A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
As I read the report in the paper of February 1, 2017 about our city gardens, I was gob-smacked. Are you looking at the same gardens I am, gardens that I have admired in the past and no longer do?
You can get a drink when you want it but
the plants in our gardens cannot, and rely on human help when the rains don’t come. Plants look like they have not had a drink in weeks, and many have turned their toes up. Under the stewardship of Downer the gardens were a pleasure to behold and got many favourable comments from visitors and locals. Sure it is early days for the new regime, but someone with a bit of sense would not take the tops off the bulbs when they start to dry up — they would disguise them with annuals, because that is where the bulbs get their food for the next flowering.
It seems the stewardship of the in-house team requires some experienced gardeners and some on-the-job training if this city is to look fair and pretty again.
To expect garden clubs and community groups to work on city gardens for nothing is a no-no. Most people have enough with their own gardens, and it is too big a responsibility. Public gardens are for the public to enjoy and the council to make sure they are well kept, a talking point, and a tuition for those who want to learn.
The stirrer – again
