A Thing Of Beauty
After a year and a half of ugly surroundings, having the return of the Ellerslie Flower Show was a breath of fresh air and something I was determined not to miss. On Saturday morning, I roped in my husband who was less than convinced about a flower show, and we joined the queues of aspiring gardeners.
The starlight marquee never fails to impress. This year it was depicting not surprisingly disasters. The top image is of a tornado created out of fabric and planted with flowers. The bottom image was created out of the remnants of the Catholic Cathedral complex which is currently in a very sad state indeed. It is a beautiful unique building of architectural significance unlike anything else in the southern hemisphere and sadly it looks like it will face demolition. The above garden uses some of the blocks that have fallen, not off the church but surrounding buildings and depicts the damage of the site and the unkempt surroundings that are all too common in abandoned areas in the city.
This garden was my sons favourite, for obvious reasons. It fortunately had nothing to do with disasters, but more a fantasy tropical lost garden complete with waterfall.
There was a very strong recycling theme happening this year, not surprisingly, given the amount of rubble around. I rather like these pink gab ion retaining walls packed with recycled bricks.
This sculpture was quite incredible. It had naturally formed itself in a heart shape during the fire that engulfed one of the fallen buildings in the earthquake....spooky or what! I really like this garden, not too fanciful, but very practical.
These costumes were incredible. They were created by fabric artist Jenny Gillies. They weren't at the flower show two years ago but I hope they are included next year. Only a sewer would appreciate the work in each of these beautiful flower dresses. Note...the orange dress contains a real girl!
All in all it was a lovely inspiring day. I will be back again next year but this time I will be more organised and get my tickets early.
The starlight marquee never fails to impress. This year it was depicting not surprisingly disasters. The top image is of a tornado created out of fabric and planted with flowers. The bottom image was created out of the remnants of the Catholic Cathedral complex which is currently in a very sad state indeed. It is a beautiful unique building of architectural significance unlike anything else in the southern hemisphere and sadly it looks like it will face demolition. The above garden uses some of the blocks that have fallen, not off the church but surrounding buildings and depicts the damage of the site and the unkempt surroundings that are all too common in abandoned areas in the city.
This garden was my sons favourite, for obvious reasons. It fortunately had nothing to do with disasters, but more a fantasy tropical lost garden complete with waterfall.
There was a very strong recycling theme happening this year, not surprisingly, given the amount of rubble around. I rather like these pink gab ion retaining walls packed with recycled bricks.
This sculpture was quite incredible. It had naturally formed itself in a heart shape during the fire that engulfed one of the fallen buildings in the earthquake....spooky or what! I really like this garden, not too fanciful, but very practical.
These costumes were incredible. They were created by fabric artist Jenny Gillies. They weren't at the flower show two years ago but I hope they are included next year. Only a sewer would appreciate the work in each of these beautiful flower dresses. Note...the orange dress contains a real girl!
All in all it was a lovely inspiring day. I will be back again next year but this time I will be more organised and get my tickets early.
Looks like a lovely day out.
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