Taranaki Rhododendron & Garden Festival: 30 October – 8 November, 2009
When it comes to gardens, New Zealand’s Taranaki region has more to show off than most.
This unique horticultural region is bursting with spring colour right now as a long line-up of public and private gardens ready for the Taranaki Rhododendron & Garden Festival.
The 10-day festival, due to open on 30 October, will feature more than 50 gardens, including a record-breaking 14 gardens of international or national significance – the largest-ever concentration of officially recognised gardens.
International event
Taranaki is renowned for having one of the world’s most diverse garden environments as well as for its rhododendron collections, and the annual festival has become an international event showcasing gardening excellence, dramatic colour and landscape design.
Thousands of visitors attend the festival, wandering through gardens and parks, joining guided walks and attending workshops and social events.
This year’s festival – the 22nd edition – includes 13 gardens designated as a ‘garden of national significance’ by the New Zealand Gardens Trust.
The collection also includes one ‘garden of international significance’ – Te Kainga Marire. This showcase for New Zealand plants is described as the epitome of the Kiwi garden.
The five main criteria for gardens of significance are design, plants and planting, maintenance, construction and overall impression.
Feature gardens in the festival will also include three ‘gardens in development’, and four gardens dedicated to vegetable growing.
Details of two “special interest gardens” will be announced closer to the event.
Taranaki environment
The Taranaki region has one of the most diverse garden environments in the world with a climate ranging from sub-tropical on the coastal areas to rainforest surrounding Mount Taranaki and alpine conditions on the mountain’s upper slopes.
Gardens featuring in the festival reflect the diverse climate, as well as a wide range of tastes from the space-efficient, urban chic of city gardens to spacious, more traditional rural gardens covering up to 15 acres.
Soil is an added factor in creating Taranaki’s unique gardens. The mountain at the heart of the region is a dormant volcano that’s responsible for the rich volcanic soil, and the region’s warm temperatures and good rainfall mean vegetation flourishes.
Kunming Garden, New Plymouth
Speakers at the 2009 festival include one of China’s leading botanists and rhododendron experts, Professor Guan Kaiyun.
As well as speaking on the natural habitats of rhododendron in China, Professor Kaiyun’s visit will have particular significance in relation to New Plymouth’s Kunming Garden in Pukekura park.
For 15 years, Professor Kaiyun was assistant then director of Kunming Botanical Garden, in Yunan Province. New Plymouth developed its own Kunming Garden from a sister-city relationship with Kunming.
In addition to the guest speaker line-up, the festival will feature guided walks through some of Taranaki’s unique gardens including the Pukekura Park fernery, Pukeiti, Tupare’s house and garden, Hollards garden, and the Stepping Stones.
Landscape design
A new direction and concept has been developed for this year’s landscape design project with Inc Creative Ltd, an emerging media design firm, creating an innovative festival feature.
The New Zealand-based company specialises in video and interactive installation, video production and post-production, spatial design, motion graphics and 3D animation.
Designer Lim Kai Teng says they’ve taken inspiration from the iconic Taranaki landscape, while incorporating the theme of four seasons to present a new take on the annual project.
The 2009 Taranaki Rhododendron and Garden Festival runs from 30 October to 8 November.
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Further information about the New Zealand Regions in our travel section …
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Tags: Festival, Rhododendron Festival, Taranaki