Lynne Mowbray |

Maclean resident Judith Little has taken out first place at the National Floral Designers Competition at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.

The competition is by invitation only and competitors are selected on the basis of their design submission.

Judith said that this is the fourth year that the event has been held.

“The area space (in which to create our floral work) is two metres by two metres and you have from eight in the morning to four o’clock in the afternoon, to create your design,” Judith said.

“You can have a team of two or a team of one, but because it’s such a big space, I prefer to have a second person with me.

“I worked with a partner from Cairns, Angela Lewis, and Angie and I have worked together now for four years. Because of the distance between us (Cairns and Maclean) we have difficulty working together, so I come up with a concept and Angie tweaks it and she keeps me going and organised.

“We found out in October last year what the title was for this year, which was ‘A Sunburnt Country’.  So I started getting native pieces together; old wood, palm pieces and anything that I thought was native and dried, that would represent that harsh climate.

“Heather Hammond from New Zealand was the judge and we were a clear winner, which was nice to know,” she said.

Earlier in the year, Judith was also awarded the ‘Joan O’Brien award’, from the ‘Garden Clubs of Australia’, for services to floral art.

Judith had no prior knowledge before receiving the Australian wide award; she admitted it was a very special surprise for her.