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The TAFE Illawarra Yallah landscaping team has been awarded First Place in the Landscaping Challenge at the Sydney Royal Easter Show on Thursday
The team of 15 third year students are hoping to make it a double whammy, with the ‘People’s Choice Award’ is still up for grabs - voted by the public for their favourite garden and judged on Thursday 25 March.
Meantime their floristry counterparts were given third place by the judges for their Andy Warhol / Frida Kahlo inspired creation.
EARLIER:
Budding landscapers and florists from TAFE Illawarra Yallah campus have been working tirelessly to perfect their competition entries for Sydney’s 2016 Royal Easter Show.
Horticulture head teacher Craig Conway said his group of 14 students had been working from sunup to sundown over four days at the Olympic Park Showgrounds, with the aim of winning a fifth first place ribbon for the school.
“We’ve been working within three metres of other institutes and no-one talks to each other, it’s extremely competitive,” he said. “Even I get a bit competitive … we came second two years ago and it sucked, I hated it.”
The team of third year students, aged between 18 and 24, had to create a ‘modern Australian backyard’.
Their masterpiece was designed to minimise risk of fire during our heated summers, a solar-powered water feature, with a mix of low maintenance natives and exotic plants.
Meantime 15 first year floristry students equally had their work cut out for them, creating a structure of flowers nearly two metres high to the theme of ‘art in bloom’.
Teacher Collette Rixon said their design was inspired by contemporary artists Andy Warhol and Frida Kahlo and used lots of solid and vibrant colour, using more than 1000 flowers..
“We have incorporated phalaenopsis orchids, carnations, lotus pads and lilies spotted with billy buttons, succulents, layered magnolia leaves and spear grasses into our design; the whole effect should look great,” she said.
Leading professional in the field will judge entries this week, with the displays remaining on show to the public at the Flower and Garden Pavilion until the Show’s end on March 30th.