Pacific Rose Bowl Festival

13 NOVEMBER 2015

For Immediate Release

The selection of New Zealand’s best rose will be in the hands of the public during this year’s Pacific Rose Bowl Festival at Hamilton Gardens.

The annual four-day event showcases the country’s most fragrant and stunning blooms that have been tended by the Gardens’ "rose whisperer" Alice Gwilliam. A year’s worth of effort culminates in one weekend to ensure the trial beds in the Rogers Rose Garden are looking spectacular.

The festival began yesterday, and this year a public vote will decide which rose receives the prestigious New Zealand Rose of the Year title on Sunday, 15 November at 2pm.

Last week the unsettled weather caused a few nervous moments for Gwilliam and her team.

“We were waiting for a few days of warm weather to open the blooms,” she says.

“Finally it arrived over the weekend. It’s always a nervous time to make sure it all comes together on the day. This year the garden is looking stunning.”

There are 77 entries this year. Traditionally men have voted strongly for red roses while women have preferred pinks, Festival Director Natasha Murrihy says.

Rose breeder Dr Sam McGredy – part of the McGredy dynasty which has bred some of the world’s most popular roses since 1880 – will be on-site along with Richard Walsh, renowned Australian rose breeder and past President of the Australian Rose Breeders Association.

The trial bed roses are supplied by Rose Introducers of New Zealand (RINZ) members and the festival is one of only two Rose Trials in the Southern Hemisphere that are judged by public votes. There is also a Children’s Choice Award section, Interschool Rose Exhibition, daily performances by local musicians and the Waikato Rose Society is hosting the Daltons Spring Rose Show in the Hamilton Gardens Pavilion.

The event programme is available here: www.pacificrosebowlfestival.co.nz

ENDS

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