Bouquet of Invasive Weeds Wins Best in Show at Margaret River

A bouquet stuffed with Western Australia's worst invasive weeds took home a top prize at the Margaret River Agricultural Show, reports ABC. Nature Conservation Margaret River entered the arrangement on purpose — to show how garden plants jump the fence and wreak havoc in bushland.

It worked better than expected. The entry scored ribbons in the mixed weeds category and was named best overall exhibit. Biodiversity officer Obelia Walker said the overall win caught her off guard. Hard to blame her: the bouquet was built from arum lilies, English ivy, watsonia, Flinders Range wattle, agapanthus, periwinkle and Victorian tea tree.

Show vice-president Julie Kirby said the competition drew a record 200 floral exhibits across categories like roses, wedding bouquets, floral art and mixed arrangements. Accredited judges from the Western Australian Horticultural Council picked the weed bouquet, praising its design, workmanship, colour harmony and the quality of the display, per ABC. The arrangement was then disposed of safely so its seeds wouldn't escape.

Kirby called it a beautiful and educational way to demonstrate how garden plants become bushland weeds. Walker said invasive species are a tough sell for public attention because they quietly smother native plants. Arum lily, she noted, can turn into a solid carpet, a monoculture that crowds everything else out.

The stakes are real. Arum lily was banned from sale in WA more than 20 years ago, yet it keeps spreading through forests across the state's South West, including Boranup Forest. More than 3,000 private landowners have asked for help eradicating it from their properties.

Walker urged gardeners to consider alternative plants instead of risking a new invader in the environment. Nature Conservation Margaret River hopes the prize-winning bouquet nudges people to look harder at what they're planting out back.