Amberley plant nursery worker Anna England won the Young Horticulturist of the Year competition held in Auckland last month, and Dunedin Botanic Garden geographic collection curator Kyla Mathewson was runner-up.
Ms England said she was "excited for the amenity and nursery sectors to get some spotlight", as nursery and amenities, which Ms England and Ms Mathewson work in respectively, were smaller sectors in the horticulture industry.
The pair had to complete written, technical and speech components for the competition to demonstrate their understanding, and both said the six weeks leading up to the competition were spent going over every detail of their written report and sector innovation projects.
Both would be back in Auckland to complete development training, which was part of the reward for their competition successes.
The pair were in the Dunedin Botanic Garden on Saturday at the Horticultural Symposium to help shine a light on the career paths for the industry.
The event featured multiple speakers from all corners of horticulture to talk about what they did, and all the different avenues available to people, from soil, flowers, fruit, veges and plants to all things that grow.
