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Snells Beach was in full bloom on the weekend of September 7 as garden clubs from as far away as Whangarei, Kaikohe and Maungakaramea came to see the best bouquets in show.
Sweet scents filled the Mahurangi East Community Centre with 51 exhibitors from the Snells Beach Garden Circle submitting entries across 42 different categories.
There were even 32 entries in the age-12-and-under categories including several saucers of flowers arranged by Snells Beach kindergarteners, called “dish gardens”.
The grand winner across all the categories was a gift-wrapped bouquet in a box with pink roses, named Boxed In.
Organiser Barbara Carpenter said the freesias were a standout category this year, with 37 quality entries, but said conditions had been challenging for daffodils.
“With all the rain over the last two weeks, it has been tough on the daffodils. The flowers came out earlier with the warmer season but then the wind came and wrecked them.”
The rules state that entries must be grown in an exhibitor’s own garden for a minimum of two months.
One of the more innovative categories was Kitchen Capers, which saw arrangements pairing broccoli with blossoms and yams with pinecones.
Barbara estimated that there were 200 visitors within the first hour of the show.
