The fifth Ellerslie Flower Show brought us even more exhibitors, great displays and gardens and lots of opportunities to acquire goodies for our gardens! Ellerslie has become a 'must do' on many of our calendars and the organisation behind the show has worked hard to make our experience ever better.
With outdoor and indoor gardens, retail ranging from plant sales to prints and books Ellerslie is simply a lot of fun and a great learning experience! The standard of gardens was high and the range of styles and innovation was impressive.
The entrance through the rose garden in the Auckland Regional Botanic gardens was spectacular and the arch of Rosa 'New Dawn' and R. 'Albertine' enough to take your breath away. But that was not why we were here... | |
Joy Plants' display used the theme of 'Grandpa Goes to Africa' with two children & their Grandad reading the story. The clever planting showcasing their nursery's huge range flowed from perennials into arisaemas and then to succulents. There were lots of planting combinations and interesting plants, and Joy plants proprietor Terry Hatch was on standby to help anyone with the name of an unfamiliar plant. Further into the show complex, Joy Plants had a stand that was doing a very brisk trade in these same plants. |
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Outdoor Gardens- Grandpa takes a break!
The Joy Plants' display | |
Other outdoor gardens included the River Valley daylilies with these verstaile plants grown in a number of situations. The Zoo Garden introduced an entirely new focus- gardens are not usually associated with rampaging beasts but certainly plants are essential to creating a good environment for the zoo's occupants!
The Naturally Native garden demonstrated a more avant garde approach to using our own native flora in a garden of raised beds and rough-hewn timbers. Spiky cordylines and lancewood (pseudopanax crassifolius) speared beds of glorious hebes and mats of biddi-biddi (acaena).
The dispays where there was assistance on hand, advice and someone to help identify the plants were appreciated by Show visitors. Brochures were avidly collected so that they could (& will!) contact the exhibitors later.
The Floral marquee enchanted with its lovely displays, exquisite gardens mostly with a classical theme, and a huge mass of peony flowers.
The makeover marquee was fascinating and introduced more more innovative, sometimes startling, gardens. Gardens that make you think twice about accepted concepts of what is suitable, 'right' and beautuful in a garden. The great seed-pod of timber and stones impressed and fascinated as did the use of brilliant colour now often found in our own gardens as well as in South American and California. |
Baby 'Trees for Canterbury' safe in their milk carton homes! |
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The Future Garden marquee was full of fascinating exhibits that ranged from a school conservation display on the effects of de-forestation and erosion, an Auckland City display on pests (weeds and oppossums) and recyling. Groups encouraging us to plant a millennium forest, to plant for native birds and to promote the tremendous success of 'Project Crimson' in saving our pohutakawa and rata trees, as well as 'Trees for Canterbury' project which has planted literally tens of thousands of indigenous trees in Canterbury. All of these exhibits gave us food for thought- how our garden fits into the larger environment and how we can better enchance that environment. |
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As a shopping experience it was clear that the crowd enjoyed the opportunity to see and purchase so many products. Plants aside, there were lovely botanical prints and paintings, wonderful tools and garden accessories for sale and the books...well we are always tempted by gardening books. The children's playhouses and play spaces were simply too tempting, pots and wrought-iron, carvings and sculpture were all there.
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The archway of Rosa Albertine at the Botanic Gardens site of the Ellerslie Flower Show | |
Memories, lots of photos (including one of R. Albertine on that glorious arch) and a baby kauri- a millennium tree- were bestgardening.com's legacy of Ellerslie '99.
Click here for more, and even more photos
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