Bay of Plenty Group
Club Meetings
Meetings are usually held on the last Sunday of the month beginning at 11am sharp. Twilight meetings at 4pm. Please bring a plate for shared lunch. Tea and coffee will be provided.
The designated Study Topic – Each Host to organise the topic for the month.
Please send apology if unable to attend.
Contact Details
SECRETARY: Dorothy McHardy
33 Crean Road, RD2, Waihi 3682
Ph 07 863 7533, or 027 272 3746, Email: mchardy1@xtra.co.nz
Our News Section
50 Year Celebrations
Blooming to 50 years in style
Article c/- The Weekend Sun, Friday 07 Oct, 2016
Named after a Greek goddess, and sharing the Greek word for ‘rainbow’, the iris is a showy and beautiful flower.
And this year, the Bay of Plenty will see a wonderful array of irises as the New Zealand Iris Society celebrates 50 years of loving all things iris.
Celebrating in blooming style, the BOP Iris Group is hosting their annual iris show for the public and avid greenthumbs alike to come and marvel at a host of irises.
“At the show members of the group are on hand to offer tips on cultivation and also offer a wide range of iris plants for sale,” says BOP Iris Group’s Chris Edginton.
This year the show is being held at Hotel Armitage on November 6 from 10am-4pm and will have a golden theme to celebrate the 50-year milestone.
From the flamboyant Japanese irises, which bloom in summer, to tiny winter treasures such as iris unguicularis and iris reticulate – and the stately bearded irises, which bloom from early spring and well into summer – each species can brighten up your garden and home no matter the season.
“There are irises that will grow in water, irises that love shade, and there multitudes of sun worshippers and those drought-tolerant. In Japan they even grow them on the roof-tops,” says Chris.
“If you have a small garden or unsuitable soil, irises adapt very well to pot cultivation so there is really no excuse not to have an iris growing somewhere.”
Pop along to the show and start your own love affair with the genus iris but be warned, you may become addicted.