Post 5 in a series of 7.
Brightwater is a town southwest of Nelson, New Zealand. Like most of the spring flower shows, it has camellias and other spring flowers as well as daffodils. The Brightwater daffodil show is not the largest daffodil show, but it’s one of the best because John Hunter and Denise McQuarrie live near there and exhibit at the Brightwater show. Here’s a view of the hall early Saturday morning before most of the exhibits went in. The daffodil section is off the right edge of the photo.
The champion bloom of the show was Denise and Neil McQuarrie’s seedling K23 which was also the premier 2W-W.
The reserve champion was also a McQuarrie seedling, OC481. It was also the premier 3Y-R.
The premier 2W-P was John Hunter’s seedling 65/91A.
The premier intermediate was newly registered ‘Little Warrior’ hybridized and exhibited by Denise McQuarrie.
A cultivar unfamiliar to me was ‘Tripapon’ 2Y-R hybridized by Graham Phillips.
Another new registration is ‘Archie Boy’ hybridized by Arch Crerar. If I remember correctly this was his much admired seedling at the Brightwater show in 2007 when a lot of us overseas daffodil enthusiasts visited. Several people have it now, but no one sells it, much less exports it. Of course, the tour included visits to John and Marie Hunter and to Denise and Neil McQuarrie. My apologies to John and Marie Hunter for forgetting to photograph them at their place, but I did get Lachlan Keown. For those who may not be aware, Lachlan contributed the genealogy feature to Daffseek after watching John and Marie constructing genealogy charts by hand from the data in Daffseek. I first met him sixteen years ago at the Blenheim show when he was still a university student. I take it from the cap he’s wearing that he’s a fan of the Oakland Athletics baseball team.
Denise and Neil McQuarrie have a couple fields, and this one has most of the rejects, but Denise knows the location of some good ones are that could still be selected. There are few labels in this field whereas the field with the new seedlings and exhibition cultivars is well labeled.
Here’s Denise McQuarrie and Martin Wallis. Martin was the bus driver and tour manager for the NDS tour. Those on the tour will tell you what an outstanding tour guide he is.
From the McQuarrie’s place the tour headed southwest to Greymouth and via the Tranz Alpine railroad to Christchurch. The next post (sixth) will be about our visits to growers in the Christchurch and Canterbury Plain area.
Kirby Fong