Ellerslie International Flower Show
March 6-10
The Ellerslie International Flower Show 2012 has been another outstanding success, the Show being compared with the world’s premier Chelsea Flower Show.The awards have been handed out, with the overall standard being very high making it a tough competition for the medals. There were an extremely diverse group of gardens, making it interesting but also difficult to judge.
Christchurch Home of Flower Show
For five days each March, Christchurch’s North Hagley Park is home to one of the world’s best flower shows and horticultural events – the Ellerslie International Flower Show.
The annual gardening and lifestyle extravaganza attracts a global audience of garden designers, garden lovers and international media, championing the best of garden design, garden trends and new products.
Most importantly, the Ellerslie International Flower Show provides the horticultural, floral, landscape design and construction businesses with the opportunity to showcase to the world the best of what New Zealand has to offer.
Ellerslie has built a reputation as New Zealand’s annual flower show and just like the famous Chelsea Flower Show in London forecasts the latest garden design trends and plant fashions. Visitors to Ellerslie get the first chance to see the hottest new plants, colours and looks by the country’s leading landscape architects and garden designers.
The Show also supports the grassroots of the gardening industry with a strong focus on community involvement and special displays for floral art groups, horticultural societies and garden clubs.
The Christchurch City Council purchased the Flower Show in November in 2007 to enhance the city’s international reputation as New Zealand’s Garden City – developed last century when Christchurch hosted The Great New Zealand Exhibition in 1906-07 – and to celebrate the city’s rich cultural heritage.
Christchurch is now working to develop the Ellerslie International Flower Show as one of the top five shows in the world.
Hagley Park
“With one eighth of its area devoted to public parks, reserves and recreation grounds, and with the 186-hectare (459-acre) Hagley Park smack in its centre, you shouldn’t be surprised to find Christchurch tagged as New Zealand’s Garden City.” – New York Times Travel Guide. Hagley Park has been at the heart of Christchurch since the 1850s and is today by far New Zealand’s most significant central city park. It is renowned for its extensive area of 165-hectares (407 acres), its wide-open spaces and mature woodlands.
Hagley Park is also a major sporting and cultural focal point. It offers a diverse range of entertainment and recreational opportunities within close proximity to the city centre for the enjoyment of residents and visitors.
