Pat Pinero wins top prize in Spring Flower Show

By Frankie Hatton

Pat Pinero has won the overall prize at this year’s Spring Flower Show, held earlier this week at the Fine Arts Gallery.

This is the 71st edition of the competition organised by the Gibraltar Horticultural Society (GHS).

Over 40 creations were on show for this year's competition and the Governor, Vice Admiral Sir David Steel, presented the adult category winners with their prizes.

Ms Pinero scooped six prizes, and the overall prize in the competition, with her creations including succulents and a centrepiece arrangement.

Chair of GHS Annabelle Mor-Codali said that the society was excited for the future of the competition given the number of entries this year and the new beginners coming in regularly wanting to learn how to arrange flowers.

“It’s incredible because it gives people a really creative art and a connection to nature which is so important,” she said.

There weren’t just private entries, as the competition receives entries from school pupils either as projects or just because they are interested in the art of it.

“Each specific category has rules and they need to know what they can use e.g. dried flowers or even fake flowers, dried leaves or in another it is only green leaves,” Ms Mor-Cordali said.

“The categories have names, for example, there is ‘inspirational’ where the artist can use pretty much anything as a prop, maybe sticks or dried flowers.”

“There are about ten categories at the moment and every year the programme is changed as some get less entries so we offer other ideas in order to get more creative elements.”

Judging the adult entries was Gibraltar Cultural Services’ Head of Cultural Development, Davina Barbara, and judging the children's category was Jessica Leaper from ‘Whole Wild World’.

Adult first prize winners included Loli Torres, Suzanne Gache, Kirsteen Crawford, Josephine Isola and Edwina Haynes. Second and third place winners included Ann Balestrino, Emily Borg, Antonio Mor, Ann Guerrero and Neha Rupani.

Ms Mor-Coradli added that the Society raises awareness about nature and air pollution, which is a global issue, so they try to encourage interaction through outings to Spain, workshops and getting people out into nature.

In a poignant moment, Ms Pinero made a lovely tribute to her husband as she used his violin in her first prize winning piece in the category ‘Imagination of the competitor.’

Prizes were awarded on Wednesday evening to those in the children’s categories.

Katya Barrera from St Paul’s School and Kianna Hurtado from Bishop Fitzgerald won the first prize in their respective categories on the poster competition.

Myra Daswani from St Paul’s School won the first prize in the pressed flowers category, with St Bernard’s Upper Gardening Club winning the hand-crafted flower section.

Florence Stocker Sanchez won first prize in the miniature gardens category.