Thumbs up for Ellerslie organisation

Christchurch organisers' efforts to improve this year's Ellerslie International Flower Show won praise from people at yesterday's opening day.

Show managing director Dave Mee said organisers had "nailed" the problems of last year's inaugural show in Christchurch.

"Traffic, queues – all the big-picture stuff has been improved," he said.

Organisers altered the layout and put in extra seating, toilets and food stalls, preventing the long queues that marred last year's show.

The only queues of note were at the Starlight Marquee, where people were keen to look at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens' supreme award-winning display, Pictures of Life and Death.

Mee said the organisers had devised a queuing system to keep the crowds moving quickly through the marquee.

A Canterbury children's home had good reason to feel happy after the designers of the Incredible Edibles garden said they would donate their garden to it.

The garden, which is made of edible plants, will be moved to the Governors Bay family support facility, Cholmondeley.

Caroline Elliott, of Bayliss and Elliotts Wholesale Nursery, which grew the plants for the garden, said the garden would provide Cholmondeley with fruit for the children, a learning facility to teach children how to grow plants, and "a quiet space".

Hawke's Bay couple Philip and Josephine Price visited Ellerslie as part of their South Island tour.

They were impressed with the quality of exhibits at the show, which they said was "marvellous".

"It's great. You can really see the work that has gone into every project," Philip Price said.

Marlene Sinkinson, of New Plymouth, flew down for the show.

Sinkinson, who had regularly attended the show in Auckland before its move to Christchurch, said she was "quite impressed" with the North Hagley Park layout.

Cantabrians Sarah Lean-Massey and Edel Walker said the organisers had improved on last year's event.

"They've done great things with queues. Last year I didn't see most of the displays in the marquees, but it's flowing much better today," Walker said. Stall owner Michael Rowland, of Ashbrook Products, said the event seemed "even busier than last year" and parking problems had been solved.

Fudge It! owner Tina Cameron, who travelled from Napier to sell her fudge products, said the crowds had been very steady all day.

Cameron said she had heard "only good comments" from customers, who were happy with the improvements from last year.

- © Fairfax NZ News