Taranaki and Ohau

Post 4 in a series of 7.

After the North Island National Show, the National Daffodil Society’s tour headed south with over night stays in New Plymouth and Palmerston North. The trip from New Plymouth to Palmerston North took us through Normanby where Spud Brogden lives. The Taranaki Daffodil Circle treated us to lunch and to an informal daffodil show. Here’s a view of the daffodil display at the lunch in the town’s memorial hall. Although it’s a memorial to the Normanby soldiers who died in World Wars I and II, the original hall burned down and was replaced by this nice, new hall.

 

 

 

 

 

We did select a “champion” bloom, but I forgot to write down which one it was. Possibly it was ‘Kiwi Dream’ 3W-WWO, one of Spud Brogden’s cultivars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s an intermediate hybridized by Denise McQuarrie. It’s named ‘Pinsey’ 3W-GYO.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A cultivar that won a premier at the North Island National Show in 2007 was ‘Royeleen’ 1Y-O bred by Roy and Noeleen Willcox.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here’s ‘Real Deal’ 2Y-R by Graeme and Faith Miller. As a seedling, it was the champion bloom of the show at the World Daffodil Convention in Melbourne, Australia in 2004.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the “show” and lunch, we went to visit Spud’s field. Here are Spud and Loyce McKenzie in Spud’s field.

 

 

 

 

 

The following day we continued south to Ohau where John McLennan and John Hollever have adjacent fields. After visiting the fields, we were treated to lunch by the Central Daffodil Group. This is John McLennan’s field. All you avid readers of Daffnet know that John has contributed a lot of photos of daffodils, and this is presumably where he grows them.

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s a snapshot of John McLennan with Bob MacDonnell at the lunch. If I remember right, Bob and Heather MacDonnell are also rose growers and have more recently taken up daffodils in addition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We got to visit two fields with one stop because John Hollever’s field adjoins John McLennan’s field.

 

 

 

 

 

Here’e John Hollever at the lunch. Margaret Seconi has just presented him with an award he won recently.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After Ohau, the tour went to Wellington where we were given a day to sight see followed by a day traveling by ferry and bus to Nelson on the South Island. Conveniently, the bus went on the ferry with us so that all the luggage could just stay stored in the bus rather than having to be checked in and reclaimed. Next stop is the Brightwater daffodil show. The next post (fifth) will be about the Brightwater show and two major growers in that area.

Kirby Fong