden.

The Naples Garden Club promotes community-wide interest in horticulture, floral design, and the environment. Through its grants program, they have funded initiatives that support their mission of community-wide interest in horticulture, floral design, and the environment. Over $1.7 million has been distributed to over 60 non-profit organizations throughout the Greater Naples Community.