Rust Is the New Gold

Rust Is the New Gold

A New Trend Emerges At the Ellerslie International Flower Show

The chief judge at the 2006 Ellerslie International Flower Show has just two words for gardeners concerned about following fashion: rusty iron.

"If you’ve got rusty iron in your garden, you are very trendy at the moment," says Convenor of Judges, Bob Sweet.

Referring to the gardens at this year’s show designed by previous gold medal winners, he says: "If you walk up the Avenue of Gold, see how many bits of rusty iron you can see. That trend has just emerged this year."

Designers are using brown-coloured grasses and flowers in brown shades, then following through with rusty iron water features, wheelbarrows, and just about anything else they can lay their hands on.

Of course, garden designers don’t call this material "rusty iron", says Mr Sweet, who is also Head of Shows Development at the world-famous Chelsea Flower Show in London, but have a much more refined name for it: "Cortens steel".

And for those gardeners wanting to be at the very cutting-edge of garden fashion, Mr Sweet has a tip.

"If you have some corrugated iron and it’s rusty, you are doing very, very well."

The 2006 Ellerslie International Flower Show continues over the next three days at the Auckland Botanic Gardens. Opening hours are 10am-6pm Friday, 10am-8.30pm Saturday and 10am-6pm Sunday.

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