Highlights of the 2010 Ellerslie International Flower Show are:

Gardens by international designers Chris Beardshaw from England and Japan’s Koji Ninomiya.

All Black halfback Andy Ellis and his mate Danny Kamo from John Marsh Landscape Architects with their “grown up” garden. There is no cricket, beers or barbecue this year, instead the duo are making a serious statement about the impact humans are having on the environment and the planet’s natural resources.

Gold award-winning Ellerslie 2009 designer Dan Rutherford who has gone south to create an ice garden for the Christchurch International Airport Company. It will feature a two-metre high towering iceberg and evolve over the five days to give Show visitors a full sensory experience of being in the Antarctic.

Christchurch-based international designer Craig Pocock’s garden of industrial-sized dumpsters, mini skips, a shipping container and exotic aquatic weeds.

Te Waipounamu Garden: a traditional Maori garden which dispels the myths and answers the question on what is a traditional New Zealand garden.

Lincoln University students using imagery from traditional board games and video games to evoke childhood memories in their garden; while three graduates from the University have created New Zealand’s 21st Century quarter-acre paradise – in the sky!

Last year’s Supreme Award winner Bush Telly which has headed to the hills to create their 2010 exhibit, featuring a musterer’s hut set against a backdrop of Mount Cass and the rugged North Canterbury back country.

The National Flower Bed Competition being hotly contested by Wellington, the Coromandel, Rotorua, Kaiapoi, Akaroa and Ashburton to wrestle the title off the Garden City that is going for the hat trick.

New Zealand’s tertiary students competing for the title of Student Designer of the Year presented by Yates.

Some of New Zealand’s best landscapers being put through their paces in The Great North and South Landscape Build-off, competing to build a mirror image garden at Ellerslie with the emphasis on using “local materials for local projects”

The weather’s been tremendous, so grab your hat and head on out to see the show

Ellerslie International Flower Show, 10 to 14 March 2010. Check out the website for further information: www.ellerslieflowershow.co.nz

Relax on the green (in the North Quadrangle) on Saturday November 7th from 10am to 4.30pm at this very popular Cup and Show Week event, where twelve wineries will be showcasing their unique Waipara Valley wines. Wine education, appreciation and tastings, all accompanied by Blutopia, a nine-piece jazz band.

The entry fee of $10 includes tasting and use of a wine glass. All patrons will be entered into the draw to win a VIP tour of the Waipara Valley. Gate sales only.

For more information, visit the Waipara Valley Wine website

Based around principles of sustainability and conservation of resources epitomised in his 2009 garden “Take Five”, next year’s garden is still under wraps until next month, when Carl will be calling for help from the Christchurch community.

“Next year’s garden will be more interactive. I want visitors to Ellerslie to feel uplifted and inspired when they visit the garden. I will be asking people an important question and incorporating the answers within the garden. I want everyone to start thinking about sustainability,” says Carl.

The garden will be built from untreated, sustainably grown timbers, recycled materials and feature some rare and threatened native plants.

The Ellerslie Flower Show will be held in Hagley Park from 10-14 March 2010. For more information, go to www.ellerslieflowershow.co.nz

Stalking wild brown and rainbow trout in the crystal clear waters of Central Otago sounds like it’s right up the Bear’s alley…especially when it’s prepared by the personal chef and presented alongside an award-winning local wine hand-picked by the private sommelier…and the prospect of relaxing in the hot tub with (maybe) a group of friends or family after a hard day’s relaxing appeals.

So you may find me holed up in Wanaka sometime between November and March while the summer weather holds, sampling my own combination of heli fly fishing, heli-biking, mountaineering (imagine that!) or heli-diving­ – just some of the items on the menu of activities at Release, an architecturally-designed luxury retreat at Lake Wanaka. For more info, visit www.releasenz.com