Media release

Kowhai Tree Sale to be held in Garden Place

Posted On: Thursday, 29 July 2010

Residents will have the opportunity to purchase and plant their very own ‘Hamilton icon’ when a Kowhai Tree Sale is held in Garden Place on Saturday, 7 August from 10am-3pm.

The tree sale aims to build on the momentum of the city’s kowhai planting programme to help reinstate the many kowhai which once bloomed in Hamilton. Traditionally the banks of the Waikato River in Hamilton were awash with golden kowhai blooms, while ancestors of local iwi adorned themselves in kowhai to celebrate the onset of spring and signify the time to plant new crops.

Hamilton City Council parks and gardens manager Lance Vervoort said that while the city’s planting programme focuses on establishing kowhai along the riverbank and in public parks and gardens, the aim of the tree sale will be to encourage residents to plant kowhai trees in their own backyards.

“While we are making good progress with plantings in public areas, by planting kowhai in their own backyards residents will be helping to foster Hamilton’s special character and will be contributing to the long-term goal of attracting more tui to the city,” said Mr Vervoort.

Sourced from Hamilton City Council’s nursery, the kowhai trees will be sold for $10 each, with part of the proceeds from each tree sold going to the Hamilton Hydrotherapy Pool Trust whose volunteers will be assisting with the project.