Nature / Sustainable Tourism

New Zealand Gardens to visit

• Woodbridge Garden
Situated half an hour north of Auckland city, this four hectare country garden envelopes a large pond and bog garden and includes areas of whimsical informality as well as sophisticated formal hedging. Woodbridge has featured in a number of New Zealand magazines and includes a productive potager garden, a dry garden, a bluebell grove and extensive perennial borders.

• Kevin Kilsby's Garden
With rare and exotic subtropicals, a Balinese fountain and funky mosaic features in the colours of the Pacific, ceramic artist Kevin Kilsby's pottery studio garden is one of New Zealand's grooviest backyards. More than a decade in the making, it cleverly combines outdoor art with innovative design and vibrant planting.

• Totara Waters Garden
An outstanding subtropical garden that defies its age, Totara Waters is an oasis of palms, bromeliads, aloes and agaves overlooking the tranquil upper Waitemata Harbour. The garden is just seven years old but no expense has been spared in its creation, with mature palms, dracaenas and tree aloes transplanted into island beds. Spectacular all-year round.

• Ayrlies Garden
Created by Bev McConnell, one of New Zealand's most respected horticulturists, Ayrlies is an extensive country garden that covers more than five hectares and encompasses regenerating wetland, wildflower meadows, native bush, old roses, perennial borders and an architectural succulent area. With a mild climate, Ayrlies reflects the rich botanic diversity available to New Zealand gardeners.

• Te Kainga Marire Garden
The name of this unusual native New Zealand garden means 'peaceful encampment' - and it certainly is. Te Kainga Marire is a suburban garden with a remarkably unspoilt outlook that includes a bush reserve, cows grazing on hilly pastures and a mountain stream. An intriguing selection of indigenous plants used in naturalistic ways, ranging from drought-tolerant rockery to a sunken fern house, create a unique ambience.

• Pukeiti Garden
This internationally-renowned rhododendron garden is nestled into the lower slopes of snow-capped Mount Taranaki and has been developed since 1951. Hundreds of mature rhododendrons flower within a canopy of native forest that is home to native tui, wood pigeons and bellbirds. Rhododendrons are the undisputed stars, but visitors should also leave time to explore the extensive walking tracks through regenerating native bush.

• Tikorangi Garden
This impressive three-hectare garden has been in the Jury family since 1870 and was largely developed by the late New Zealand plant breeder Felix Jury, whose internationally renowned magnolias include ‘Iolanthe’ and ‘Vulcan’. Tikorangi is a tranquil garden with a choice collection of rare and unusual species in a range of microclimates, from a woodland valley to a dry garden.

• Paloma Garden
A sheep farm seems an unlikely home for an extraordinary collection of exotic palms, cycads, cacti, succulents and bamboo, but that's what you'll find in the natural amphitheatre at the heart of Paloma. This dramatic 15-year-old garden is testament to its owners' passion for rare and unusual species and includes an arboretum, cycad house and aloe grove.

• Otari Wiltons Bush Native Botanic Garden
Just 10 minutes from New Zealand's capital city, this 90 hectare bush reserve is a living sanctuary for mature podocarp forest and a wonderful collection of approximately 1200 species of indigenous flora. Walking tracks criss-cross through the reserve and there is a superb treetop walkway.

• Briar Dell Lavender Farm
With a formal herb garden, roses, old stone buildings and fields of fragrant lavender, Briar Dell is a plantsperson's paradise. Designed to thrive throughout Central Otago's dry, hot summers, it is breathtaking from mid-December until the lavender harvest in late January.

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• Nature / Sustainable Tourism