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The annual Rose and Flower Show in Warkworth is celebrating 100 years of its showcase to gardening excellence.
The show was founded in 1921, and taken over by the Warkworth Garden Club in 1998, under the guidance of Fay Illingworth and Lorraine Hatful.
If Covid-19 restriction levels allow, Fay will open this year’s ceremony at the Warkworth Town Hall on Friday, November 12. It will be held from noon to 5pm.
This year, there is a new category for dried flower arrangements, as well as a return of last year’s popular children’s category. There will also be plant sales and raffles.
The competition usually attracts around 300 entries. Admission to see the show is $2 or free for children under 16.
The annual “best street” competition, which judges all the gardens on a street collectively, may not be held this year due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Perennial entrant, Di Jensen is set to dazzle judges with her famed roses again this year. Di has entered the competition for the past 12 years.
She has lost count of how many awards she has won, but has averaged two to three for the last eight years, including the coveted Campbell D’Arcy Cup and Best in Show.
Di says the secret to growing a good rose is in the topsoil. The hard clay in the Warkworth area makes for a poor growing medium, so Di uses seaweed she finds washed up on Snells Beach, as well as horse and sheep manure to build up her garden soil
Beyond that, she recommends using a gentle spray made from copper and oil. Di says roses thrive in the cold and are best grown before the summer comes into full heat.
