More flowers in Hagley for Ellerslie

Wildflower seeds gifted by Egmont Seed Company, Ellerslie International Flower Show’s new title sponsor, will be sown at two entranceways to North Hagley Park in the coming weeks to brighten them before next year’s Show in March.

Kate Hillier, Exhibition Manager for the Show, says the flowers will be blooming in an array of colours at the Armagh Street and Harper Ave entrances by the time Ellerslie International Flower Show opens its gates on 7 March.

“Ellerslie is all about the flowers – and next year we’ll be proving it. Not only have Egmont Seed brought wildflowers to inject more colour into Hagley Park, they’re also bringing in 1000 hanging baskets and 1000 planters to be distributed around the Show and they will be giving away 40,000 potted plants, as well as 40,000 wildflower and 40,000 lettuce seed packets to visitors as they leave the Show.

“It’s great to be able to bring some life and colour back to the Park, the city and its residents. We can’t wait to see people’s faces light up when they come through the Show gates – we’re counting down to the brightest and best Ellerslie International Flower Show yet.”

The wildflowers have been chosen for their ease of maintenance, as they will not need watering, and for their variety of colour. The 44 varieties of wildflower will be in bloom for the Ellerslie International Flower Show and their future in Hagley Park will be evaluated after the event.

As well as the additional flowers distributed throughout the Show, the same level of top class exhibitors have recently been confirmed, including previous gold medal winners Xanthe White, Tim Feather and Ben Hoyle.

The Christchurch residents special ticket offer closed on 30 November with close to 10,000 tickets sold – up 25 per cent on last year’s residents offer. Earlybird tickets are now on sale for $29 (plus processing fees) and are available form Ticketek outlets, Ballantynes, various garden centres and online at ticketek.co.nz and ellerslieflowershow.co.nz.