Auckland's West Coast Earns Silver Medal

Auckland's West Coast Earns Silver Medal

The garden that brought the rugged bush and beach of Auckland's west
coast to London has been awarded a Silver medal at the Chelsea Flower
Show, the Royal Horticultural Society's most prestigious event.

It is the first time at Chelsea for 30-year-old Auckland designer Xanthe
White and her team, who have successfully pulled off the ambitious task
of recreating a slice of New Zealand in London.

Xanthe White comments: "It is a privilege for any gardener just to be at
the Chelsea Flower Show, so we are thrilled that our first ever garden
at Chelsea has won a Silver medal."

One of the challenges for Xanthe and her team was to co-ordinate
shipments from New Zealand, including rocks, timber and glass, with
locally-sourced materials and plants. All of the plants in the garden
are native to New Zealand - which meant around a thousand plants had to
be imported from New Zealand, and the remaining 2000 plants sourced from
nurseries in the UK.

Tourism New Zealand is delighted with the result. CEO George Hickton
says: "The Chelsea Flower Show provides a fantastic platform for us to
showcase New Zealand to the British public in a surprising way. The 100%
Pure New Zealand Garden offers a glimpse of our varied and beautiful
natural landscape, and a new look at New Zealand's contemporary arts and
culture.

Hickton continues: "Xanthe and the team have produced a stunning and
innovative garden that will have great talkability amongst visitors to
the show. Media coverage of the event is huge and Xanthe has been a
fantastic ambassador for New Zealand. We are confident that The 100%
Pure New Zealand Garden will entice more UK visitors to come to New
Zealand and see the real thing."

The 100% Pure New Zealand Garden is a Tourism New Zealand garden,
supported by Air New Zealand, Tailor Made Travel, Titan HiTours and
Tourism Auckland. All involved would like to thank the Royal
Horticultural Society for assisting with space for the plants at the RHS
Garden Wisley - where hundreds of New Zealand plants will go after the
show.

Visit www.newzealand.com to find out more about The 100% Pure New Zealand Garden

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