When All Black Andy Ellis and his mate Danny Kamo unveil their exhibit at this year's Ellerslie International Flower Show, there will be no cricket, beers or barbecue as there was in last year's garden.
Ellis is three years into completing a four-year bachelor of landscape architecture degree at Lincoln University, having put his design career on hold when five years ago he was called up to play for the Crusaders and then the All Blacks.
They say their entry, "The Last Laugh", is a serious statement about the impact humans are having on the environment.
Central to the design is an enormous boulder that has come crashing into the garden.
"The boulder . . . represents Mother Earth fighting back against non-sustainable design and our use of hardwood timber harvested from non-sustainable sources, our overuse and waste of such precious natural resources as water, and how inappropriate exotic plant selection can suffocate our waterways," the pair say.
"With this year's garden, we want visitors to Ellerslie to stop and reflect on their own gardens; their choice of design, use of materials and how this impacts on the environment."
It seems an appropriate theme, as 2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity.
In this country, the focus is on protecting and encouraging the plants and wildlife native to New Zealand.
Gardeners play an important role in this, says Dunedin city councillor Fliss Butcher, who is an enthusiastic supporter of the council's Let's Grow Native programme.
Next up on the year-long programme is a Port Chalmers Urban Backyard Crawl this Sunday, February 28.
The crawl, which runs from 11am to 4pm, starts at the Port Chalmers community garden, The Patch, in Albertson Ave, and includes a wander through Port Chalmers backyards that are biodiversity havens.
The event is free but donations to The Patch are welcome.
For details, contact Steve Walker, phone 472-8409, or email walkersteve4@gmail.com
