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Second year Unitec Diploma in Landscape Design students Kelvin
Chua, Margaret Chapman and Lydia Reusser took the unusual step
of creating two entries for the last Ellerslie International Flower
Show with both gardens winning gold awards.
Working with the theme 'New Zealand film in garden', they took
a conceptual approach for both gardens, looking at New Zealand
film and art genres but creating something new and cutting edge.
'Reflections on a black landscape' aimed to push the boundaries
of what is considered a 'garden', while 'Pavlova Paradise' was
created to show their diverse range of design abilities and create
a garden that was more 'accessible' to the general public.
'Pavlova Paradise' was an idealised 1950s quarter acre paradise;
a garden partly inspired by Peter Jackson's movie, Heavenly Creatures.
The garden won a Gold Award as well as the LIANZ Award for excellence
in construction. The overall design itself was simple and strong,
using shades of white to reflect the overall simplicity of the
design. The finishing touch was the painted mural wall, a combination
of Resene Enamacryl gloss waterborne enamel tinted to Resene Rice
Cake (clean yellow white), Resene Soapstone (warm neutral) and
Resene Half Tea (complex dirty neutral) on a Resene Sonyx 101
white backdrop, linking all other elements.
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The designers grew the 'Pavlova Paradise' dahlias in the green
houses at Unitec with expert advice from the Horticulture Department
to ensure they flowered in time for the show.
The second, more abstract garden 'Reflections on a black landscape'
featured plants growing out of charcoal, slag and coal gardens,
with reflective black water and light tubes alluding to 'dark'
New Zealand films such as The Piano. Resene Sonyx 101 white walls
created the perfect backdrop for the rusty black metal cages and
muddy green hues of native New Zealand flora. The reward for the
hard work was a further two gold awards including the IES Lighting
Gold Award for best use of lighting.
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First-time Ellerslie show entrants rewarded with gold awards
galore, watch out for these designers in the future.
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Golden
gardens - Ellerslie Flower Show
