Ellerslie Flower Show

The Ellerslie Flower Show was a big annual event in Auckland, New Zealand, a city of over a million people. Recently Christchurch, a city of less than half-a-million in the South Island, bought the name for several million dollars. So there I was yesterday with a free afternoon and the famous Ellerslie Flower Show three kilometres down the road. Being able to walk that distance, there would be no traffic hassles. Given that I have had to take up some gardening, it may give me some enthusiasm for gardening.

Well the experience was delightful. The Show was laid out on flat ground in Hagley Park, surrounded by trees. People, who had been to the Ellerslie Flower Show in Auckland and to the Chelsea Flower Show in London, told me that the location was better than both. This made it easier for the 20,000 people who attended yesterday and who had to wait up to half-an-hour in queues to get into the large tents.

The most popular attraction was the "West Coast Garden", which not only depicted the ancient rain forests of the West Coast, but also the undersea "garden" with some mythical Atlanta-type buildings, which you can see in the photo above.

Has it made me more enthusiatic for gardening? I am not sure. But I am certainly more enthused about gardening enthusiasts. They were very friendly chatting in the queues and they showed concern for the elderly being able to get through at see exhibits. Unlike other events of this size, the police were conspicuous by their absence and security staff were minimal. It was a very pleasant way to spend an afternoon.