Prize exhibitor scores a historic hat-trick

By Shaun Inguanzo
GIGANTIC flowers, haunted cakes and floral arrangements for newborn babies were among the winners in the Dandenong Show arts and crafts displays last weekend.
But the ultimate winner – the person who collected the George Andrews trophy for overall best exhibitor in the pavilion – was Narre Warren North’s Julia Rhodes, who narrowly edged out Dandenong North’s Lyn Spencer.
The art and craft coordinator at the Dandenong Show, Sharon Harris, said it was the third year in a row Ms Rhodes had collected the prize.
Ms Rhodes this year returned with a swag of specimen blooms, herbs, vegetables and fruits, and roses, to please showgoers, judges, and to etch her place in Dandenong Show history with her George Andrews hat trick.
Ms Harris said the trophy race came down to the wire, with Ms Spencer’s teddy bear and doll displays wooing judges, but falling just short of the points she needed to collect the trophy.
Ms Rhodes said it was her fourth year at the show, and all of her entries were grown on her half-acre property in Narre Warren North.
Ms Rhodes said she and her husband were self-sufficient, growing wine and making beer to complement their garden variety vegetables.
“We love gardening, I think because it is relaxing,” she said.
Blitzing the floral art section was Noble Park florist Lyn Adelberg.
It was Ms Adelberg’s first year in the category, and a fresh change from her Lyn’s Flowers business in Buckley Street.
But the dedicated florist scooped first and second prize in the Christmas arrangement category, second and third prize in the bridal section, and first prize for her “pamper hamper” for both newborn and mum in the baby arrival category.
“It was a fun experience that allowed me to play with my imagination,” Ms Adelberg said.
When she’s not scooping show prizes, Ms Adelberg is working hard to deliver the same quality to her customers.
The distinguishing feature of her newborn “pamper hamper” was that it contained goodies for mother as well as the new baby.