Towering replicas of camels will beckon visitors to mythical Shangri-la and dinner with Mongol emperor Genghis Khan, among other exotic scenarios, at The Silk Road, a free flower show Friday through Sunday at the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

Sanctioned by the Garden Club of America and presented by the Garden Club of Honolulu, the show is held every three years and is a competitive event for nearly 100 club members. They will submit dozens of horticulture, flower arrangement, photography and jewelry entries that will be on display at the academy.

"It's just a wonderful opportunity for people to see both what you can grow and what you can do in flower arranging," said Stephanie Hee, co-chairwoman of the show. "There's definitely something for everyone."

All entries are based on the theme of the historic Silk Road network of routes between the Far East and the ancient port cities of Constantinople and Venice along which civilizations traded silk, gold, jewels, ivory, religious practices and technologies.

"We chose The Silk Road because it's so natural for Hawai'i, where we have so many multiethnic groups, and it's such an exciting part of history," said Anna Lise Vogel, a member of the Garden Club of Honolulu.

Flower arrangement categories include Persian Miniatures, with miniature arrangements, and The Great Wall, featuring interpretations of the Great Wall of China in a flower arrangement.

"In flower design, it's really a three-dimensional sculpture and the trend right now in flower design is going toward contemporary," said member Bertie Lee of Nu'uanu. "It's an art form and it not only challenges the person that does it, but it challenges the viewers in their perceptions of looking at live plant material done in a nontraditional manner."

Another flower arrangement category is Dining With Genghis Khan, a dining vignette — complete with furniture, accessories and flower arrangement — to depict a fictional meal with the emperor in Mongolia, Venice or any other place he may have traveled along the Silk Road, said Vogel, of Diamond Head.

In the horticulture division, "there are the miniature gardens that are always very popular with the public," said member Phyllis Lee, of Manoa.

The category, known as Shangri-la, requires participants to use tiny flowers and greenery to create a miniature scene representing the fictional paradise.

"I think that The Yin And The Yang is definitely one of those areas that will also be of interest," Phyllis Lee said. In this horticulture category, exhibitors will depict the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac using rooted plants.

Fifty Garden Club of America-approved judges will come from across the United States to judge the horticulture and flower arrangement entries.

"Every member who enters really puts in a lot," Bertie Lee said. "The members work very hard and really take personal pride in creating their (pieces)."

There will also be divisions in photography and jewelry, which will feature bracelets and necklaces with attached amulets — all made from dried plant materials, such as flowers, foliage, seeds, pods, peas, beans, grapevine and basket reeds.

"Some of the people are really creative," said Hee, of Nu'uanu. "Some of the pieces look like actual jewelry."

In addition, the Garden Club of Honolulu will offer three educational exhibits: a display of products and produce that might have been traded along the Silk Road and can be found in Hawai'i today; plants and flower arrangements from women at the O'ahu Women's Correctional Center; and photographs taken by elementary school students visiting Lyon Arboretum.

The Garden Club of Honolulu was founded in 1930.

Reach Zenaida Serrano at zserrano@honoluluadvertiser.com.