02 February 2018

Gardens glammed-up

Our city’s gardens, Gladstone Road median strips and roundabouts are in great health and looking colourful thanks to the dedication of Gisborne District Council’s horticulture and amenity team.

A year on, the newly established in-house ‘green team’ has ‘gotten into their knitting’ and worked to revitalise gardens across the city.

Liveable communities’ director, Andrew White says the rose garden is in great health. “There were a number of issues with the roses last year. Our team really worked hard throughout the year and the results show how far it’s come.”

Amenity and Horticulture Leader Laura Thompson was pleased the team had received positive comments about the planters in the city centre.

“We’ve changed over the soil in the pots this year, which hadn’t been done for several years and the flowers have really taken off.”

One Councillor commented that the CBD had “the best flower boxes that we have had for years… especially those planted in petunias and geranium are looking excellent. Congratulations to those involved.”

We’ve also had great feedback on Facebook and Letters to the Editor. One said “… the planters on the main street are look great! The flowers are so healthy and vibrant, it really lifts the image of the main street and makes it a nicer place to be. Ka pai”

Water Restrictions make it hard

With sprinkler restrictions in place, Ms Thompson says her team adhere to the same restrictions as city residents.

“The team is very visible while watering in town and people are watching us closely to lead by example.”

“We’re preparing sprinklers and backup water sources for watering by hand where we need to.

“Unfortunately, it’s a reality when we’re under restrictions we can’t always get to water everything. We’ve focused our efforts on high profile gardens and doing our best to minimise loss of plants.”

“We’ll continue doing our best to preserve our gardens and parks to the standard our community expects.”

ENDS

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