Garden History Research Foundation (NZ)
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gardhistnz.bsky.social
Garden History Research Foundation (NZ)
@gardhistnz.bsky.social
88 followers 80 following 46 posts
The Garden History Research Foundation's purpose is to ‘promote an understanding of the context, meaning and history of gardens’ in New Zealand. #gardenhistory

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Reposted by Garden History Research Foundation (NZ)
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"THE HOSE MAKES AN EARLY APPEARANCE. — Owing to the prolonged dry spell the gardeners at Albert Park find it necessary to water the seedlings". Auckland Star, 26 Aug 1932, P8.
November 26, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Reposted by Garden History Research Foundation (NZ)
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The mysterious history of Aotearoa’s stolen statues, via The Spinoff #gardenhistory.

thespinoff.co.nz/society/15-1...
Gone gnome: The mysterious history of Aotearoa’s stolen statues
Even gnomes aren't safe in this cruel, cruel world.
thespinoff.co.nz
November 26, 2025 at 10:52 AM
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The mysterious history of Aotearoa’s stolen statues, via The Spinoff #gardenhistory.

thespinoff.co.nz/society/15-1...
Gone gnome: The mysterious history of Aotearoa’s stolen statues
Even gnomes aren't safe in this cruel, cruel world.
thespinoff.co.nz
November 26, 2025 at 10:52 AM
gardhistnz.bsky.social
"THE HOSE MAKES AN EARLY APPEARANCE. — Owing to the prolonged dry spell the gardeners at Albert Park find it necessary to water the seedlings". Auckland Star, 26 Aug 1932, P8.
November 26, 2025 at 1:29 AM
gardhistnz.bsky.social
ICYMI: "The imaginary gardens described by Lewis Carroll include elements of old gardens, reflect the changing culture of the Enlightenment and, like all good art, they can perhaps challenge our perception of the world". #aliceinwonderland

gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2025/10/03/a...
Alice’s Looking Glass Garden
by Peter Sergel The imaginary gardens described by Lewis Carrol include elements of old gardens, reflect the changing culture of the Enlightenment and, like all good art, they can perhaps challenge…
gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com
October 5, 2025 at 9:27 PM
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New blog: "The imaginary gardens described by Lewis Carroll include elements of old gardens, reflect the changing culture of the Enlightenment and, like all good art, they can perhaps challenge our perception of the world". #gardenhistory

gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2025/10/03/a...
Alice’s Looking Glass Garden
by Peter Sergel The imaginary gardens described by Lewis Carrol include elements of old gardens, reflect the changing culture of the Enlightenment and, like all good art, they can perhaps challenge…
gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com
October 3, 2025 at 3:12 AM
gardhistnz.bsky.social
The sundial in Hamilton’s Garden Place: "Generations of children have played on it, various vandals have bashed it, and thousands of people have gazed at its various dials without the slightest understanding of how it works".
#gardenhistory

gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2025/09/25/h...
Hamilton’s Garden Place Sundial
By Lindsay Amner The sundial in Hamilton’s Garden Place has been an iconic fixture in the centre of the city since 1953.  Generations of children have played on it, various vandals have bashed…
gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com
September 25, 2025 at 6:24 AM
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ICYMI: Part three or our look at ships figureheads as garden ornaments in the early 20th Century.

gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2025/09/14/s...
September 15, 2025 at 11:35 PM
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A number of figureheads from ships ended up as garden statuary in New Zealand in the early 20th Century. Here, in Part 3, we finish off our look at these items, including the stories of the America, Helen Denny, and others. #gardenhistory

gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2025/09/14/s...
Ship Figureheads as Statuary in New Zealand Gardens, Part 3: the America, the Helen Denny, and others
Ian Duggan A number of newspaper reports were published in the early 20th Century on the figureheads of ships featuring as items of statuary in New Zealand gardens. In previous blogs we examined th…
gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com
September 14, 2025 at 3:26 AM
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A BIG crowd in last night for Peter Sergel's talk on the writing of "The Time Traveller's Guide to Hamilton Gardens", and a journey through gardens (and civilisations) in space and time. The talk was in association with Hamilton Book Month with help from Friends of Hamilton Gardens. #gardenhistory
August 22, 2025 at 12:57 AM
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Upcoming talk, Hamilton Gardens: "To support the food supply... a ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign was launched... For this... the Ministry even employed Disney cartoonists, who created such characters as Doctor Carrot and Potato Pete". #gardenhistory

gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2025/08/19/m...
Meet Dr Carrot and Potato Pete: The legacy of the Victory Gardens
An illustrated talk by Gail Pittaway 11 September, Chartwell Room, Hamilton Gardens, 7 pm. $5.00 entry fee (cash, please!) Imperial War Museums via Getty Images At the beginning of the Second World…
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August 19, 2025 at 4:08 AM
Reposted by Garden History Research Foundation (NZ)
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I stopped by 'The Floral Ship' on the Strand in Tauranga today, which has been in place since 1938. Currently it is decorated with Climbing Fig, Snapdragons, Dusty Miller, and more! #gardenhistory
August 14, 2025 at 4:41 AM
gardhistnz.bsky.social
I stopped by 'The Floral Ship' on the Strand in Tauranga today, which has been in place since 1938. Currently it is decorated with Climbing Fig, Snapdragons, Dusty Miller, and more! #gardenhistory
August 14, 2025 at 4:41 AM
gardhistnz.bsky.social
“There's zero commercial production in New Zealand, so we are importing about $95 million worth of rice from overseas, which equates to about 85,000 tons, which is a lot of rice being imported, and there's emissions with the transport as well.”

www.rnz.co.nz/life/food/wh...
Why we need to grow more rice in New Zealand
Pretty much the last place you'd think you'd find a rice paddy growing is on a hill in Nelson, but Yuki Fukada is doing just that.
www.rnz.co.nz
August 11, 2025 at 8:43 AM
gardhistnz.bsky.social
"...a worldwide ‘palm craze’ spread... from the 1850s on. At times this led to an appreciation of the nikau, but relative to the palms that fascinated Europeans in their newly built palm houses, the nikau palm could easily be overlooked".

gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2025/08/05/f...
‘Fine specimens of nikau palm, fern trees and tai tai’: On early use of the ‘New Zealand palm’
by Mike Lloyd [This blog is a repost from Mike Lloyd’s ‘The Local Arboretum: Noticeable trees and their stories’ website] As I noted in the first post on the Arrowsmith Phoen…
gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com
August 5, 2025 at 12:02 AM
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Thursday 21 August, 6:30 – 8:00pm, Chartwell Room, Hamilton Gardens Pavilion, 6:30-8:00pm; $10 cash, no registration required. In this entertaining talk, Peter will provide highlights of Hamilton Gardens. #gardenhistory

gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2025/08/04/t...
The Time Traveller’s Guide to the Hamilton Gardens: Peter Sergel Talk
Thursday 21 August, 6:30 – 8:00pm, Chartwell Room, Hamilton Gardens Pavilion, 6:30-8:00pm; $10 cash, no registration required. Through captivating storytelling and stunning photography by Gra…
gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com
August 3, 2025 at 11:32 PM
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[New Blog] The Zhi Garden Album (《止園圖》) is a set of 20 paintings created in 1627, held L.A. and Berlin. Who built Zhi Garden? Where? When? Was the garden depicted even a real place, or merely a product of the artist’s imagination? #gardenhistory

gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2025/08/01/t...
“The Zhi Garden Album” and the Vanished Garden Behind It
By Shanshan Liu and Xiao Huang, with contributions from Chang Jingyi and Gu Rui The Zhi Garden Album (《止園圖》) is a set of twenty paintings created in 1627, currently held in two parts by the Los Ang…
gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com
August 1, 2025 at 9:46 PM
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"They’re one of the world’s most important food crops and delicious roasted, mashed or fried, but the exact genetic origins of the humble potato have long been something of a mystery to scientists".

www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...
Where did the potato come from? Tomatoes, 9 million years ago, apparently.
The modern-day potato evolved from the hybridization of the ancestors of tomato plants, and another potato-like plant, in South America, researchers say.
www.washingtonpost.com
August 1, 2025 at 4:12 AM
gardhistnz.bsky.social
Another blog from the archives:
Tamarillo; a history of the Tree Tomato and its name in New Zealand #gardenhistory

gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2024/07/01/t...
Tamarillo; a history of the Tree Tomato and its name in New Zealand
By Ian Duggan, Te Aka Mātuatua – School of Science, The University of Waikato The tree tomato (Solanum betaceum Cav.) is native to South America. However, in New Zealand it has long been popular in…
gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com
July 25, 2025 at 8:45 PM
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Another blog from the archives: "John Cooper’s Topiary Garden, Newman", written by a Cooper descendant, Paul McDonald, loaded with images from the family's collection. #gardenhistory

gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2023/05/02/j...
John Cooper’s Topiary Garden, Newman
by Paul McDonald Much time has passed since the birth and eventual demise of John Cooper’s Topiary Garden. Today, I wonder what influences may have motivated John Cooper to create such a garden. Di…
gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com
June 23, 2025 at 11:42 PM
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"New Zealand is known for growing lots of things but cranberries aren't one of them. Imagine then, being the owners and operators of the country's only commercial cranberry farm".

www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...
Discovering the superpower of cranberries - on the West Coast
Owners and operators of the country's only commercial cranberry farm, artist Kate Buckley and farmer Kevin MacGregor share how a native North American berry came to be thriving on New Zealand's west c...
www.rnz.co.nz
June 19, 2025 at 11:39 AM
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Another blog from the archives: The Giant Pumpkin of Zaccheus Wells; A Legend that Lived in Memories for 50 years. #gardenhistory

gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2021/09/04/t...
The Giant Pumpkin of Zaccheus Wells; A Legend that Lived in Memories for 50 years
by Ian Duggan What is a pumpkin? The question is a little more difficult than you might think, being based in part on geography. In the USA, a pumpkin is specifically a cultivar of ‘winter sq…
gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com
June 16, 2025 at 10:14 PM
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From the archives: ‘Shakespeare Gardens’ are themed gardens that cultivate plants mentioned in the works of Shakespeare. Such gardens were developed in the USA from 1916, but Dunedin has one that pre-dates these by several years. #gardenhistory

gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2020/06/29/a...
An early ‘Shakespeare Garden’ at Dunedin Botanic Garden
by Ian Duggan ‘Shakespeare Gardens’ are themed gardens that cultivate plants mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare. Particularly common in the United States, Shakespeare Gardens began to be…
gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com
June 9, 2025 at 4:11 AM
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"Such pools whether used as water gardens or goldfish ponds can be fairly inexpensive and may be the means of changing an unattractive hollow into a pleasing feature of the garden design". NZ Journal of Agriculture 85, 15 November 1952, P448. #gardenhistory
June 3, 2025 at 4:48 AM
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A number of figureheads from ships ended up as garden statuary in New Zealand in the early 20th Century. We have published blogs on two of these to date: the Hydrabad and the HMS Wolverine. Links to the blogs in the comments. #gardenhistory
May 25, 2025 at 10:29 PM