What is the Ellerslie Flower Festival?
Established by the Rotary Club of Auckland in 1994, the Ellerslie Flower Festival is now the largest floral exhibition in the southern hemisphere and, since 1998, has had a permanent home at the Auckland Regional Botanic Gardens. In 2004 it celebrated its tenth anniversary with the introduction of night-time concerts, featuring Nathan Haines, spectacular garden lighting displays and late night opening hours. It also featured the 100% Pure New Zealand Ora – Garden of Well-Being, the garden that won gold at Chelsea. Drawing on the UK’s Chelsea Flower Show for inspiration, the festival regularly attracts 70,000 visitors (a figure only exceed by the number of flowers!) and continues to grow every year.
