New landscape gardener brings Remarkables Park Town Centre into bloom

Queenstown's vibrant town centre at Remarkables Park is currently enjoying a burst of summer colour courtesy of a new multi-award-winning landscape gardener.

Mike Hawthorne, originally from Invercargill, has an impressive resumé, having spent five years as a curator for the Auckland Regional Botanical Gardens.

During that time Hawthorne co-designed the Garden's Ellerslie Flower Show exhibit in 2003 winning multiple awards including the prestigious and highly coveted Supreme Award.

Hawthorne moved to Queenstown in April this year and is overseeing the upkeep of nearly 100 hanging baskets, numerous flower beds, and mature trees and shrubs at Remarkables Park already well known for its attractive landscaping.

After an eight year stint in London he said he was "thrilled" to be home in "clean, green New Zealand."

Every festive season the shopping centre provides a vibrant display of summer flowers to add to the stunning backdrop of The Remarkables mountain range.

Hawthorne explains "there aren't many shopping centres in New Zealand that put this amount of time and effort into its gardens, it really does make all the difference to visitors' experience.

"We've put in the South African sun daisy in the entranceway and I'm looking forward to getting creative and planting more unusual and exotic plants."

Remarkables Park Managing Director Alastair Porter said the visual beauty and scents of the flowers "added life and ambience" to the shopping centre, making it "a joy to visit."

Porter added "locals and visitors alike comment on the colourful landscaping in the shopping centre and we pride ourselves on keeping it pristine.

"The centre now has a wide range of dining options so bringing a landscape gardener of Mike's calibre on board is designed to ensure Remarkables Park becomes an even more beautiful place, to shop, as well as meet friends over a coffee or a meal."

The popular urban-designed shopping centre now has 63 tenants, 29,000 metre2 of commercial floor space and comfortably caters for more than three million visitors every year.

Over the years, Remarkables Park has developed its own nursery to provide plants and trees for the centre to maintain its unique outdoor shopping experience that proves so popular.

For more information go to www.remarkablespark.com

Image: Remarkables Park landscapers Francesco Rambazzi (left) and Mike Hawthorne (right) bring the attraction into bloom.

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