Michelle Slater
FLORAL artists came out in droves at the Sale Show to display their creativity, despite the wet spring delivering a hit to cut flowers.
Long-standing Sale floral artist Heather Harrington took home the perpetual trophy for most creative arrangement for her work interpreting the theme windswept.
Ms Harrington used an array of palm spathes and dried grasses to depict the concept of rhythm and movement in her installation.
“It represents turbulence in the wind and the creativeness as a result of this particular force of nature. There is beauty in destruction,” Ms Harrington said.
The Sale Floral Art Group founding member has been entering the Sale Show for the past 40 years and has represented Australia in Ireland, Canada and Belgium.
Ms Harrington said the entries has remained strong due to the level of interest from the local floral art group, in which members used the show to put their skills to practice.
She said she loved the transitory elements of natural materials to represent ideas in her work.
“It’s like a chef who creates a beautiful meal, it’s only there for a moment, this is what I find special. It’s a lot of work, the planning and design, but it’s worth it,” she said.
Ms Harrington said other sections in the horticulture pavilion were down, particularly in cut flowers and vegetables due to this year’s soggy spring.
“Roses are low because of the wet conditions, they are also late this year so there are not a lot of entries,” she said.
“Exhibitors are finding it more difficult with all the extra rain to have a choice of quality blooms available to them, they are just coming into bud now, or they are not out yet.”
