Heaven for Lovers of the Green Way

A totally new concept for 2005, Hort Galore is a vibrant hub for showcasing the best of New Zealand horticulture. It’s an opportunity for participants to really show their stuff on the gardening stage, with combinations of fantastic foliage and design.

Getting involved: Clubs and Societies
Gordon Nolan, President of Auckland Horticultural Council, is ecstatic about the opportunities Hort Galore will provide for gardening clubs and societies. “It’s an opportunity to show people in New Zealand what we are doing and how to become members of these groups,” he says. “My mission is to get everyone talking, working and interacting together to really make the most of the event.”

Auckland Vegetable Growers and Landscapes Ltd
Kumeu will be on show this year at the Vegetable Growers and Landscapes Ltd Hort Galore exhibit. The multi-award winning team is headed up by Julena Moors and Dave Farley from Auckland Vegetable Growers and Julie Moore from Landscapes Ltd.  They have characterised their exhibit with a walk-through menu, featuring edible displays, names associated with edible delights such as the Monsteria Fruit Salad Vine and fantastic local produce. “It’s the first time floristry, landscape display and a fruit and vegetable collage have been integrated in a display before,” says Julie Moore, conceptual designer for the exhibit. “It will appeal to all the senses, with different essences, such as rich chocolate, wafting out of the displays.” As well as a significant flowing water feature, a giant marquee surrounded by hail-cloth will give the impression of a restaurant with a fabulous foliage-inspired menu. Included in the mains will be a pig on a spit, although there will be no meat present – the pig will be made entirely from peanuts, lit up with lights shining through red capsicums placed under its belly. For dessert there is the Kiwi favourite, Pavlova, although there won’t be any cream or meringue evident, with the entire pudding made from cauliflower! There will, however, be kiwifruit slices garnishing the dessert… any takers?

New plant extravaganza

Inplants Ltd
If you’re a fan of all things ethereal, this otherworldly exhibit is for you! Designed by Val Glenn from Clever Design and created by plants people and growers, the exhibit pays homage to the original concepts of The War of the Worlds, with unearthly fog, mystical music and a three-metre tall spaceship taking centre stage. Situated in the centre of the Hort Galore marquee, this creation is sure to create a stir. One of the key creators, Debbie Pascoe, says the exhibit provides the public with a chance to eye up exciting new plants emerging in 2005. “They are otherworldly in their foliage and colours,” she says. “The Ellerslie Flower Show is the launching pad for these plants.” The exhibit will catch the eye of the public and invoke much curiosity, says Debbie, as well as introducing ten new types of plants never before seen by the New Zealand gardening public. “We want to show what the industry is capable of,” says Debbie. “And we want the curiosity and wow factor!” Included among the plants set to be launched are a Begonia Pizazz, a Fuchsia Firecracker, an Ajuga Black Scallop and a giant Podophyllum. The Podophyllum is a Himalayan plant with a massive spread of flat, umbrella-shaped leaves that are patterned and veined, comparable to what you would see when looking through a kaleidoscope says Debbie. This is one exhibit you’d be mad to miss!

Naturally Native NZ Plants Ltd
Close your eyes and think of a sea of passion… then open them to reveal a visual feast of new plants and innovative lighting. Pauline Sylvester from Naturally Native Plants says Hort Galore is the perfect vehicle for introducing plants to the public and this year it’s the Libertia Goldfinger and Geranium Purple Passion. “We want people to be inspired to use these new plants,” says Pauline. Designer Ian Aitken agrees, “We want the plants to be easily accessible and visual,” he says. The plants are going to be presented in ‘lampshades’ – rectangles emerging from their foliage, wrapped in gauze and lit from the inside. Ian is passionate about the structural design of the exhibit and its relationship with the plants, constantly thinking of new ways to contrast the different mediums. If you are in a romantic mood be sure to stop by this celebration of natural and manmade beauty.

Incredible edibles®
Tharfield Nursery Ltd are set to inspire the public to use incredible edibles® in their garden designs, bringing their gardens alive with fruit. Tharfields will concentrate on the smaller garden requirements, introducing plants not considered in this environment before, such as blueberries and figs in pots. The fig that will be on site is six years old and will grace any courtyard and the blueberry will be in full flower and covered with ripening fruit – a beautiful, fruitful sight! There will also be coffee and tea plants, Pepino’s and Japanese Raisin Trees. This exhibit will really show the public how they can create the Wow! factor in their own gardens.