Every year, the Farmingdale Horticulture Committee honors one person or persons from the nursery business. At their ninth annual garden party last Sunday, the committee honored John and Debbie Van Bourgondien for their dedication to the green industry, as they are the second largest bulb importers in the country.

The Van Bourgondiens were given the Ram's Horn Award, the highest honor given by SUNY Farmingdale. The Horticulture Committee in Farmingdale is one of the oldest and best known committees in the country, and many gardeners and environmentalists from the committee are known all over the world as graduates from SUNY's horticulture programs.

Guests filled the area inside the garden's gated entrance, enjoying appetizers and beverages before the honorees received their award. Tents were set up all around the garden in the event of rain, but the committee was lucky with a warm, sunny day. Party attendees were able to stroll all over the gardens, enjoying various areas such as the quiet garden and the tropical garden, which was recently photographed in a gardening magazine for three days. The Van Bourgondiens' car was parked outside the entrance gates filled with gift bags of tulip bulbs for all the guests who attended.

The garden party offered a variety of activities for its guests, including a gourmet buffet dinner, music and entertainment, garden tours and horticultural raffle prizes. Guests placed their raffle tickets in over 30 different baskets, each signifying a different prize they could win. They had their choice of a variety of prizes, including exotic plants, trees, a beanie baby collection, a variety of gift certificate prizes to nurseries, and gardening equipment.

As always, the party was a fund raiser, and the money received goes towards horticultural scholarships for SUNY students. The profits also go into the school curriculum for teaching aids and computer labs, as well as the gardens themselves, helping to upkeep and maintain them.

The party lasted from 2-6 p.m., but guests arrived early and stayed late. Despite all the construction in progress at SUNY Farmingdale's campus, parking was adequate for all. This year's Horticulture Committee garden party certainly turned out to be a successful one.