Road to rhododendrons via WITT

Andrew Brooker studied horticulture at WITT nearly 40 years ago. Now, he’s sharing his vast knowledge of the vibrant flower species synonymous with Taranaki – the rhododendron – with current ākonga.

Andrew is Rhododendron Collections and Projects Officer at Pukeiti, the rainforest garden on the north-western flanks of Taranaki Maunga, owned by the Taranaki Regional Council (TRC).

As a workplace, it must be hard to beat, especially this time of year amid a dazzling explosion of vivid pink, crimson, orange and red blooms on small to giant trees. One of the world’s largest, most diverse collections, Pukeiti has around 287 different species of rhododendron, including azalea and vireya. It attracts visitors from around the globe and is a highlight of the Centuria Taranaki Garden Festival in November.

“I studied for a Certificate in Commercial Horticulture at WITT in 1988. This gave me Level 1 and 2 in Amenity Horticulture and the tools to start my horticulture journey formally,” Andrew says.

His family had moved to Taranaki that year from Invercargill where he’d just finished a three-month job as a garden labourer at Southland Hospital following his last year at high school.

“Initially I didn’t know a cabbage from a dahlia and my interest was primarily not to work inside an office. The passion for the rhododendron and its conservation has grown alongside my love of Pukeiti.”

At WITT he was one of 20 students on a 40 hour-per-week course combining practical and classroom work, as well as field trips.

“We had three tutors who bought different experiences to the table from botany to vegetables to landscaping, pest and disease control - the full gambit.”

“Part of the landscape modules involved us as students planting the spaces that make up today’s WITT campus as everything was very raw at the time. The learning space, which included glasshouses and workshops plus classrooms, was sited where the accommodation lodge [Te Henui] is now. “

From WITT to Pukeiti via Pukekura Park took six months. “I’ve been fortunate with my horticulture career at Pukeiti, being promoted from labourer to apprentice then apprentice to Head Gardener and finally Gardens Manager for the Pukeiti Rhododendron Trust.

Along the way he gained work experience at Edinburgh Botanic Gardens and on a botanical trip to Yunnan in 2013.

His work at Pukeiti involves grafting and seed sowing, seed exchange with growers around the world and sharing plants with other councils around Aotearoa. Andrew is also working on a Rhododendron Conservation Programme - a collaboration between the TRC, Pukeiti Rhododendron Trust, Massey University and the New Zealand Rhododendron Association.

He’s presented papers at the Australian Rhododendron conference, attended a symposium in Seattle last year, the American Rhododendron Conference in Bellingham this year and China as part of a delegation rekindling a relationship between Pukeiti and the Kunming Institute of Botany.

Botanical quest

A recent field trip gave students the chance to learn about rhododendrons and how a past graduate has spent his life building knowledge about one genus of plants, says Carl Freeman, horticulture tutor at WITT.

“We do lots of field trip around the region to meet inspiring horticulturalists. Andrew’s passion and knowledge was really informative and inspirational.”

Andrew advised students that horticulture is “a very rewarding sector to work in. One of the things I enjoy the most is there is always more to learn in the plant world, regardless of which part of it you are currently in. The key thing to remember is that the learning is only really beginning when the formal study ends – what WITT does for you is enable you with the tools to continue the journey.”

As Carl points out: “The plantae [all plants] kingdom is huge with over 250,000 species, Andrew’s focus on the 1200 different species in the Rhododendron genus is an inspiration for all budding horticulturalists. I ask my students to imagine themselves with a deep knowledge about a specific genus of plants. Most agree it feels like an awesome life achievement.”

WITT’s Level 3 programme gives foundational skills so that graduates can go into any line of horticulture, from council parks team, local nurseries and food production or their own garden maintenance businesses.

Find out more about studying horticulture at WITT: https://www.witt.ac.nz/study/primary-industries/

Caption: Andrew Brooker (face showing) talking to WITT horticulture students at Pukeiti.