Nearly thirty years ago a similar NZRA national conference was held, and after it finished the local Christchurch people who had attended decided that the wonderful stimulation from meeting other enthusiasts and listening to lectures by expert growers must not be allowed to fade away until their next chance to attend a national conference.

Twelve people met and formed the Canterbury Rhododendron Society (CRS), a group independent of the NZRA. The Society now has 330 members and their latest achievement has been hosting the 1998 NZRA annual national conference.

Regular activities of the Society
Winter lectures
Five or six evening lectures are held each winter at monthly intervals. Sometimes the Society flies in a visiting lecturer from elsewhere in New Zealand - a hybridiser or a grower of unusual companion plants, associated trees or species. A recent lecturer was Mark Jury from Taranaki - a world renowned hybridiser who in 1997 was a visiting lecturer for the Royal Horticultural Society in the United Kingdom.

Spring Rhododendron Show
This is the biggest rhododendron show in New Zealand attracting six to seven hundred entries. This year it was held in the first weekend of November.

Lectures and seminars
These are held in association with the show.

This year there was a lecture by Lady Anne Berry, formerly Lady Anne Palmer of Rosemoor, Devon, England, - a property which she donated to the Royal Horticultural Society.

She is now Lady Anne Berry of Hackfalls Arboretum near Gisborne. She and her husband Bob share this property, a sheep station. Bob has the biggest collection of oak trees in New Zealand and Lady Anne has a collection of precious plants - alpines and all general associated with woodland planting.

She holds the Victoria Medal of the Royal Horticultural Society. There are only twenty holders of this medal in the world at one time.

Garden visit programme
This programme takes members to visit other members' rhododendron gardens. The Society would be glad to include overseas visitors on these tours. If you are planning a trip to New Zealand you can get information from one of the contact people listed at the end of the article.

Earl and John Baird placing rocks at the entrance to the garden Photo source - CRS

The Society's garden at Orton Bradley Park
Orton Bradley Park is a farm park donated by the owner to the people of Christchurch. The CRS has had a special garden there for the past ten years. Members cultivated the ground, added pea straw and installed automatic watering. The garden contains a comprehensive collection of old and new hybrids, as well as featuring a large collection of NZ hybridisations and NZ raised and registered hybrids. The New Zealand collection is an important feature of the plantings and attracts enthusiasts from overseas and New Zealand.

Kathryn Millar and Earl Baird working to develop the garden Photo source - CRS

The early plantings were from seedlings grown by members. Though they have no name these are interesting forms of rhododendrons grown from quite special seedlings and first cross hybrids.

Within the last two seasons the Society has concentrated on adding to the species collection. Members and friends have made generous gifts and some commercial growers have treated the Society as favoured buyers and given access for unusual varieties.

The Society aims to have a long flowering season in the garden from July right through to Christmas and January when the number of visitors picnicking at the park is at its peak. In July the New Zealand rhododendron Little Glendoe is flowering, and in early spring cubittii . Following the peak flowering season the giant Himalayan lilies, cardiocrinum giganteum, often 6-8' in height, enchant visitors. During December and January the species auriculatum , and hybrids such as the UK raised rhododendron 'Polar Bear' bring the season to a dramatic end.

Members work hard to maintain the garden, planting, spraying and pruning. They are fortunate to have help with weeding and deadheading from workers under the Periodic Detention Scheme. John Moffatt of the Justice Department, focuses and manages the workers. He has also collected ferns and native orchids on Banks Peninsula and recently added nikau seedlings from the Peninsula. This is of particular value as the number of nikau growing in the valley near Akaroa has sharply declined.

As you enter the garden on the left there is a planting of NZ hybrids. Between the path and the ford CRS have established an area of yakushimanum hybrids and additional NZ hydrids. Following the path you reach the area of earlier development where the rhododendrons are much more established. Toward the end on the left is an area of Loderi cultivars and at the end of the path CRS is now establishing an area devoted to species - plants from their native habitat, for example Nepal, China and Japan.

Rhododendron Orton Bradley Photo source - CRS

Rhodendron Orton Bradley (ciliicalyx seedling) was part of the foundation planting by CRS at Orton Bradley Park. Everyone attending the conference was given a rhododendron, either Orton Bradley or White Linen.

Rhododendron Orton Bradley is described in the book 'Crossing the Rubicon' as follows:
"'Orton Bradley' [ciliicalyx seedling] 2m, ML. Dark green foliage and attractive smooth, peeling, mahogany bark. Funnel shaped fls in truss of 2-4 , 7 x 10 cm, rose madder in bud, opens to rose pink with darker line on each lobe and prominent orange-gold blotch on upper lobe. Scented. Slightly frost-tender. (hyb by Mrs E. D. Boswell, R by Brian Morris and reg CRS, 1998.) {Part of the foundation planting by CRS at Orton Bradley Park, Brian Morris thinks the plant came to him as a Bosie seedling via either an NZRA distribution or via the Dunedin plant list.}"

Hosting the 1998 NZRA National Conference.
The CRS organised a most interesting programme for the three hundred people who attended. The group included a large contingent of Americans led by Clint Smith, visitors from Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealanders from many parts of the country.

Three main speakers
Jeanine Smith who came from the Seattle region in the USA, has spent thirty years developing her garden and working as a hybridiser. Her topic was 'Labour of Love in an Evolving Garden, North West USA'.

Joe Cartman, born in the UK and now living in Christchurch, is in charge of the propagation of all plants for the Christchurch City Council. He spoke about rare and unusual companion plants to go with rhododendrons.

Sir Miles Warren, well-known Christchurch architect who has developed a beautiful garden at Ohinetahi at Governors Bay beside the Lyttelton Harbour, spoke at the banquet on 'The Contrast between the Craft and the Art of Gardening'.

Conference tours
Gardens visited in the city included the gardens at the University of Canterbury's Ilam Homestead . (Link to the article on Ilam.) One trip went south. The itinerary began with two gardens near the Rakaia River. one of which was Wendrum, Kathryn's garden, where visitors are welcome by appointment in the rhododendron season. (See address and phone number at the end of the article). The trip continued over Gebbies Pass to the Lyttelton Harbour basin to visit the CRS garden at Orton Bradley Park, Barry Sligh's Taunton Gardens (Link to article about Barry) and Sir Miles Warren's garden at Ohinetahi. On the final day a trip north went to Ohoka and visited some twenty gardens.

Overseas visitors are always welcome to join in the tours without joining the NZRA. New Zealanders must be members of NZRA if they wish to take part in the conference and the tours.

Conferences in 1999 and 2000
In 1999 the NZRA National Conference, on the theme 'Wine and Rhododendrons', will be held in Marlborough, well-known for its vineyards and its rhododendrons. For information about the 1999 Conference email Rosemary and Bill Allen at wallen@voyager.co.nz

In 2000 it will be held in Dunedin, another centre with beautiful rhododendron gardens. The theme of the conference will be 'Species Renaissance', and the guest speaker Peter Cox of Glendoick, Scotland.

'Crossing the Rubicon'
To mark conference year the CRS financed the publishing of this handbook of NZ Raised and Registered rhododendrons, mostly hydrids, with brief notes on hybridisers and sixteen pages of illustrations. It was researched, compiled and edited by Brian Coker, Kathryn Millar and Joy Talbot, all experienced in growing and writing about rhododendrons.

It is available in New Zealand from Adrian Bliss (see address at end of article).
Costs
New Zealand - $12.00 plus $1 postage and packing
United Kingdom - £6.00 including postage and packing
USA - US$10.00 including postage and packing
For further information about the Canterbury Rhododendron Society contact one of the following people: