What are the best garden shows now Ellerslie has gone? Gillian Vine considers her favourites.
Since the announcement there would be no Ellerslie International Flower Show next year, if ever again, I've been asked by gardeners what the alternatives are.
My answer starts: ''It depends how much you want to spend'', before I launch into rave reviews of my two favourites.
Chelsea? No, because it's expensive to get to London, the show is crowded (a nightmare if it rains) and many of the show gardens are years behind what we saw in Christchurch from the likes of Ben Hoyle and Dan Rutherford.
The retail displays are utterly splendid, though, and everyone should try to go there at least once.
Melbourne? Everyone's been there, done that, although it's worth a visit every few years.
The same is probably true of Canberra's Floriade, although free displays of bulbs make it a winner.
Keukenhof, in the Netherlands, is another worthwhile expedition if you have the money.
The bulb displays, including vast sweeps of tulips, are the main attraction and it has pavilions with displays that are frequently changed and showcase the latest offerings by Dutch growers.
It takes an entire day to see it properly, so don't go on a tour that visits the complex for only a couple of hours.
The Singapore Garden Festival (SGF), held every other year, started in 2006.
It is by far the most impressive Asian flower show, largely because most of its show gardens are created by prizewinning international designers, although there are always some highly skilled locals in the line-up.
This year, the People's Choice went to Dan Rutherford, of Christchurch, and Kate Hillier, of Auckland, whose fantasy garden ticked all the boxes with the public.
There is another huge draw. The SGF is run in conjunction with the Orchid Society of South East Asia's biennial show and orchid lovers come from all over Asia to see the line-up.
This year, the orchids were housed in the flower dome at the new venue, the Gardens by the Bay and its centrepiece was a tall white structure inside which were myriad brightly coloured blooms.
With tickets at less than $20, the SGF must be the world's best garden show when it comes to value for money.
My top choice is the new kid on the block, the Australian Garden Show Sydney (AGSS).
First held in September last year, it was the first such show in Sydney for more than a decade and was a stunning success, especially given that it was put together in just four months, a very short time for such a major event.
This year's show built on 2013's success. The venue, Centennial Parklands, is an appealing open space, although high winds were an issue in the days before the show opened. Within such a large area, it would be easy to spread exhibits too widely, resulting in a sparse look.
The organisers did not fall into this trap (perhaps they saw how Ellerslie's Hagley Park layout failed by scattering exhibits far and wide) and the result gave showgoers plenty of space to move around without feeling they had to trek miles to find anything.
Coming in the gates, the eye was drawn to the Royal Botanic Gardens' magnificent display, complete with large specimens of wollemi pine, found in New South Wales in 1994.
As informative boards told visitors, it is not a true pine and is critically endangered in the wild, so massive efforts are going into propagation. You can learn a lot at garden shows.
The AGSS show gardens were splendid, though I obviously was not on the same wavelength as the judges: my favourite, Andrew Fisher Tomlin's The Unexpected Garden, was awarded only silver.
Still, I had to admire the best in show design, Open Woodland by Sydney designer Myles Baldwin.
The Unexpected Garden designed for those with early-onset dementia, had a simple, flowing path, used fragrant flowers and cool colours, making it a winner for me.
Like Ellerslie, the AGSS encouraged student entries and the standard of the Northern Sydney Tafe's entry was so high it beat the professionals for the best construction award.
Workshops, garden talks, a children's area, floral pavilion with great ikebana and a chance to watch Burke's Backyard presenter Don Burke create a modern backyard garden over the show's four days added value to the $A35 ($NZ38.40) ticket price.
Mark the AGSS show on your calendar for September 2015.
