Amid the controversy
of the Ellerslie Flower Show relocating to Christchurch,
local landscape designer, Lynn Cairney and her horticultural
colleague, Jules Moore were busy planning the reconstruction
of their supreme, award-winning garden in the new southern
location.
Christchurch mayor, Bob Parker opened the ‘Ellerslie
Experience’ display earlier this month and for the
following two weeks southerners enjoyed a snapshot of what
could be in store for them come the spring.
“The opening went really well and it was an absolutely
lovely day,” says Jules. “The people in Christchurch
were ecstatic and our Earth Sharing Life garden which was
part of the experience was well received. The enthusiasm
of Cantabrians was a positive note for the future of the
Ellerslie Flower Show.”
After picking up the supreme award for National Lighting
at the show in 2007, Lynn and Jules’ innovative night
time garden was deemed a flagship of top design and Lynn
says it looked better second time around in the south.
However, sourcing large numbers of the required native plants
in southern climates proved challenging. The women gathered
as much as possible from local suppliers and also transported
additional truckloads of plants, including 10-metre kauri,
from Auckland to Christchurch.
We rebuilt the caves with a different construction method
and took our own lighting and audio experts because they
already had the technology to recreate the garden,”
says Lynn. “Christchurch City Council and City Care
were wonderful and great to work with, which was essential
for us in an unfamiliar city.”
Lynn is not ruling out the possibility of displaying at
the Ellerslie Flower Show in Christchurch or at Auckland-based
shows but at this stage she is waiting to see what will
happen
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