Fifa Women’s World Cup 2023: Hamilton roundabout blooms in honour of tournament

Hamilton City Council landscapers have planted a special design for the Fifa Women's World Cup 2023 at the Norton roundabout. Photo / Hamilton City Council

Hamilton is so excited to be a host city for the Fifa Women’s World Cup 2023 that the local council’s landscaping team took a year to develop a special themed flower display.

The colourful design is now in full bloom at the Norton roundabout and consists of 22,740 locally grown snapdragons, alyssum, lobelias and spinach.

Hamilton City Council’s park landscape team leader Jo Berwick says hosting the tournament was an “incredible opportunity” for Hamilton and the team had “great fun” creating the design.

“We wanted to stick to the Fifa Women’s World Cup brand colours as much as possible... Winter isn’t the greatest season for colour choices for annual bedding, and we did lose some plants along the way. But we are pleased with how it looks now.”

The planting process took nearly a year of planning, leading up to the final results.

Geographic information systems technician Tony Urwin helped to develop the design concept and told Berwick’s team what colours to use, the spacing requirements and the number of plants needed.

The chosen types of plants, grown at the council’s nursery at Hamilton Gardens, were selected due to their previous success in growing on this particular roundabout.

“The selected plants ... also give good coverage of the soil and don’t require too much trimming. They are also less prone to pest and disease,” Berwick said.

Developing a special flowerbed design for a major event in the city is not new. The council has previously developed designs for events including Fieldays and the Cricket World Cup.

Tickets are still on sale for the final Fifa Women’s World Cup match in Hamilton tomorrow when Sweden takes on Argentina. For more information, visit hamiltonhostcity.co.nz.