Taranaki DOY 2024 Winner Beryl Watson

What's My Line - Flight 'n Fancy

A free-standing artwork using home-grown plants was the pick of the bunch at a regional floral art competition.

New Plymouth Floral Art Group member Beryl Watson was crowned the 2024 Taranaki Area Floral Art Designer of the Year. As well as winning the top spot, her artwork, titled What’s My Line, won the Flight ‘n Fancy category.

Watson said after winning second place a few times, claiming the top title was “a privilege”. “I’m happy to have won. I enjoyed stepping back from my work and seeing something I was proud of.”

She had four hours on Friday to construct her artwork.

To create her free-standing design Watson used paper-covered binding wire to connect vines, willow, fairy bells and dried amaranthus she grew in the garden. “I skinned the bark off the willow last year and it’s gotten lighter and lighter. As for the fairy bells, they reminded me of gnats and they looked like they were flying in the garden. I thought the dried amaranthus would be a nice touch.”

Wrapped around the design was flax, she said. “I used the hapini (sic) method, which is a way to create threaded flax. You put it through a pasta machine at an angle so it becomes like netting.”

Watson also incorporated orchids from Slater’s Orchids in New Plymouth. “It’s nice to support local growers.”

As well as winning the coveted title, Watson moves on to the national round of the competition, the FASNZ diamond anniversary AGM and conference in May 2025.

Ref: NZ Herald Stratford Edition