Today we saw the Monto Garden, the Kerikeri Mission Station and the Waitangi Treaty Grounds.
MONTO GARDEN
This is a 3 1/2 acre garden that has been maintained by the owner and his partner for 15 years. Unfortunately his partner is now in the hospital and is unable to help. So David, the owner, has to do everything plus work full time so he can work in the garden only on weekends and after work.
He mentioned that he enjoys placing rocks in his garden and in his client’s gardens. He goes into the surrounding area and offers to remove rocks for free because most farmers don’t want them. Here are some samples of the size of rocks he moves:
Now that he has less time to maintain the garden, David decided to remove some of the lawns because they need mowing every week. Here are some photos of the lawns he has now:
The David likes to prune and here are some examples of his work:
Since he has 3 springs on his property the sound and use of water is important:
The swimming pool is another way to add interest to the garden.
One of David’s favorite group of plants is the Begonias and he has many of them:
Here are some new varieties of common landscape plants that David is collecting:
Rhododendron cv.
Yellow Crown of Thorns (Euphorbia milii cv. )
Princess Flower (Tibouchina sp.)
Orange Flowering Maple (Abutilon cv.)
Papyrus (Cyperus papyrus)
Angel’s Trumpet (Brugmansia sp.)
KERIKERI MISSION STATION & STONE HOUSE
The Anglican missionaries to New Zealand in 1819 brought along some carpenters and built this wood house for the missionaries and their large family:
This is the oldest surviving house in New Zealand. Here are some photos of the rooms inside:
The Stone Store was built in the 1820’s by Māori masons hired by the missionaries and used for storage and a store:
The Stone Store is the oldest surviving stone building in New Zealand. Here is a view of the attic storage area. The roof was built with no nails, only mortise and tenon joinery.
The 2 trees growing outside the 2 buildings are original and planted by the missionaries and are now 200 years old.
Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)
Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia)
A small village eventually grew here where a river meets an inlet from the Bay of Islands:
Bay of Islands
WAITANGI TREATY GROUNDS & HOUSE
This area contains several museums and honors the treaty between the native Māori peoples and the British colonizers. It is a beautiful park at the edge of the Bay of Islands:
This giant canoe, the longest in the world was and still is used by the Māori people to visit areas along the east coast of New Zealand:
