The Flower & Garden Competition was until recently known as the Horticulture Section.  In 2007 the Competition became known as the Sydney Royal Flower & Garden Show.  Flower and Garden Competitions have been a regular feature at the Show since 1929.  

The first Horticulture Competitions were recorded in 1869 with competitions possibly appearing for many years before that.   From 1869 to 1888 the section contained classes for fruits, vegetables and other plants.  Other classes appeared intermittently throughout this period such as silkworms, silk and sorghum in 1869, jams, textile fibres, sugar cane, tobacco, coffee and tea in 1871, salads in 1875 and nuts from 1875 to 1878. From 1892 to 1897 or 1898 there were classes for plants only, no fruits or vegetables.

There was no Horticulture Section at the Show from 1899 to 1928.  In 1929 horticulture returned and proved to be hugely popular. The expansion of the Competition prompted a move to bigger facilities in 1950, when the first Horticulture Pavilion was built at Moore Park.

The Banksian Medal was introduced in 1951, and 1956 was the first judging competition.   Awards for florists’ and nursery displays were introduced in 1955.

In the period 1957 to 1959, there was a pisciculture section added to horticulture which included competitions for aquarium fish (including goldfish, tropical varieties, catfish, minnows etc).

Decorative classes have been in existence since as early as 1869, where there was a class for a hand bouquet.  Classes for decorative work have been many and varied: shoulder sprays, baskets of flowers, table displays, displays for children’s parties, up to the more recent floral art classes. Children’s classes were introduced in 1990.

The modern Sydney Royal Flower & Garden Show is held in the Southee Pavilion which was designed specifically for horticulture displays. The Pavilion is named after EA (Bert) Southee (RAS Councillor 1923-1939, Vice-President 1939-1968).