"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.

ICYMI: Part three or our look at ships figureheads as garden ornaments in the early 20th Century.

gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2025/09/14/s...

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

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

"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

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

"NEW ROSE GARDEN IN CHRISTCHURCH.—Six tubs of Japanese irises have been placed in the "mirror" pool which Jorms the centre of the new rose garden in the Botanic Gardens. Many of the roses are now in bloom, and in a few days they are expected to be at their best".

Hawera Star, 7 December 1935

Magnificent talk tonight from Annette Bainbridge on "forgotten colonial plantswoman" Mary Mitchinson, of New Plymouth, at Hamilton Gardens. It should get a repeat performance in New Plymouth in a few months, and hopefully she can to do a recording of it also for those elsewhere. #gardenhistory

"A circular flower bed, 40ft. in diameter, containing more than 5000 plants so placed as to resemble in form and colour the Coat of Arms of His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester. The Duke will be a visitor to the racecourse during the coming summer carnival". NZ Herald, 10 Dec 1934, P6

The Fred Wylie memorial in the Government Gardens, Rotorua. Fighting in the Boer War with the 4th New Zealand Contigient, he was killed in an attack on Klipfontein on 26 May 1901. #gardenhistory