Rotorua Conference 2019 Report

NZ Rhododendron Conference in Rotorua 2019

The Rotorua Conference was a great success. The organising team, led by Paul Shaw, did a wonderful job and we visited a variety of lovely gardens in fine weather.

The gardens ranged from small suburban gardens to a 60 acre arboretum in the making, and one included an art gallery.

There were also visits to Centennial Park Memorial Gully and to Plenty Flora, a gerbera growing nursery which uses geothermal power.
The guest speaker at the Conference dinner was Doug Thompson whose address was Fighting Rhododendron Extinction.

The event is held over four days, there were twelve gardens included in the programme and they were all a pleasure to view and enjoy.

Thank you to the garden owners who devote so much time in the preparation, and allow us to share their treasures.

To truly reflect the nature of this annual event, it has been renamed Rhodenza for future years and it really is a celebration of rhododendrons, together with companion planting and the artistic skills of gardeners involved.