Marion Cheer received the Cecily Charlton-Jones Trophy for best hybrid tea rose at the Norsewood Flower Show; with Jessie Nash from Dannevirke Mitre 10.
Marion Cheer received the Cecily Charlton-Jones Trophy for best hybrid tea rose at the Norsewood Flower Show; with Jessie Nash from Dannevirke Mitre 10.
By Leanne Warr
It’s become somewhat of a fixture in Norsewood in the past 15 years.
The Norsewood Flower Show had humble beginnings, starting as a way for its organiser, Heather Cheer, to share her passion for gardening.
As she explains to her small audience of schoolchildren during prizegiving: “It’s not always a fun thing to play with flowers, but it is when you get older.”
Initially, it was held in the Hovding Hall, but once the building was condemned, it shifted to the VTS Room at Norsewood and Districts School and has been successfully run there ever since.
Checking out the exhibits at the Norsewood Flower Show.
Pine cone creations by local children.
Heather is grateful to the school for the use of the facilities, as there is no hall big enough for the many exhibits in the small Tararua District township.
“Without the school’s availability, we would be stuck,” she says.
Blooming record: There were 343 exhibits in this year's Norsewood Flower Show.
Cathy Duff was awarded the prize for Best Iris.
There were 343 exhibits this year, a show record and a number which exceeded the amount of green bottles Heather had on hand and she resorted to using aluminium bases previously used by the Women’s Institute.
There were 47 children’s entries and 26 adult entries, with nine new adult entries.
“[It was] a wonderful show which was much enjoyed by the people who visited,” Heather says.
JoJo Vella-Whare was awarded the Brass Bowl Trophy for best junior floral entry and third prize for novelty container at the Norsewood Flower Show. She is pictured with Jessie Nash from Dannevirke Mitre 10.
Jessie Nash, one of the new owners of Dannevirke Mitre 10, presented some of the prizes at the Norsewood Flower Show; here with Elli Rankin, who was given the Una Halford Trophy for best junior entry.
The new owners of Dannevirke Mitre 10 came along to the prizegiving to give out the prizes.
Heather gave thanks to all those who entered as well as its supporters and the judges from Otawhao-Takapau Women’s Insititute.
“Four ladies who have done a marvellous job,” she says. “They had quite a challenge.”
One thing she offered those present was a little advice from the judges on picking the perfect bloom.
“Don’t just look at your flower. Look at the leaves, or whatever else you have picked for presentation, because sometimes you have a perfect flower but some insect has made a terrible mess of the leaves. Or the weather.”
Which would then lead to the bloom being disqualified.
Heather also thanked her helpers. “I couldn’t do it without you,” she says.
