Elsie Hall receives the 2026
New Zealand Plant Raiser Award
Leighvander Cottage is proud to announce that Elsie Hall has been awarded the prestigious Plant Raiser Award 2026 by the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture, recognising her outstanding contribution to New Zealand horticulture through a lifetime dedicated to lavender selection, breeding and artistic garden creation.
Starting from the sunlit landscapes of Marlborough’s Wairau Valley, Elsie has spent decades carefully observing, selecting and nurturing lavender plants uniquely suited to New Zealand conditions. Her work began with a vision inspired by the purple violets of her aunt’s garden, combined with a desire to create something deeply personal and connected to the land.
Over the years, that vision grew into an internationally recognised collection of lavender cultivars. Among the most celebrated is Lavandula ‘Thumbelina Leigh’, the compact lavender that became the foundation of an entire family of plants developed at Leighvander Cottage. Since then, Elsie has introduced many distinctive cultivars including ‘Grace Leigh’, ‘Azure Leigh’, ‘Ebony Leigh’, ‘Lemon Leigh’, ‘Vanessa Leigh’, ‘Myrlleigh’ and ‘Pat Leigh’. Even after decades of plant raising, Elsie continues to develop and refine new lavender selections, with the same creativity, curiosity and passion that first inspired her journey.
What makes Elsie’s work special is the deeply personal and observational nature of her plant raising. Every plant has been developed through years of walking the fields, watching the effects of climate, soil, sunlight and pollinators, and understanding how nature quietly shapes beauty and resilience. Her approach combines horticultural knowledge with an artist’s eye for colour, texture and atmosphere.
Receiving the Plant Raiser Award is a fitting recognition of Elsie’s enduring contribution to New Zealand’s cultivated plant heritage. Even now, her creative work continues, with new lavender selections still being developed from the original parent plants that started the journey many years ago.
Leighvander Cottage warmly thanks the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture for this honour and celebrates the continued support of gardeners, growers and lavender lovers in New Zealand and around the world.
