Sow green seeds

The owners of a cafe in Eden Garden run their business on ecological principles. An
unexpected payback? They're attracting more families and young people, finds Kim Austin.
The tulips in Eden Garden are gearing up to bloom. They stand in neat rows, slivers of colour peeking hopefully through green tips.
It's only a month until their big day - the annual tulip festival - and if you stand directly in a patch of sun you can almost convince yourself it's spring already. Meandering through them, with a small fluffy chook pecking at his ankle, is Ian Sawbridge, owner of the garden's Bloom cafe and unlikely eco-warrior.
He cuts a rather dapper figure, a former librarian with a slightly posh accent and a penchant for waistcoats who has always been interested in things green, and not just gardens.
Ian and wife Suellen joined Conscious Consumers, a group promoting ecological goals for businesses, and are well on the way to turning the garden's cosy, traditional eatery into a fully fledged eco-haven.
"We became involved with Conscious Consumers because we've always been interested in that approach," says Ian. "They're really wanting to promote environmentally and ecologically sound practices."
The scheme does this by providing a series of "accredits", like Scout badges for green deeds. These include recycling, being organic, using seasonal produce, composting and using Fairtrade products.
So far the cafe has five of a possible nine badges, and is anticipating sticking another to the ranchslider as soon as they switch to organic milk.
"It's also for consumers to know when they come to our cafe they can be confident we are carrying out these ecological principles," says Suellen.
If all this sounds rather wholesome, any thoughts of "lentil bake" dishes are quickly swept aside when you see Suellen's skilfully crafted food.
"I've always been involved with cooking, it's probably my greatest love. I even go to bed with a cookbook," she says.
Combined with Ian's passion for the environment, the cafe has become a workplace where the Sawbridges can live their beliefs.
"You try to do that in your life by what you do and what you eat," says Ian. "If you take something up like a cafe it's no good not having those values in that cafe."
Eden Garden manager Karen Lowther says the cafe is an integral part of the garden and the Sawbridges have breathed new life into it.
"It used to be a lot of older people who would come," she says. "Now we've got younger people coming through, including lots of families with children, and that's really quite exciting to see."
The Sawbridges have four children of their own and agree that the garden is the perfect place to bring kids.
"I think it's such a wonderful place for children," says Suellen. "We have toys and books for them and there are chooks in the garden and they can run around and get lost in the woodland. It's just such a special place."
Both say the stunning physical surroundings make sticking to their eco-principles that much easier.
"It just makes so much sense in a place like this," says Ian.
Eden Garden is a 1.8ha wonderland on the side of Mt Eden/Maungawhau. The abandoned quarry was rescued and replanted by volunteers 45 years ago.
It was originally part of Government House grounds, but they didn't want a dodgy old quarry on their fancy lawn.
Today, Eden Garden has a dazzling array of plants and trees, including bromeliads, succulents, roses, tulips, nikau, rimu, totara and ferns. Tui, kereru, piwakawaka and kingfishers flutter about in the shrubbery.
Despite being only a stone's throw from downtown Auckland, the garden feels like another world.
Eden Garden Society president Keith Taylor likes its sense of quiet solitude in the heart of Auckland.
"At nine o'clock in the morning, when the city is humming, I step into the garden and all I can hear are the tui and the waterfall. It's just an absolutely peaceful sanctuary.
"And it's a secret, so you're on your own and you can really have a nice time. Of course we're trying to change that to some extent, but it will always be a place where you can get away from the rest of the world without going very far."
Eden Garden and Bloom cafe are open seven days a week. There is a small entry fee to the garden. For more information about the cafe and garden, including the upcoming tulip festival, see edengarden.co.nz