So when Maitland Show comes around each year she takes a few under her wing and guides them on the path to becoming potential winners.

Record temperatures over 40 degrees in the weeks leading up to the show threatened her routine, but she met the challenge.

Now she has the Champion Pot Plants and Champion Floral Arrangements titles to admire for her efforts. She also won Champion Plant and Overall Champion in the begonia section.  

Mrs Cockburn is a long-standing entrant, and director, of the show. She is also the chief steward of the horticulture competition. She was worried the relentless heat might have destroyed the long-standing exhibition. 

She said the heat had scorched a lot of the prospective entries, particularly the vegetable produce which had been left blistered and shriveled and a crop of dahlias, which were shaping up to be worthy of a ribbon.

Ferns also felt the heat, with a lot of them dying off in the humidity. 

Somehow enough floral entries emerged unscathed so the section could proceed. It was nowhere near the amount the show usually sees, but it was enough. 

Mrs Cockburn said seeing them pour through the pavilion doors was a wonderful sight.

“It was a lot better than I thought it would be,” she said. “The floral arrangements were outstanding, the pot plants were not quite the quality they normally are.

“We even had a few cut roses, and I didn’t think we’d have them with the heat.

“We usually have a lovely display of dahlias but we haven’t had any this year.”

Mrs Cockburn created a floral arrangement with a grape theme, which won her one of the champion ribbons. It’s something she enters every year. 

She used grape leaves, grapes and grape stems she sourced locally to make her arrangement.

Long-time gardener Val Robinson, who braved the heat wave to mist her ferns every few hours, submitted a few entries and was thrilled to be named Most Successful Exhibitor for Pot Plants.