It's that time of year again for the Bemboka Flower Show - and this year is the 30th!
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The Bemboka Flower Show has become known as “the biggest flower show” on the Far South Coast.
Held at Bemboka Memorial Hall, visitors to the show will pay $5 to enter and this entitles the ticket holder to a morning/afternoon tea and a chance to win the lucky door prize.
There is to be two raffles, the usual wheelbarrow full of gardening goodies and this year a beautiful quilt made by the local quilters.
Prizes to be awarded on the day will go to the most successful exhibitor in each section, the champion rose, the champion cut flower and champion arrangement.
There is also to be a lucky exhibitor prize awarded.
Prizes will also be awarded for children’s arrangement (under 8 years) and those 8-13 years.
There is also a section for pot plants and garden produce so there will be a section to suit everyone!
Another pleasant item on the day will be the “trading table” full of local produce including fresh eggs, home cooking and potted plants.
Entries will be taken from 9-11am; and doors open to the public at 12pm.
The show will be officially opened by one of its founding members, Joan Guthrie, at 2pm.
It promises to be a spectacular show as gardens throughout the area are looking lovely thanks to the recent and much-appreciated rain.
Bemboka Garden Club's October meeting
The October 2014 meeting of the Bemboka Garden Club was very well attended following the visitation to three local gardens the day before.
The business for the night was centred around preparations for the forthcoming 30th annual Bemboka Flower Show with judges being finalised and prizes for the different categories chosen.
It was reported John Cullen has contacted the club with a view to having a permanent memorial being presented each year in memory of dearly loved past member Harry Woseen, famous for his “Harry’s tips”.
The guest speaker for the night was Paul Walters, a local viniculturalist who spoke on setting up a winery on land in Buckleys Ridge Rd, Bemboka.
Mr Walters explained that after finishing his degree in engineering he then did a viniculture course.
He travelled from Darwin to Bermagui and then to Bemboka looking for a suitable place to settle.
He smiled and said we found that “if the whole town was covered in frost, Buckleys Ridge Rd was free of the ice”.
Settling in Bemboka he said “the first few years I didn’t do a lot” apart from having the soil tested.
He dug the soil to a depth of 2.5m, deciding where to put the metal posts on which he put the wires for fences on which the vines would grow.
He then decided on how to equally distribute the water and how to cope with wind protection, planting two rows of natives for a wind break.
He noted kangaroos have never been a problem except for a few broken wires on the fences.
The plants for the wine vines were planted almost six years ago and he has had quite a few things to contend with like not enough water at first, then when the leaves came on, there were beetles that chewed the leaves, then birds were a worry and when grapes arrived, he had to cope with fruit bats and rabbits.
He now feeds his vines with “Seasol”.
The second year on the land he got “a few grapes” and it has been improving ever since.
He recently had an accident when a bottle of wine exploded and blew a hole in his ceiling – sounds like a powerful drop!
He hopes to starting picking grapes in March 2015 and be bottling in May.
President Annette Scanlan thanked Mr Walters warmly and presented him with – what else - a bottle of wine!
Competition winners:
Rose: 1st Carol Willebrand, 2nd Peter Crooks.
Cut flower: 1st Peta Alcock, 2nd Sue Meyer.
Arrangement “Gift basket”: 1st Carol Willebrand, 2nd Peta Alcock.