TRIP REPORT : Arnold and Ruth Dench’s Garden, Newlands

 22 November 2003 :   Arnold and Ruth Dench’s Garden, Newlands

Arnold and Ruth invited BotSoccers to an open day at their garden, to see a wide range of New Zealand plants, including some endemic species, and some from remote parts of the NZ Botanical Region.   They organised a competition for people wishing to test, or further, their botanical knowledge.   The prize was derived from Vitis vinifera.

We thank Arnold and Ruth for their hospitality, including hot drinks made from Camellia sinensis and Coffea arabica, and congratulate them on turning an unpromising property into a garden which is surely of national significance.   They have spent forty years learning about native plants and their growth requirements, and encouraging people to plant them.

Partcipants: Jill Broom, Eleanor Burton, Barbara Clark, Arnold Dench, Gavin Dench, Ruth Dench, Barry Dent, Helen Druce, Chris Horne, Gordon Leary, Sheelagh Leary, Rodney Lewington, Barbara Mitcalfe, Donella Moss, Mick Parsons, Cynthia Peterson, Darea Sherratt, Sunita Singh, Robyn Smith, Joyce Wilson and Pru.

Chris Horne