bestgardening.com - The Ellerslie Flower Show 2002

Ellerslie International Flower Show 2010
Hagley Park, Christchurch
SHOW REVIEW continued
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As we've indicated Ellerslie - even in the Garden City - is not about different ways to do an English garden; it is about different ways to do gardens.

This was evident in the Landscaping New Zealand North and South garden where two teams created gardens using mirror-image sites, resulting in a sub-tropical vs a high-country effect.

More didactically it was seen in The Last Laugh, the garden of Andy Ellis and Danny Kamo, which is not a garden at all - or rather it is a garden desroyed by Mother Nature fighting back against humans'unsustainable practices. Finding Solace in the Skyline looks at how to use our urban roofspace when there is increased population pressure.

And Te Waipounamu, designed by Nuk Korako, challenges the Western concept of a garden altogether by demonstrating that, for Maori, the whole landscape was their garden.

Marquee Feature Displays

The dark and eerie entry into the Christchurch Botanic Gardens' Pictures of Life and Death, could have been a terrifying experience, but the arrival was spectacular. The cycle of life - and death - was illustrated through dramatic use of lighting (night and day), sound (including storms), movement (streams and waterfalls) and textures. The fungi were wonderful and the whole effect was mesmerising, making it no surprise that this was the winner of the Supreme Award.

Right next door was The Ice Age, an 'icy oasis' of a garden with no plants but still a dramatic representation of landscape changes.

Bush Tellyagain had a message for us all. The not-for-profit conservation TV production company had a focus this year on Mt. Cass, its very special vegetation and the pests and threats to its environment.

Hort Galore Marquee

The Stratford Garden Club's Seduction was just that, a romantic display of roses and wildflowers, and a deserved winner of the Supreme Award for Horticultural Excellence. The New Zealand Alpine Garden Society's display from potting bench to show bench, along with its troughs of rare plants, was an enticing picture, beautifully realised and a deserved winner of the Supreme Award for Horticultural Excellence.

And then there were the quirky displays from the Cashmere Garden Club and the Christchurch Beautifying Society,where human interest is combined with passion for plants.

Emerging Designers

This was a new innovation, perhaps inspired by a similar competition at the Melbourne Flower Show. With an identical brief, four very different gardens were produced, each very creditable to its creator. Winner Katie Hilford of Northland used vertical and horizontal spaces to maximise her small backyard and win $5000 towards her study fees.

Floral Art

A burst of colour and activity greeted visitors as they entered this marquee amidst a contest for young florists vying for the opportunity to represent New Zealand in London in 2012.
Gold medals in the main competition went to Ikebana International Ikenobo School, Avon Floral Art and Jenny Harris.

Trade Displays

There were some excellent stands, many with enticing displays and characterful presentation - we loved the old sheds. Congratulations on the increased number of garden retail stands. Caution needs to be exercised wth some of the stands which have little relevance to a garden show and risk creating something of a fairground atmosphere in the midst of this prestigious horticultural event.

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