The event, run by the Gore Garden club, brought dahlia enthusiasts from all around the island from as far away as Blenheim, ready to show off their prized blooms, plucked at the right time and prepared to impress.
It ran alongside the Gore Garden Club Harvest show, which brought flowers of other varieties as well as silverware, adornments, with the entire Gore Town & Country Stadium to be filled with colours and smells of gardening excellence.
"I’m absolutely thrilled with the turnout, because obviously the weather throughout the country has been bad, people haven’t been able to bring what they want to bring, but it blew me away how much there is here.
"The quality is phenomenal. I can hardly believe it, the sizes and the varieties," she said.
The addition of first entries was also a big move for the show, with people showing up for their first dahlia competition well prepared with a high quality of dahlia blooms.
For those interested, the Gore Gardening Club always had their doors open, with Mrs Thomas calling for new members to not be strangers.
"The more the merrier, come along and have a great time. You can learn, you can ask, everyone has a specific area, we can answer specific queries, we would love for more people to come and join us," she said.
