9 May 2019

Masterton’s northern entrance will be colourful once again with a fresh and modern garden bed design set to be planted later this month.

In November 2018 Masterton District Council opted not to plant the traditional bedding plants amid forecasts for a hot, dry summer and limitations on watering.

Chief Executive Kath Ross says the Council has been working to come up with an alternative that is drought-resistant and that satisfies community expectations.

“There was significant conversation about the bare garden beds all through summer,” Ms Ross said.

“We’ve taken the time required to develop a planting approach that works with our focus on water conservation while also delivering on the community’s expectation of an engaging visual display.

“I would like to personally thank everyone for their patience. It has taken longer than we hoped but the good news is we saved almost 100,000 litres of water as a result – 8 years worth of showers for one person.”

The design will complement the river environment and use bright plants to create pops of colour in key areas; by the roundabout, pedestrian crossing and leading into the Te Ore Ore road turn-off.

Each of the three impact areas will have strong colour from drought-resistant plants such as Libertia, Hebe, Verbena in summer, and red flax in winter. The arrangement of the plants will simulate eddies, reflecting the Waipoua river.

The design will make an impact through colour, texture and form. Just like the previous annual bedding display, the planting will start to take on more colour around spring.

While we have the opportunity to change the garden, we will be removing the previous bedding-plant specific irrigation system. We will be replacing it with a dripline system that is fit-for-purpose for this type of planting and in line with our water conservation focus.