Red valerian makes a spectacular show in the garden at Chard Farm Winery. Photo by Jude Gillies.
Office manager Gerda Schumann planted the massed display from one plant growing wild in the Kawarau Gorge.
"I just love the way they grow wild through the gorge. I planted some in my garden and they all died but I saved one and they all grew from one plant.
"They just pop up around where they are growing. So long as you water them well, they will keep on flowering.
"We cut them down twice a year. They are at their best now and we cut them before Christmas and they are in flower again for harvest."
Originally from Europe, where it grows wild on rocky cliffs, red valerian is different from the medicinal valerian (Valeriana officinalis) and has become a common garden escapee around Central Otago.
