Happy Waitangi Day

[Rob Potterton]

Happy Waitangi Day to Kiwi's all over the world.

Below some of our New Zealand plants get ready to party.

TOP Left to right: Celmisia hectori, Celmisia traversii, Aciphylla congesta.

BOTTOM Left to Right: Celmisia armstrongii, Aciphylla montana, Gentiana saxosa.

[Maggi Young]

A Happy Waitangi Day, indeed 

Nice plants, Rob..... bet there are even some Kiwis who would covet those 

[Anthony Darby]

I took my family,  sister in law and her partner to the Waitomo Glowworm Caves for Waitangi Day. Alas, as planned, I spent most of the time taking Heidi for walks and didn't get into the caves at all. It was a cloudy 22^oC. Today looks to be sunny and hot!

[Rob Potterton]

Party in full swing now ....... cheers !!!!

Gentiana saxosa

[Maggi Young]

As that hover fly in the picture says, "Bottoms up! "

[Rob Potterton]

Well done Maggi, i see you're getting into party mood too.
At least you didnt squash the hover fly ...... unlike a previous photo i submitted with something hovering in it.

[Maggi Young]

Have another drink and a sausage roll, Rob... it'll help you forget.......

[Lesley Cox]

Your plants are great Rob, especially the Cel. hectori (?), top left. They look like a nice 6 pan entry.

We spent our Waitangi Day holiday walking dogs, potting bulbs from Betty Clark, looking around several of our favourite Sunday afternoon coffee shops, ALL CLOSED! even though the crowds out and about were huge, especially at Outram (rodeo in progress) where we'd gone to look at a house for sale (horrible). In the finish we opted for raspberry soft freeze icecreams, much of which dribbled down my shirt. (It was a very warm day.) Licked off by Marley. This disappointed me as I'd hoped I'd at last found a dog who didn't like ice-cream. He's let me down.

At Waitangi Day celebrations in the far north, the PM had a hard time on Sunday, jostled and heckled and had to retire to his car.

Betty's bulbs include some Iris histrio and I. h. aintabensis with a wonderful provenance. Betty's stock came from the late Mary Evans of Ashburton and Mary collected in the Middle East actually in the company of Paul Furse. They were great friends, so in effect, these bulbs which have always been isolated and pure, are Paul Furse's own. Mary had amazing plants from these journeys and Betty has been the recipient of many of them. I hope I can do well by them as such an opportunity will not arise again.

[Anthony Darby]

On Sunday evening we went to the Auckland Lantern Festival in Albert Park. Thousands of people, but the food was plentiful and cheap.

[Rob Potterton]

Hello Lesley, yes it is Celmisia hectori. I've now added names to the image on the original posting.