BBC To Film NZ's Design Stars

October 27 2005

BBC To Film NZ's Design Stars

Ellerslie Flower Show and its star designers are attracting major international acclaim, with the announcement today that two BBC documentaries will showcase the spectacular event.

With a special focus on Xanthe White, the darling of Ellerslie Flower Show, the documentaries will be screened in front of millions of UK viewers.

A BBC crew will arrive in New Zealand in November to film the programmes.

One documentary will focus solely on Xanthe, whose world-class designs are attracting unprecedented attention. Xanthe has been named as the designer of New Zealand's entry into Chelsea Flower Show, the world's most high profile garden event.

Another programme will feature the attendance of Chelsea Flower Show general manager Bob Sweet, New Zealand native plants and the differences and similarities between the Ellerslie and Chelsea Shows.

Xanthe White's exhibit at the Ellerslie Flower Show - the Pacific Retail Finance Marquee - is set to wow visitors as they view the spectacular extravaganza of modern garden art, floral beauty and unique landscape design. Thanks to the BBC coverage, it will be seen by millions internationally.

Entitled The Kiwi Garden - From Cultivation to Inspiration, the Marquee will be a real show stopper, using twenty thousand plants and flowers and more than a thousand different varieties - including one of the world's rarest plants.

Her talented team of 12 exclusively selected New Zealand artists and sculptors will take visitors on an intriguing journey of the evolution of the Kiwi garden.

The announcement that the BBC crew is creating these programmes is real testament to the Ellerslie Flower Show's global reach, says Ellerslie Flower Show general manager Pete Cox.

"The Show attracts large numbers of international visitors and it is becoming known as one of the world's best flower shows. We are delighted to see talented New Zealand designers at Ellerslie taking to the international stage."
Xanthe White describes her feature marquee as a massive design challenge. "It has ten gardens depicting different time zones from pre-Maori New Zealand, to colonial times to today's design-focused gardens," says Xanthe.

"I chose the name to represent how New Zealanders' relationships with gardening have changed dramatically as their lifestyles have changed over the years," she adds.

The BBC crew will also film a feature item on the Bay of Plenty, including White Island and Rotorua for the top rating BBC Holiday programme. A fourth BBC documentary will also be filmed on the Kauri and Pohutukawa trees, with a camera crew visiting the Coromandel Pohutukawa Festival as well as looking at Project Crimson, a charitable conservation Trust that aims to protect New Zealand's native Christmas trees - Pohutukawa and Rata.

Ellerslie Flower Show 2005 promises to be Like Never Before, with innovation, inspiration and floral delights to warm even the coldest gardening heart! The Show will spring into bloom from 16-20 November, when the Auckland Botanic Gardens will be transformed into a blaze of colour. Tickets can be purchased at Foodtown stores nationwide or from any Ticketek outlet, by contacting 09 307 5000 (or your local Ticketek number) or via the website www.ticketek.co.nz

ENDS

© Scoop Media