The cacti took their place about 10 years ago and had their most impressive flowering two weeks ago with about 75 flowers in its peak.
Walking from their driveway and into their home, the view opens out from the veranda on the other side, looking out over Tauranga Harbour all the way to Mount Maunganui.
The garden rolls out in large terraces in front of them, all the way down to the water.
Now in his 90th year, Ray still tends to the garden, walking along his hand-made paths easily recalling the full scientific name of every plant in sight.
The couple were once top New Zealand camellia growers and their award-winning trees still decorate the garden.
"I like to grow things that are special. When we grew camellias we tried to grow the best in the world," Ray says.
They picked up the title for the top national white camellia three years in a row and their grandchildren knew their garden as "Nana's magic fairyland".
Both Ray and Suzanne were once senior judges in the New Zealand Camellia Society.
Ray says the gardening keeps him young.
It was a keen hobby of Suzanne's but when her movement became limited, he had taken over.
"She was the gardener and I stole her hobby," he says.
Ray is responsible for most of the planting and the stonework thanks to the help of a friend who worked in a quarry.
"So his memory is preserved here too," Ray says.
He spends his days caring for Suzanne, 90, so they can stay in their family home, which he designed and built.
