3 Gardens in Wanganui

Many gardens were open for the Taranaki Garden Festival and today we saw 3 of the best: Cairnhill Garden, Oakley Garden and the Puketarata Garden.

CAIRNHILL GARDEN

This garden is about 1 1/2 acres and was started from scratch over 50 years ago by the owner. This is what it looked like back then:

The owner loves Hosta Lilies and she has a lot of them:

Driveway and path photos:

Lawn areas:

Checkerboard garden:

Camellia sasanqua hedges:

Vegetable garden:

Fountain:

Yellow Peony:

Black Iris:

Rhododendrons:

OAKLEY GARDEN

This is a 1 1/2 acre garden where the owner is a horticulturist and has interest in propagating plants and growing them in pots.

Here are some photos of hanging pots:

Many of the special plants in the garden are in pot groupings:

Rhodohypoxis baurii

Plants for sale:

Garden pictures:

Special plants:

Poor Knight’s Lily (Xeronema callistemon)

Aristia capitata

Rhodohypoxis baurii

PUKETARATA GARDEN

This is a large country garden whose owner is a sheep farmer.

Long driveway:

This is a haha to keep the sheep out of their garden:

Views from the house:

Tennis court

Gardens around the house:

Perennial garden – listen for the birds:

Stokes’ Aster (Stokesia laevis)

Gladiolus carneus

Lupine and Heuchera

Allium

Cape Cowslip (Lachenalia cv.)

The property is 20 acres but a large portion of it, down the hill, has been donated to the National Trust for a perpetual open space.

Tomorrow – Gardens on the way to Wellington

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