Visitors to the Christchurch Botanic Gardens this weekend will see the work of seven local schools, two landscape architect-designed exhibition gardens, landscaping displays and a collaborative community garden, despite the decision to cancel Grow Ō Tautahi Christchurch Garden Festival.

The Grow Ō Tautahi Trust yesterday (Sunday 15 March 2020) decided to cancel all public activities, workshops and interactive sessions planned for the first-ever Christchurch Garden Festival in response to concerns and escalating Government requirements to manage the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Festival Director Sandi MacRae says, while the event won’t run, some of the organisations and individuals who have put so much work into preparing exhibits and displays will complete their work on-site.

“Deciding to cancel the public event was an incredibly difficult decision, but we believe it was the right one to give certainty to our partners. We expect the Government will this week announce plans to cancel all free public events, so we made the decision early with the interests of the community front-of-mind.

“We’ve been on-site today talking to the people who’ve already started work on displays and most of them have committed to pushing ahead with exhibits; we absolutely understand the decision of those not-so-far-advanced in construction to stop now. They’ve all worked incredibly hard to get to this point so it’s great some can still put all their efforts on display.”

Grow Ō Tautahi judges will still judge all exhibitions and display gardens that are set up in line with the official judging criteria and provide feedback and awards.

Displays on site at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens include:

• Exhibition Gardens by Bayley Luu Tomes (with the support of Kiwiflora and H&H Builders) and Billygoat Landscape Architects (with the support of Southern Woods Nursery)
• The Urban Paving Landscape Lane – with great ideas for outdoor areas
• Display gardens from local primary schools: St Albans Catholic School, Banks Avenue School, West Rolleston School, West Eyreton School, Burnside Primary School, Heathcote Valley School, Diamond Harbour School (with the support of H&H Builders, Tui, Yates, Treetech, Zealandia)
• A collaborative garden created by the city’s Community Gardens, sponsored by City Care, with living furniture and a theme of inclusivity.

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