FLOWERS ARE COMING FROM NORTH ISLAND.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17915, 3 August 1926, Page 1

FLOWERS ARE COMING FROM NORTH ISLAND.

SOON CHRISTCHURCH WILL HAVE ITS OWN. THE BREATH OF SPRING WAS ABROAD TO-DAY. Touched by the magic hand of spring," Christchurch was » bathed in golden sunshine to-day, a sunshine that was’ joyous, 'infectious, gladdening, a sunshine! that was reflected in the happy smiles that beamed on the faces of flappers and business men, of lads and lassies at school, and housewives at home. It was a triumph for the out-of-doors —the first breath of spring was abroad, and scores of folk, given to a sedentary life, scores of young men and women wearing that pallor of face that comes of long association with the office desk, were quick to answer. Some, during the all-too-short hour

allowed for lunch, lay on the river banks: some answered the call of Victoria Square, but. by far the most were attracted by the leafy quiet of the gardens—the springtime atmosphere drew them there. There was little colour there to-day; the pretty frocks of the ladies moving about the grounds were entrancing certainly; but not for several weeks yet will the gardens have assumed that springtime glory which proves such an irresistible magnet for Christchurch folk. September will see colour aplenty: then the gardens will have become a blaze of glowing colour; then the bright red of dahlias, blushing at their owfi magnificence, will mingle with the rich purple of pansies and the mellow pink of gladioli; then the magic scent of roses will greet the visitor, and golden rhododendrons, growing in riotous confusion, will resemble, great drops of sunshine, drippings of brilliance from the. orb itself. Meanwhile Christchurch must be content with the cut blooms from the sunny North, for it is from there that the city gets its flowers to-day; from Auckland, Wellington and Palmerston North, boxes and boxes of cut blooms are arriving daily, and they are being distributed amongst the city shops. Up north the blooms are not so modest as they are in this more southern isle, and they succumb to the wooing of the sun more qu.ckly; and the North shares its bounty with the South. “There is always a demand for cut flowers,” one city florist said to-day—-“spring, summer, autumn, winter, they are always wanted either for wedding bouquets or wreaths. “We are getting some at the present time from ’ Sumner and Redcliffs,” he. said, “but very few.” And Christchurch is waiting for that happy day in September when it will be no longer necessary to import its blooms from the sunny North.