Maybe controversial local issue opinion: I don't think the Begonia House is worth saving; Botanical Gardens are overt colonisation and not something we ought to prioritise with public money. - ThreadSky

grumpyyetamusin.bsky.social • 21 days ago

Maybe controversial local issue opinion:

I don't think the Begonia House is worth saving; Botanical Gardens are overt colonisation and not something we ought to prioritise with public money.

Comments

nug.monster•21 days ago

except for the hamilton gardens which are good.

grumpyyetamusin.bsky.social•21 days ago

Are they though?

nug.monster•21 days ago

yup. except for the american post-modernist garden which should just be scraped into the river because it's hideous.

grumpyyetamusin.bsky.social•21 days ago

I could write a very long piece about the hellscape that is the 'Ancient Egyptian garden'. The Mummy movies are more accurate.

nug.monster•21 days ago

isn't the ancient egyptian one just that random little stop on the way to the other ones, with the square fountain and some statues?

or is there somehow more to it that I've missed?

grumpyyetamusin.bsky.social•21 days ago

Oh no, they spent $$$$ on a massive new one, and it's an offence against the culture it represents. An absolute monstrosity of mangled representation and jarringly poor design.

swampy-kiwi.bsky.social•21 days ago

I like that one - its probably a truer reflection of a style than the many of the others. my favourite ones are Te Parapara and the kitchen garden though, because edible.

nug.monster•21 days ago

I like having a sneaky joint in the japanese zen garden.

swampy-kiwi.bsky.social•21 days ago

you wouldn't be the only one from what my nose has told me.

carb-on-carb.bsky.social•21 days ago

I learnt *so much* from those two gardens

bewarethefish.bsky.social•21 days ago

I like these Begonia House but by international botanic garden standards it's lacking. Tear it down and let the people who claim to love it so much fundraise for a fit for purpose building.

bewarethefish.bsky.social•21 days ago

The botanic garden itself I'm a big fan of both as a public space and propogator of plant species.

sarahpolo10.bsky.social•21 days ago

Interesting to see the people protesting this.....

grumpyyetamusin.bsky.social•21 days ago

Yeah, I think that's part of my distaste over it

apocalypseelf.bsky.social•21 days ago

Botanical gardens in general. But....also community spaces? I think they could be done differently

grumpyyetamusin.bsky.social•21 days ago

Wellington is trying to do that with the City to Sea bridge and getting so much slagging

apocalypseelf.bsky.social•21 days ago

I love that bridge. I don't have stay/go opinions because not my town but I love it

grumpyyetamusin.bsky.social•21 days ago

I love parts of the bridge. Parts that can be incorporated into the new space.

apocalypseelf.bsky.social•21 days ago

Agree with this. I guess i look at it from a public art perspective rather than just a bridge

apocalypseelf.bsky.social•21 days ago

Being a bridge is part of the artwork but it could be reimagined

psheth.bsky.social•21 days ago

Yeah I mean the bridge is... fine? It's okay but nothing special

But so many people have the attitude that "I liked it when I was young and happy, and therefore it must stay forever"

carb-on-carb.bsky.social•21 days ago

No opinion on the Begonia house but Botanical Gardens in general I think are worth fighting for (to save and to make them suck less lol)

carb-on-carb.bsky.social•21 days ago

The Auckland one hosts seed swaps and cheap plant sales, researches vegetable varieties for home growers and suggests replacement plants for invasive species... Among some of the functions I'd like to see more of

parrykylie.bsky.social•21 days ago

I'm convicted about it.
Because you're right and also because it was one of the free places I went with the kids.
Library and botanical garden were sanity savers.

parrykylie.bsky.social•21 days ago

Conflicted.
Stupid autocucumber

apocalypseelf.bsky.social•21 days ago

I remember the joy of cueing to see the corspe flower here. And when I was a kid the "winter gardens" in Invercargill were amazing - a real tropical jungle right there. Stories come alive

grumpyyetamusin.bsky.social•21 days ago

Give it another 25yrs and we won't need glasshouses in order to grow tropical plants in NZ

apocalypseelf.bsky.social•21 days ago

Maybe not in southland

katypi.bsky.social•21 days ago

The rest of NZ would have had to become uninhabitable for that to happen.

katypi.bsky.social•21 days ago

My daughter is growing tropical fruit outdoors in the Waikato

changleen.bsky.social•21 days ago

Alternatively: We will need reinforced green houses to grow most produce in as the violence of the weather will continue to increase and crop-destroying weather events become common.

lissacarlino.bsky.social•21 days ago

I feel similar about the Khandallah pool. It’s cold. Shaded. Has asbestos. Gross. I never see anyone there. Yet the wealthy ones want WCC to save it. I don’t get it.

dbmcnz.bsky.social•21 days ago

The thing is, I don't think gardens and libraries will ever be profitable as a private business. Should they just disappear so we have lower rates? No.

grumpyyetamusin.bsky.social•21 days ago

I'm not suggesting we give up the space, I'm suggesting we don't spend money propping up British Victoriana in public spaces

dbmcnz.bsky.social•21 days ago

I agree with you on that point.

dashingdarbs.bsky.social•21 days ago

Like many, I'm conflicted about museums and botanic gardens- their history is problematic, but they are valuable spaces beyond the colonial collections they have been. They are incredibly important as public spaces in cities, and for research and interest. I think it is possible for them to evolve.

dashingdarbs.bsky.social•21 days ago

I would be a very different person today if I hadn't had access to such spaces. Also I love winter gardens!!

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