This week marks the opening of Australia’s annual Flower Festival.
I’ve been going every year since I was a small child, and I still find it enjoyable. This year, I’m finally old enough to compete in the adult’s section of the competition, since in previous years I was forced to compete with the teens. Although I learned a lot in that section and consolidated my skills, I’m really excited to finally be up with the big leagues. The competition is a lot harder, but the variety of activities is a lot greater.
A few months ago the Flower Festival sent me a list of things I should do to prepare, such as buy seeds online in preparation for the showcase, or brush up on my skills with some gardening practice. I did all of this almost as soon as I got the list in order to be extra compared. I want to be the youngest all-rounder winner in the adult category, and I can’t do that unless I’m at the top of my game. You see, competing at the Flower Festival is a bit like competing in a triathlon, only with less intense physical activity (although, let’s not forget just how difficult the manual labour of gardening can be sometimes).
There are three main sections of the competition. The first is the showcase, where you bring in your best standard roses to show off to the judges. I’ve been growing mine for months now, carefully watering them and moving them in and out of the sunshine depending on what they look like each day. I’m pretty proud of these roses; they’re a beautiful, deep red colour and have been pruned into the perfect lollipop shape you’d expect from a standard rose bush. I even splurged a little on their pot and got a top-of-the-line ceramic container with special drainage holes. It might have been less affordable than the pots I put flowers in as a teenager, but I’m determined to win, and I can only do that by making a good impression on the judges.