Pre-Conference Tour - 24-27 May 2010

By Hayden Foulds

Sunny Nelson turned out to be an appropriate base for the pre-conference tours before the 2010 IPPS conference in nearby Blenheim, not only for its strong local horticultural industry but also because it must have been the only part of New Zealand with decent weather for when the tours operated!

Although a bit cold and with the odd shower or two, those who took part in the pre-conference tours enjoyed visiting the Nelson region's natural attractions as well as a good mix of horticultural operations, including a number of nurseries for which the region is well known.

The first day tour took us into the Abel Tasman National Park, the smallest national part in New Zealand which was established in 1942. While it was wet in Nelson, we encountered a fine, if not cool, day enjoying the sights of the Abel Tasman and as it was in the off-season for tourists, we almost had it to ourselves.

We set off from Kaiteriteri Beach with its famous golden sand, headed for a day cruising into the National Park. Those of us brave enough to stay outside on the top deck and enjoy the views soon retreated to the warmth of down-below. The history of the park was explained to us from when Abel Tasman first sighted the area in 1642 through to the unsuccessful human settlement of the park in the mid 1800's and the formation of the park in 1942.

The coastline is a mixture of golden sand beaches for which the area is famous and granite outcrops, plus numerous offshore islands and rocky outcrops with a multitude of plant and birdlife. We passed close to the seal colony on Tonga Island before we reached the turn-around point of our trip at
Totaranui. Large clumps of mistletoe in the trees were a reminder of the attempts to settle the area in years gone by.

We then headed back to Bark Bay where after a fantastic steak lunch, we set off for a walk to the waterfall behind the estuary. Again, the evidence of attempted human settlement was evident with gorse prevalent, although the sooty mold was giving it a run for its money. Back on board, we headed to Kaiteriteri and our bus ride back to Nelson.

From the natural attractions in the Abel Tasman, the next day was spent visiting some of the horticultural operations near Nelson.

Our first stop was at Vibrant Earth, where Mary Duncan welcomed the group in true IPPS style with morning tea. Mary and her husband Phillip Jones run Vibrant Earth which produces over 90,000 plants per year for both the garden centre and landscaping sectors.

Production is focused around New Zealand, Australian and South African plants but with other lines, over 800 varieties are in production at any one time. In these times when the variety of plants being produced by nurseries is shrinking, it was good to see a number of rare and unusual plants being grown alongside the more common lines. It is something that Mary is continuing to develop by seeking out the more different and unusual lines. Production batches are kept small, but there are fresh lots coming through all the time. Most propagation is done on site. The nursery also has the great benefit of being frost-free.

It was only a short trip to our next visit, Gardens of the World, a six acre garden featuring plantings from all around the world. Originally owned by Geoff and Gillian Etherington who started the garden in 1990, the garden has in recent years been sold to the Day family of Nelson who plan to continue for garden for future generations to enjoy.

It was amazing to see what had been achieved in 20 years and while early winter is not the best time to visit, our walk around the garden revealed a wide range of plantings all laid out very well. A large lake was the focal point of the gardens which included separate plantings from New Zealand as well as Australia, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe.

The gardens are an important tourist attraction for the Nelson region and also hosts a wide variety of events from weddings and concerts, through to garden tours and funerals. It's well worth a visit if you are in the Nelson region with something to see whatever time of the year you choose to visit.

It was then onto John Ewers indoor vegetable production operation, probably the largest in the South Island and one of the top 10 glasshouse producers in New Zealand.

Established 30 years ago by John and his wife Margaret, the business has recently been sold to MG Marketing, a grower's co-op but John will continue to be involved in the business.

A visit to a horticultural operation such as this is a mind-blowing experience given the numbers involved with 8 hectares of greenhouse production, 20 hectares of crops and 150 staff employed, this is no small operation.

It's fair to say everyone on the tour was very impressed with the quality and quantity of the crops grown, particularly those grown under glass, which included tomatoes, eggplant and capsicums.
There is a strong emphasis on doing things to a high standard and no one on the tour could disagree with this, even down to the tidiness of the place which was outstanding.

Our final visit of the day was to Franks Trees, run by Frank & Tracy Goeddert, which produces trees for both wholesale and retail sales. The nursery has only been going seven years and is small in size with Frank & Tracy doing most of the work, but makes up for this with exceptional plant quality and Frank's passion for trees.

Through retail sales, Frank is building up a growing base of customers through word of mouth who are seeking out his high quality trees for their gardens. The nursery is only open for retail sales three days a week to allow for time to be spent in the nursery and for Frank to indulge in his other passion, pig hunting!

One line the nursery grows in good numbers is Liquidambar 'Gumball' on standards of varying height and at the time of our visit, were showing good late autumn colour. Frank also has a new Fraxinus 'Purple Spire' which is upright-growing in habit with stunning autumn colour. A PVR is being applied for and Frank says it would make a good street tree.

The final day took us from Nelson to Blenheim, via the Nelson Lakes National Park. Heading south from Nelson into the Waimea Valley, we visited two nurseries specialising in tree production.

Our first stop was at the Tree Farm, the nursery of Bruce Dippie and Marie-Christine Pain. Only a small nursery on leased land, Bruce fits his nursery work around other work including a contract to the parks department of the Nelson City Council looking after its street trees.

Production is centred around field grown deciduous and evergreen trees, with some also produced in containers. A speciality line is topiary buxus trimmed and trained to several shapes including spirals, cones and balls. Bruce, like it seems all other nurseries, has a 'play around' area for experiments and new ideas.

It was then onto Appletons Tree Nursery, well known around New Zealand for the range of trees produced in open ground and in containers, which are sold to the forestry sector, other nurseries and to the general public by mail order.

Eric Appleton and Ian Williams showed us around the very tidy nursery where many of the trees were showing great autumn colour and there was not a weed to be seen anywhere. Most lines are produced by seed and sown directly into raised beds where they are grown on until lifted. Large quantities of pink bark are added to the soil each year, making it into a potting mix for plants to grow.

A specialised bulldozer is a great asset to lift plants by shaking them and lifting them to the surface, so no more back breaking work to lift plants. Plants are then dispatched with the roots wrapped is sphagnum moss and wrapped in plastic which allow them to get to their destination in good condition. An exceptional catalogue with lots of information on planting and growing a range of trees is the main method of sale.

Leaving Appletons, the tour headed the Nelson Lakes National Park and what was to be an hour's guided walk with someone from DOC. However, the weather had different ideas and it was snowing by the time we arrived there, so a five minute look around was all that everyone wanted to do.