Begonia plantings commemorate Red Cross anniversary
A flower bed in Napier’s Sunken Gardens is resplendent in red and white begonias, to commemorate this year’s 90th anniversary of the Hawke’s Bay Red Cross Society being formed.
Local Red Cross member Mary Anne Eyles requested Napier City Council plant the flower bed in the shape of the Red Cross emblem back in March.
NCC Public Gardens and Nursery Team Leader Shelley Exeter was happy to schedule the planting in to her team’s plan.
“We held off planting the Red Cross emblem until October, as we plan our plantings six months in advance. The begonias will look good until March next year. After that we will remove them and plant something else just as bright and colourful.”
“We have planted our flower beds in particular themes before, such as a fish hook and a yin and yang sign. We thought this one was such a lovely idea,” says Shelley.
New Zealand Red Cross became a society separate from the British Red Cross after the 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake. New Zealand’s National Office of the British Red Cross sent medical teams from Wellington on the day of the quake. This tragic event was the catalyst for New Zealand’s Red Cross branch wishing to become a society in its own right.
