Fabulous at the Museum

Thread attended the first of Auckland Museum's new "Fabulous Fridays" workshops on arts and crafts last Friday 21 August, which kicked off with a panel discussion lead by TV personality Maggie Barry.

The discussion in front of an audience of 180 was based on gardening orchids, tying in with their equally fabulous exhibition Wonderland: The Mystery of the Orchid (which will have a second part entitled The Magic of the Rose) but the conversation wandered like a creeping vine over various topics and always kept a bit dirty by the cheeky Ms Barry. She was particularly excited by Ewen's comments on the "pseudo-copulation of orchids" but failed to get a demonstration.

The panel included Ewen from the museum, Xanthe White- the Chelsea Flower Show award-winning landscape designer, Alf Day- who has been growing orchids for over 50 years now, Maggie Barry, and an expert from the Manurewa Botanical Gardens who shamelessly self-promoted throughout the talk!

Below: the panel discuss orchids



Below, the gorgeous Xanthe White is the Nigella Lawson of the gardening world. White has a book coming out soon, "Organic Vege Gardens."



Next Friday 28 August and 4, 11, 18 September at 11am the workshop will be on Flower Arranging with well-known Auckland floral decorator Fionna Hill. For more information and to book visit www.aucklandmuseum or phone 09 306 7048.

They really do know their stuff and love their gardens. So get along to the next talk, I promise it will really grow on you...