Hotter weather might have meant fewer blooms but it didn’t mean poorer quality at this year’s Chrysanthemum Championship and Floral Art Competition.
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The show, hosted by the Bendigo Goldfields Chrysanthemum Association, attracted about 40 exhibitors from across the state and as far away as South Australia and Tasmania.
Association president John Morvell said chrysanthemums liked cooler weather for flowering, so the warm sunny weather the region had experienced meant there were fewer flowers on display this year.
But he said the standard of flowers was still high, despite the weather conditions.
Six exhibitors entered the championship section, in which they had to enter six different varieties of chrysanthemum.
Robert Wilson won the championship, while Jim Fletcher claimed best bloom.
While the focus of the show is on chrysanthemums, it also includes categories for other flowers.
The Bendigo championship will be followed by the Australian championship in Melbourne next weekend and the Western Australia championship the following weekend.
Next year Bendigo will both host the Australian championship and celebrate its 20th anniversary.
The chrysanthemum show began 19 years after the Chrysanthemum Association broke away from the Bendigo Garden Club.
With the chrysanthemum at its best in cooler weather than many other flowers, it allowed the new association members to exhibit at the optimal time for their favourite bloom.
The Chrysanthemum Championship and Floral Art Competition is open at the Bendigo Exhibition Centre until 4pm Saturday, April 23, and from 9am to 3pm Sunday, April 24.
