Top Ten Reasons To Be At Ellerslie Flower Show

7 November 2005

Top Ten Reasons To Be At Ellerslie Flower Show 2005

With a Show tipped to be Like Never Before, there's more than one reason to check out this year's Ellerslie Flower Show!

Reason One: Xanthe White's Gigantic Kiwi Garden

Xanthe's design for the extravagant Pacific Retail Finance Marquee, entitled The Kiwi Garden - From Cultivation to Inspiration, is going to be a show stopper, using twenty thousand plants and flowers and more than a thousand different varieties, including one of the world's rarest plants.

A team of artists and landscape construction experts have been helping Xanthe pull together this amazing feat of design over the past months. Now making her name on the world design stage, 29-year-old Xanthe will ensure an awe-inspiring experience. Consisting of ten separate gardens, the marquee will take visitors on a journey of the Kiwi garden from pre-Maori times to present day.

Such is the extent of the expertise and talent displayed in the gardens at Ellerslie Flower Show, renowned media body the BBC will be at the Show to film two documentaries to showcase the spectacular event. With a special focus on Xanthe White, the documentaries will be screened in front of millions of UK viewers.

Reason Two: Rare Singapore Orchids

Get set to be wowed by one of the key highlights of the Show, the presence of 64sqm of rare, scented orchids from Singapore and South East Asia. Some 600 orchids are being transported by Singapore Airlines in four special shipments, when orchid experts JB Tay and Dr Wong Wei Har will personally deliver the award-winning orchids to New Zealand. A true luminary of the orchid world, Dr Wong Wai Har was responsible for the Singapore National Orchid Garden's award at the World Orchid Show in Dijon in May this year.

Reason Three: Christmas Shopping

Thousands of tempting goodies on sale will satisfy any Show visitor's retail therapy needs! From Garden Art from some of New Zealand's best artists and sculptors, to designer Outdoor Beanbags from Coast, to vibrant funky deckchairs by Thomas Rose Design, the Show is a Christmas shopper's heaven. At the very least you'll be sure to bag some beautiful plants and flowers to spruce up your home or garden.

Reason Four: A Party Within a Party!

Ellerslie Flower Show is the Southern Hemisphere's biggest garden party - and this year an extraordinary "party garden" will really get visitors in the mood for celebration!

The 4 Seasons Party Garden is the largest exhibition garden ever to show at Ellerslie. With a deck floating on water and a home theatre with music to get visitors in the swing, it is an entertainer's dream. Fires blazing from inside the surrounding walls will keep party-goers warm throughout the evening, showing that Kiwis can party outdoors whatever the time of year. The fully functional kitchen will be taken over by a professional chef on the Sunday night, who will cook up a storm for guests invited to what is expected to be the party of the year inside the garden.

Reason Five: NZ Gardener Speaker Series

The NZ Gardener Speaker Series brings top experts from a variety of fields to present the latest trends, handy ideas and useful solutions for novice and aficionados alike. This year's line-up includes speakers from both New Zealand and overseas, chosen due to the wealth of tips and shared experiences they offer, presented with entertainment and inspiration.

Reason Six: Fine Food and Wine

Visitors will be treated to a veritable feast of fine wine and cuisine at this year's Show. The Foodtown and Woolworths Marquee will be a culinary highlight, with a larger than life marquee celebrating the best in food and drink. The Marquee will be where garden party meets gourmet delights, with stunning feature displays and new product releases for visitors to taste and sample. As well as this, the Show's Hort Galore Marquee will be home to two different edible gardening-inspired exhibits from Auckland Vegetable Growers and Landscapes Limited and Tharfield Nursery Ltd.

Reason Seven: Cultural Performances and Entertainment

With a focus on celebrating the arts and culture of Ellerslie Flower Show host city Manukau City, the Cultural Performance Garden is a unique showcase of local culture. Community interaction in the display garden is paramount to infusing the exhibit with local flavour and enthusiasm. Among the line-up of brilliant performers bringing the garden to life will be Soifua, one of New Zealand's newest and hottest cultural-tourism entertainers, and the Phillipine Impulse Dancers.

Also in the mix will be anything from hip hop to Kapa Haka. Created and designed by Manukau City Parks and Recreation, the garden will feature a vibrant mix of native and subtropical plants from around the Pacific basin.

Reason Eight: World Class Designers

Luminaries of the garden design world create the 'wow factor' that makes Ellerslie Flower Show truly unforgettable. The Show provides a platform for a wealth of design potential, to be displayed in magnificent form this year at the Sunday magazine Exhibition Gardens.

Talented Kiwi designers are also working frantically to pull the fabulous Design Marquee together for the Show. These New Zealand designers of the future will provide one of the key highlights of this year's Show, with their innovative and exciting designs to be showcased in the Marquee themed as 'Fantasy and Reality'. Show visitors will be treated to an exhibit of these talented designers work, as they fight it out for a travel scholarship worth $8000 and the title of Young Designer of the Year.

Reason Nine: Floral Spectacular

Beauty is the keyword this year at the Show's Twinings Floral Art Marquee, which will be overflowing with thousands of colourful cut flowers created by the best floral artists around New Zealand. With a Contemporary Weddings theme, the exhibit comprises innovative design, exciting colour combinations and unique plant materials. Don't miss this elite combination of structural design and floral European influences.

Reason Ten: Horticultural Extravaganza

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.

Or take a look at Best in Show, where you'll have the chance to recreate the gardening paradise of Ellerslie Flower Show at home - with the launch of the new Best in Show Award.

The new initiative means that winning Best in Show plants and flowers will be available for purchase throughout the country after close of the Show, giving the New Zealand gardening public an opportunity to see the splendour of Ellerslie Flower Show in their own garden.

So pick your passion and head along to Ellerslie Flower Show 2005 - there's sure to be something to tickle your fancy!

The 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 nationally or at any Ticketek outlet, by contacting 09 307 5000 (or your local Ticketek number) or via the website www.ticketek.co.nz.

ENDS

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