NEW ZEALAND GLASS DESIGNS ARE A CLEAR WINNER
06 Nov 2013
Glass bottle garden wins Silver at Gardening World Cup in Japan.
Wellington designer Bayley LuuTomes who won the Young Emerging Designer of the year at the 2013 Ellerslie International Flower Show, has represented New Zealand at the Gardening World Cup in Japan.
Held from October 12-20, the Gardening World Cup is an annual event where the world’s top garden designers converge at Nagasaki in Japan to compete. Bayley was accompanied by Zanthe White from New Zealand who is a multiple gold winner at Ellerslie.
Bayley said “it’s been amazing to combine my creativity with my love of gardening and have it take me all over the world.”
Bayley’s garden titled Glass Bottle Sanctuary won silver in the home garden category, while Xanthe won a silver medal in the show gardens category.
Bayley’s fusion garden combines his Asian heritage and his love of the outdoors in New Zealand. “My country is New Zealand, my culture is Asian and my garden is a fusion of the two. Take the kiwi love for the great outdoors and add a few Asian style garden principles and you have a garden that is a reflection of who I am as an Asian Kiwi.”
A curved wall of coloured glass bottles forms a koru with a simple hidden sanctuary on the inside and compact colour planting on the outside.
“This represents the busy modern western life style compared with a simple and harmonious traditional eastern style of living.”
At night, the glass bottles transform the sanctuary into a stunning illuminated garden sculpture.
“I believe in up-cycling and wanted to take a throwaway item and show you can create something amazing with it.”
In July this year, Bayley also won a silver medal at the Hampton Court International Flower Show in London and has won three additional gold medals internationally since the Ellerslie event. Bayley will once again be exhibiting at Ellerslie International Flower Show 2014 in Christchurch from 26 February to 2 March.
