Field Days Taranaki
Fri 11th - Sun 13th October.
See this newsletter for further details
Singapore November 16th - 22nd 2019
Conferences
2020 - Invercargill 'Wild South'
April 16th - 19th, Ascot Park Hotel
See this newsletter for futher details including pre and post tour.
2021 - Hamilton - our 50th conference so time to celebrate
May 6th - 9th, Novotel, Hamilton.
2022 - Timaru
In this issue:
Taranaki Field Trip
Singapore Field Trip and IPPS Asia Pacific Symposium
2020 IPPS New Zealand Region Conference Preview
2020 IPPS International Tour - Western Region
IPPS Six Pack 2019
IPPS Western Exchange Recipient for 2019
Plant Production Scholarships
New - IPPS Conference Scholarship
International Directors Report
IPPS Conference 2019 - Field Trip Report
IPPS International Tour 2018 Report - Part 1
Wanaka Field Trip Report - Part 2
Newsletter Format
This newsletter is sent to all New Zealand IPPS members by email if we have your address or by post if you prefer. It's also available on our website - www.ipps.org.nz
Some members have experienced problems reading the email version and may prefer to receive a hard copy.
If you'd like to change the method by which we send your copy, please advise:
Shirley Ogilvy
Email shirley@bruntwoodnurseries.co.nz
Post 208 Narrows Rd, RD 2, Hamilton
Phone 07 843 4902
Fax 07 843 4396
Mobile 027 490 6010
The 2019 Joint Australian and NZ conference was a great escape to warmer weather with a very enjoyable pre-tour. Highlights for me included a visit to Bamboo Land Nursery and Parklands, which was set on a rivers edge, where the owners were engaging and passionate. One of the sessions at the conference which I enjoyed was an opportunity for attendees to share a tidbit or ask a question. This was a good way for attendees who are keen to share information but who don't want to present a full paper. It also embraces the idea of 'Seek and Share'. As with all conferences it was a nice opportunity to connect with both local and international delegates. There are two more field trips this year Singapore and New Plymouth. Highlights from the AGM were the lovely setting for the meeting, and that the society is maintaining a strong position. There were no IPPS New Zealand awards presented at the conference.
New for this year: The Top Seek and Share Recruiter! This competition is open to all members. The member who recruits the most new members in a conference to conference year wins free membership for the following year. If it is a tie the best dressed at the conference dinner wins. (Or England wins ;))
The international committee is working on a project to update the international and regional websites. It would be great if we could have your feedback on what works well for you and what parts you think need improving.
Seek and Share
Richard
Welcome to new members
Full members Kelvin Edney, Gareth Mitchell, James Clark, Glenn Clark, Wendy Hall, Janice Turner, Jenny Gaudion, Monica Dragulescu, Michelle Gorissen, Clinton Huges, Jeanette Johnstone.Chris McAulay, Karin Green, Bernard Green, Kate Jury
Student members
Charlotte Gillingham, Moriah Solvander, Keiren Perkins, Maria Edgar
The Top Seek and Share Recruiter!
This competition is open to all members.
The member who recruits the most paid full members in a conference to conference year wins free membership for the following year.
If it is a tie the best dressed at the conference themed dinner wins. (Or England wins ;))
Registration Forms and further details will be out in the next few weeks so keep an eye on your inboxes or visit www.ipps.org.nz
Friday 8am start. Meeting outside Auto Lodge. 8.15 Natural Fare. Glasshouse production of living herbs
9.15 Vince & Anns garden and specimen tree growing (morning tea)
11.00 Woodleigh Nursery. Production of Hydrangeas and Native seedlings
12.00 Tawa-Glen Nursery. Maple and Rhodo growers. (Lunch)
1.45 Jim Rumbals garden.
3.00 Hillsborough Holden Museum.
4.15 Poppas Peppers. Glasshouse production of peppers
6.30 Dinner Shining Peak Brewery (Own Cost)
Saturday. Gather at Auto Lodge 8.15am 8.30am leaving from outside Auto Lodge
9.00am Pukeiti Rhododendron Gardens. Since being taken over by the Taranaki District Council this garden has had a total makeover with huge expenditure to bring this gem up to top standard. Hopefully, we will have Andrew Booker giving us a tour and talk about his new role preserving and propagating species Rhodendrons for distribution to other parks etc.
Lunch will be here.
Leaving 12.30pm
1pm Tapuae Estate. Talk by the Washers about their shared farm/lifestyle estate, coastal views and plantings
2.30 pm Lowlands Nursery, liner production and stock beds. (afternoon tea)
3.30 pm Jurys garden and plant breeding
Dinner at the Auto Lodge Motor Inn. (Own cost)
Sunday morning.
9am To blow out the cobwebs a short stroll to the top of Paritutu rock overlooking the port and city.This is weather dependent.
10am Pukekura Park. Tour through the propagating facility and greenhouses run with the Sarnia computer system. Walk through part of the park .
Finishing at roughly 11am.
Accomodation;
Auto Lodge Motor Inn, 393 Devon St East. P:0800 800 896 E:reservations@autolodge.co.nz
$119.00 standard studio. Unrefurbished hotel rooms
$139.00 Executive studio. modernised rooms
$159.00 superior studio. Modernised rooms.
Amber Court Motel. P; 0800 654 800 E; book@ambercourtmotel.co.nz $130.00 Queen Studio
$140.00 one bedroom
$150.00 two bedroom
There is a lot of accommodation around the Auto Lodge if you want something different.
Singapore Field Trip and IPPS Asia Pacific Symposium
There are still some limited spaces available for this field trip/Symposium.
We plan to start on Monday 18th November, finishing up on the Thursday 21st, with an optional day of visits on the Friday 22nd November.
We have scheduled visits to nurseries, green walls and various parks. In the afternoons on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we have a 2-3 hour seminar/talks planned from international delegates. We have arranged for a wide range of presentations including Plant health and disease diagnosis, Greenhouse management and some large scale international revegetation wetland projects, plus talks on Roses and South African plants! These talks have been scheduled during the hot humid afternoons in air-conditioned comfort, while partners etc can leave to peruse other delights Singapore can offer...
At night we have scheduled a couple of dinners, and some visits to some iconic roof top bars, but it will be an informal schedule in the evening where people are more than welcome to do their own thing if they wish.
Many of us have booked at the Holiday Inn Atrium, Singapore. This is where we plant to depart at 9.00am daily.
There are currently some good flights deals on offer from the various airline companies too.
If you have any questions please contact Eddie Welsh on 021477465 or Philip Smith on 0274981583.
2020 IPPS New Zealand Region Conference 'Wild South'
16th - 19th April 2020
Ascot Park Hotel
'Wild South' is the theme for the 2020 IPPS New Zealand Regions conference being held in Invercargill. A warm welcome awaits in the deep south with plenty of southern hospitality.
Field trip visits will include Hayes Wholesale Nurseries, Diacks Garden Centre, TNZ Growing Products, Triflor Tulip Farm and Templeton Heritage Flax Mill.
Speakers confirmed so far are:
Murray Dawson – update on agapanthus fertility and the plant collections register project
PFR (they are not sure who will present) – Plant Chemistry- creation of a modern perfume from native plant species.
Sue Hurst(PFR) – UV light effects on plants and potential products
Peter Brass – Life after plant nursery
Lisa Burton - Biosecurity - Who wants to be a millionaire
The Pre Tour will run from Tuesday 14th to Thursday 16th April and take in particular areas of the Catlins and Gore while the post-tour on Monday 20th April will visit Stewart Island.
Mark your diaries today and keep an eye out in future newsletters and on www.ipps.org.nz for further details.
2020 IPPS International Tour Hosted by the IPPS Western Region
June 13th - 22nd 2020
Start off in Vancouver, Canada and end in Bellingham, Washington in time for the IPPS Western Regions Conference being held from June 22nd - 27th.
Further details will be future newsletters and at www.ipps.org
IPPS Six Pack 2019 Left to right: Emily Teng (USA), Sonia Nadge (WA), Jamie Sarah Van der Hoek (NZ), Brayden Fitzpatrick (SA), Jane Dowle (NZ), Elmien Coetser (Sth Africa).
New Zealand members of the Six Pack for 2019 were sponsored by:
Jane Dowle
Jane currently works for Elliotts Wholesale Nursery/CJ's Drive-Thru Plant Farm where she fulfils a variety of roles. She has a Batchelor of Landscape Architecture with Honours and is currently completing a National Certificate in Horticulture - Nursery Production (Level 4).
Jamie Sarah van der Hoek
Jamie Sarah is the head propagator at the Hamilton City Council Nursery and is working towards a Level 4 qualification in Amenity Horticulture and will undertake further study in nursery production when finished.
Emily Teng (Western Region Exchange)
Emily comes from Hawaii where she is a grower at Pangs Nursery, a family-owned business growing a wide range of ornamentals and edibles at Kahalu'u on the Island of Oahu. Emily is also completing a PhD at the University of Hawaii on Poinsettias, having already completed a Masters in Plant Science.
IPPS Western Exchange Recipient for 2019
Andrew Anderson has been selected as the Western Exchange Recipient for 2019 and will travel next month for his exchange which will include attending the Western Regions conference in Santa Cruz, California.
Andrew is currently employed as the Display House Gardener with the Hamilton City Council Municipal Nursery. This role involves looking after the Succulent House, Temperate House and Tropical House and managing the plants in these.
Plant Production Scholarships
Did you know IPPS New Zealand offers Plant Production Scholarships? Each year, up to three scholarships, worth up to $1600 each may be awarded for the following purposes:
Creating a video interview of an IPPS member
Studying a programme or courses relevant to plant production
Undertaking a research project relating to plant production
Gaining relevant plant production experience in New Zealand or overseas.
Further information and an application form can be downloaded below or click here for information on the IPPS New Zealand website.
The IPPS New Zealand Region has introduced a conference scholarship to financially support a member to attend an IPPS New Zealand conference or a field trip.
Each year one scholarship may be awarded that will cover the conference registration fee of an IPPS conference in New Zealand (excluding accommodation, travel, and non-conference meals).
Each year one scholarship per field trip may be awarded that will cover the field tripregistration fee and other trip costs up to a value of $150, for an IPPS field trip in New Zealand.
Further information and an application form can be downloaded below or click here for information on the IPPS New Zealand website.
The International Board has recently completed its annual face-to-face meetings during the epic tour down the east coast of Australia. There are a few outcomes from those meetings I would like to mention.
Firstly, you will be well aware by now that 2019 is a watershed year for the International IPPS, with the Black Books no longer being published and distributed by the International Office from this year onwards. In addition, and further proof of changing times in publishing, a lot of discussion took place about whether or not conference papers could be published in power point form. Support was given by the Board to Bob Geneve for further developing this.
A review of the website is being undertaken by the Board’s Communications and Marketing Committee. Many comments have been made about the inadequate search engine for the proceedings and the layout being rather awkward to negotiate. The Board is keen to fix these problems, and to provide an updated website that is secure, user-friendly, and with papers easier to access. This last point is important with the proceedings being available principally online from now on. Overall, the most important thing to keep in mind is that the IPPS website is our society’s face to the world, so good impressions are important.
India hosted an International Conference in association with the IPPS in February. This successful collaboration was seen as a further step towards India becoming a Region. The Western Region is hosting the Indian potential region, and already close to 20 new members from India have joined the WR. Abstracts from this conference are to be published on our website.
There was agreement from all eight regions that attracting young people to join is still an issue, so the exchange programmes, six packs, and scholarships are all seen as excellent incentives.
Finally, Eastern Region’s Alan Jones will be stepping down as Chair of the International Board at the end of this year. Tim Lawrance-Owen, from the European Region, will be taking on this role for the following 3 years.
IPPS Conference 2019 - Field trip report
Editors note: As I was unable to attend the conference in Australia, I am most grateful for the editor of the IPPS Australia Newsletter Bruce Higgs for sending me articles from the Australian newsletter. There will be further reports on the conference and the International tour in Australia in future newsletters
Stan and Jane Walkley’s garden at Rosemount is on a 5.5 ha property. On entry, we were greeted by beautiful lawns and the view of sprawling gardens. The ‘front’ yard is filled with a variety of spectacular looking palms with a good variety of Alcantareas and some large Neoregelias and many other plants. At the rear of the house, there is a covered area filled with a mixed collection of a full range of different Bromeliaceae.
At Camelia Glen Nursery, Palmwoods Darryl and Stephanie Baptie showed us around their nursery. They specialise in growing Camellia, Azalea and Rhododendron Vireya. Their plant list contains some 50 Sasanqua camellia varieties, about 150 Japonica and hybrid camellia varieties, a small number of Reticulata camellias and some of the species camellias that are suited to a sub-tropical climate.
Then on to Ricks Garage at Palmwoods for lunch. They used to be a garage but with new environmental legislation the old bowsers had to go, so they reinvented themselves as a popular place for car and bike enthusiasts to hang out.
Heatons Fern Nursery at Perwillowen we saw a great collection of ferns as we were shown around by Peter Heaton, Gavin Porter and Daphne Heaton. The collection included some 100 varieties of Adiantums (Maiden- hair fern). They also have a great range of over a dozen varieties of Anthuriums grown from deflasked micro- propagated plants.
At Blue Sky Nursery at North Arm we were shown around by the owners; Edward & Matthew Brain. The wholesale nursery supplies the Landscape and Nursery Industries from their new 70 acre site where they are still expanding growing areas.
The other coach went to Fernland Agencies at Yandina where they were shown around by Kevin Parsons. They are a family-owned and operated business with 40 years trading history, supplying a comprehensive range of products to the nursery, landscape and turf-care industries.
Photos clockwise from top right:
Walkleys Garden
Blue Sky Nursery
Heatons Fern Nursery
Bromeliads at Walkleys Garden
IPPS International Tour 2018
“The Big Apple and Beyond”. Part 1
Jill Reader
Every 8 years each IPPS Region has a turn hosting the International Board for their Board meetings, and these meetings take place within the International Tour, culminating in the host Region’s Annual Conference. This year it was the IPPS Eastern Region’s turn to host the Board, so on September 10th a tour group of 22, including 7 kiwis, met in New York for what promised to be an exceptional few days of visits to top nurseries, botanic gardens and public parks and gardens in “The Big Apple and Beyond”.
The evening meet and greet reception to kick off the tour was held at the Skyline Terrace Bar of our Brooklyn hotel, and the tour organisers couldn’t have chosen a better setting to wow the out-of-towners. Standing out on the terrace we could see in the distance the iconic grouping of Manhattan buildings tucked into the skyline, and then there were all the sights and sounds of a busy city 23 floors below. As night fell two vertical beams of light could be seen in the sky, a poignant memorial shining skywards from the site where the twin towers had once stood. The following day marked 17 years since 9/11.
Our first full day of the tour focused on the gardens and public parks of Brooklyn. None of these was far away as the crow flies, but our bus departed the hotel at 9am and there were queues of traffic clogging up every lane for miles. This is where being on a bus tour has some great advantages – we were able to sit back and relax and enjoy the scenery slowly passing by.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden was our first stop. Opened to the public in 1910, this botanic garden covers an area of 52 acres and is home to many specialty plant collections, including the Starr Bonsai Museum, Cranford Rose Garden, and very popular Children’s Garden. This famous section of BBG has been operating for many years, and allows children to be allocated a plot within the community garden area. There they get expert tuition and hands-on practice in learning how to grow plants.
Two features of the garden are star attractions during the popular month-long Cherry Blossom Festival (Hanami) each spring – the Cherry Tree Esplanade and the Japanese Hill-and-Pond garden. The Lily Pool Terrace has an ‘annual border’ which features the year’s plant trials winners in a sumptuous display. What a good way to introduce the public to these new plants, growing in a garden situation and side by side with similar new releases.
Staff who showed us around were excited about construction projects underway at present to enhance different areas of the garden, and there was an emphasis on sustainability in all the projects that were being undertaken. As with any of the horticultural places we visited within New York, once inside the gates it was hard to believe we were in the middle of a very large city.
New York City has over 800 km of waterfront, and our next stop, Pier 6, is as close to the waterfront as you could get. It is one of a group of piers within the very popular Brooklyn Bridge Park, situated right on the edge of East River with a spectacular view over the water to Manhattan. Rebecca McMackin, the Park Horticulturist, showed us around and explained some of the difficulties she and her team encounter with gardening on what is an ex-industrial site quite literally jutting out into the river. Actually, the biggest issue is an unseen one – maintaining the piles that sit in the river, as hungry little crustaceans have been munching on them since the 1970s. Ongoing remedial work by divers at a cost of around 10k per pile (which adds up to millions) will ensure the park is well supported both literally and figuratively heading into the future.
The gardens on Pier 6 are managed organically, with about 70% native plants to support lifecycles of the targeted organisms (native insects and migratory birds), a great inner city example of ecological horticulture. A half-acre flower field on the pier has dense plantings of heliopsis, swamp milkweed, and other plants which provide food and habitat. Rosa rugosa, although not a native plant, is planted in good numbers as a pollen provider, as well as being hardy enough to stand up to the rigours of the site. Its common name of salt spray rose is well deserved. Rainfall is collected and recirculated for irrigation, and compost is used in the gardens. Other parts of Brooklyn Bridge Park include recreational areas which are very popular with locals and tourists alike. The views across the river alone are enough to make this park one of the Must See places if you are visiting New York.
Our itinerary did include a walk across Brooklyn Bridge, however the weather had turned and it was hosing down by the time we arrived by bus at the Manhattan end of the bridge. Hopes for a miraculous parting of the clouds faded, so instead there was extra time to explore Chinatown and Little Italy. One of the very nice features of any IPPS International Tour is that not only do our hosts plan a superb array of horticultural places to visit, but we are also treated to a range of their best local cuisine. This particular evening we were hosted at Chinatown’s famous Peking Duck House and enjoyed a fabulous Chinese banquet along with Peking Duck carved at our table.
Photos clockwise from top
The Lily Pool Terrace at Brooklyn Botanic Garden with the Annual Border in full bloom.
The restored walled garden at Untermeyer Gardens in Yonkers.
Westbury House has a stunning walled garden with intricate arbour and a vast range of perennials.
Atlantic Nursery caters for landscapers with a big range of conifers, perennials, edibles and grasses.
Pier 6, with some of the plantings to attract native species and migratory birds.
Matukituki Natives (description by Kate Caldwell)
Our first visit of the day was to Matukituki Natives. Nursery manager Clint Hughes was our host and told us the story of the nursery. To briefly summarise: what was once a paddock, covered in pine trees and “every sort of weed” is now a gleaming wholesale nursery, widely surrounded by revegetated and regenerating bush and the odd very wealthy person's residence. Much of nearby Roy's Peninsula, after going through the process of tenure review, was sold and subdivided in the 2000s. The (presumably extremely expensive but not ostentatious) houses that have been built on these valuable pieces of land are being safely guarded with the thousands of native trees that resource consents require the landowners to have planted as part of the privilege of residing there. Most landowners are only too happy to oblige, and many are extremely passionate about helping to regenerate the landscape.
The nursery was first set up in 2007, with a small shade house and propagating area, specifically to supply plants for the subdivision. The operation has expanded since, taking on various contracts for restoration projects, riparian strips, and large and small landscape development projects. They also have a retail/landscaping supply yard in town. Their specialty has always been locally sourced plants adapted to thrive in the climate here.
A misty rain fell as we meandered about the nursery, admiring the shade houses, prop house and perfect carpets and neat pots of shrubs, trees, herbs, rushes and grasses. The overall impression was of a very swish, tidy and organised operation.
Diamond Lake (description by Lisa Burton)
From the nursery it was just a five minute drive to Diamond Lake. The alternating mist and rain did not put our group off tackling the walking track up to Diamond Lake. Although Wanaka is in the Central Otago area, it is wetter than those areas.
The Diamond Lake Conservation Area’s landscape was formed by glaciers and has impressive bluffs where a range of plants find a home. The area was once farmed so the vegetation that we saw was regenerating but there has been a lot of local work that has gone on to protect and enhance the area while creating tracks for the public to enjoy. Those with stronger legs carried on up the track past Diamond Lake to the Lake Wanaka Lookout where views of Lake Wanaka and the surrounding hills were on display.
Around Diamond Lake itself there are many willows which are likely to decrease as other plants take over. It was great to see the many ferns and other plants such as tree fuchsia, wineberry, bush lawyer, pittosporum, cabbage tree and ribbonwood thriving along the cliff and lake edge.
The steeper zigzag track takes walkers up the bluff. The vegetation along this track is known as the ‘Weeping Forest’ presumably due to the amount of moisture that drips down from the rocks above. At the base of the bluffs were huge boulders providing some nooks and crannies for plants to establish themselves in.
Alpha Burn Station (description by Toni Robertshaw)
After our refreshing walk we headed off to our lunch date at the homestead and gardens of Alpha Burn Station. Surrounded by a landscape millions of years in the making, and nestled into the foothills of the Southern Alps, the 4159ha working sheep, beef and deer station is the epitome of New Zealand high country farm life.
The Station stretches from the southern shores of Lake Wanaka, situated above Glendhu Bay, and ascends to the rugged peaks of the west which dominate the landscape. Just a ten minute drive from Wanaka on the Mount Aspiring Road, led us to the oasis of the McRae family’s large established garden, which encircles the original 110 year old homestead. Here, we were welcomed by the 3rd and 4th generations of the family; Allanah McRae and her children, and accompanied by picture perfect Beagles and ducks, whom happily assisted in escorting the tour.
The rain that persisted through our exploration of the garden, hinted at the 1m more of rain a year that this area receives, compared to its close neighbours in Wanaka. Large established trees like oaks, horse chestnuts and copper beeches, provided structure and shade to rhododendrons and further under plantings of lush herbaceous perennials. White Wisteria dripped from the white verandah of the homestead, with neat Buxus hedging below, framing full flower beds. Large sweeping lawns were dissected by little babbling streams and calming ponds, whose boundaries held dripping, weeping willows with Iris and Primula carpeting their feet. Trillium and Hosta appeared to thrive effortlessly in the rich soils, and high rainfall, provided by the back drop of misted, towering hills.
Numerous raised vegetable beds heaved with manure from the livestock that watched from the surrounding fields, and hinted towards the promise of a productive harvest. Fruit trees, soft fruits, artichokes, grapes and rhubarb, as large as giant Gunnera, could be found in the well-ordered kitchen garden. This inevitably led us, the dripping throngs, into the heart of the homestead’s kitchen, to finally feast upon our lovingly prepared lunch.
Pat and Keith Stuart’s Garden (description by Lisa Burton)
Our next stop took us from a large country garden to a smaller urban one; small but perfectly formed! Pat Stuart met our group and graciously guided us around her garden of one acre that showcased not only her extensive horticultural knowledge, but masterful design skill and sheer hard work. Much of Pat’s knowledge was gained from her apprenticeship in the Christchurch Botanic Garden and later from running a successful nursery with Keith in Waipahi, South Otago, selling a wide range of plants including many rare specimens. Hellebores have been a special interest of Pat’s and we can all appreciate her popular selection of Helleborus ‘White Magic’. Pat’s ‘retirement’ to Wanaka included opening a floral studio for which Pat and Keith grew many of the flowers and cut foliage lines. Of course, this was another successful venture for Pat’s energy and love of plants. In addition to this, the couple started a nusery on their Wanaka property to provide plants for their own garden and also sold to the public.
When Pat and Keith first bought this site it was extremely peaty and boggy and many channels had to be created to divert the water into Bullock Creek. The garden is a woodland one which suits the sloping site where the clear waters of Bullock Creek flow through the lower part of the garden. It was wonderful to see the garden in its spring lushness with many Rhododendron, Magnolia, Trillium, Helleborus, Clematis, Iris and Primula in flower. The garden includes lawn areas, and different levels where the natural rock has been used to great effect as retaining for the soil and habitat for plants.
It was a pleasure to meet Pat and many IPPS members were able to chat with her about plants they have produced, some of which have made there way into this garden and vice versa. We can only marvel at such a beautiful garden, created through the vision, energy and talent of Pat and Keith Stuart and hope that it will continue to be appreciated in the future.
Wanaka Lavender Farm (description by Lisa Burton)
The sun came out at our last stop of the day at the Wanaka Lavender Farm. Even though it was too early for the lavender to be flowering, it gave us a chance to see the underlying structure of the lavender fields and garden area. It is a lovely looking site with established trees and an attractive stone building which is their reception point. This houses a shop selling lavender themed products, including honey, and a café selling herbal teas and lavender ice-cream which is their most popular product. There is also plenty to enjoy in the farm animals such as alpacas and highland cows.
The Lavender Farm was established about seven years ago by two brothers, Tim and Stef Zeestraten. Growing lavender was in their blood as their parents used to operate their own lavender farm in Kaikoura. It took Tim and Stef three years to put in the infrastructure and planting. Their three main lavender cultivars are Lavandula ‘Grosso’, Lavandula ‘Pacific Blue’ and Lavandula ‘Super’ but in total they have about 30 different varieties. They distil lavender for the oil producing about 50 litres and also sell dried bunches of lavender and make other products from the plant. The Lavender Farm also started up its own honey brand ‘Lake Honey’. They produce about 1 tonne of honey from hives in this location but also have hives in different parts of New Zealand that produce around 5 tonnes.
To create a garden from scratch and establish a new 7 days-a-week business, has taken a huge amount of hard work. Tim and Stef have faced the challenges of late frosts which can damage the lavender when they are in bud. Fortunately, their lavender plants are hardy plants and have no significant insect pest problems. They have used extensive weed matting around their lavender to reduce weeding so they do very little spraying. The ‘cooked’ residue of lavender stalks left over from the oil extraction process is recycled as an excellent mulch on the gardens.
One problem shared by all growers in Central Otago is rabbits. At the Lavender Farm they shoot them to control the population. By coincidence, on the field trip were Mary Hunt and Billy Barton who are locals involved in pest control work. They kindly demonstrated a range of tools they use to control rabbits, including traps and the use of trained ferrets. Most of us had not seen ferreting in action before and were amazed that, by law, ferrets have to be fitted with transmitting collars so they can be tracked when they are being used. Mary and Billy ferrets are well cared for but are not pets but working animals. With Stef’s permission, Billy let one of his ferrets investigate some rabbit holes on the property. A net was put across the entrance to the hole and the ferret put down the hole. If a live rabbit was flushed out by the ferret, the rabbit would be caught in the net. If it was empty, the ferret would quickly reappear at the surface. Nature has designed ferrets to be efficient predators. While feral ferrets are devastating for some our native fauna, it was very interesting to see how, in the hands of skilled pest control operators, they can have a positive effect on controlling rabbit numbers.
To finish our Wanaka Field Trip, we joined up again in the evening for a meal and one last time to socialise before heading off to the four corners of New Zealand. Thanks to those who travelled so far to get to Wanaka, and for all those hosts, drivers and organisers who donated their time and energy to supporting this successful event.
Photos clockwise from top right:
Deciduous Azaleas in bloom at Keith and Pat Stuarts Garden
View of the Wanaka Lavender Farm gardens and production rows.
IPPS members listening to Billy Barton’s talk on rabbit traps and ferreting.
Stock for revegetation projects at Matukituki Nursery.
Important change regarding the Black Book
From this year, the Black Book will no longer be produced in hard copy which has been communicated through previous newsletters. The New Zealand Region is looking into producing its own copies which would be made available to members at cost.
Denis Hughes Update
Members may be aware that our longtime member Dennis Hughes had a stroke in March. While Denis continues to progress well and is speaking a few sentences, he tires easily.
Messages of support for Denis can be sent to Chris Hughes - chris@bmn.co.nz
Using the IPPS logo
IPPS members and all companies and institutions that actively support the Society, are welcome to use the IPPS logo. Use it anywhere you wish showing your affiliation to IPPS, e.g. your business card, company letterhead, catalogue or any other marketing material.
If you use the logo and are a member in good standing, you may ad the designation "Member, IPPS" and if your company or institution supports the Society in anyway, please ad "Supporting IPPS".
IPPS Membership
Do you know of anyone who would be interested in joining IPPS? The best method of recruiting new members is by word of mouth by existing members. Download the membership form below and see who in your organisation or local area might be interested in joining.
Don't forget to mention some of the great benefits of joining IPPS including:
The New Zealand Board has decided to introduce free student memberships as a way of attracting younger members into IPPS New Zealand.
Student Membership will be free and each membership will be for two years, with one right of renewal for a maximum of a further two years. The criteria for recognition as a student will be set by the New Zealand IPPS Board and is as follows:
The individual must provide proof of enrollment in any NZQA approved program of study to qualify for Student Membership
The individual should provide details of a contact person from their education institution/training provider who is able to confirm their student status
Student Membership will apply whether someone is studying full time or part time.
If you know of anyone who would be interested, download the application form below to apply for this membership option.
