Peek at private gardens enthrals

STROLL: Gail Freeman (left), Masterton; Diana Jackson, Wanganui and Jill Baker, Greytown, take in the roses at Myrton's Folly, Opaki. PHOTOS/ANDREW BONALLACK

Up to 800 garden buffs completed the Wairarapa Garden Tour at the weekend, surveying the delights of 18 private gardens over the two-days of the event.

Tour marketing manager Jo Parker said numerous participants on the annual tour, which is a fundraiser for the Pukaha Mount Bruce Forest Restoration Programme, had given "wonderful feedback" on the range and quality of the 18 gardens.

"Everyone seemed to have genuinely enjoyed the range of the gardens; from the new, modern gardens to the old and well-established and from the large to the small.

"The garden owners were very generous and feedback has been just wonderful."

She said the gardens this year were located in Masterton and Carterton and most participants usually complete the "self-drive" round of properties on Saturday.

Volunteer Alison Ruhe said the turnout was "very, very good" with about 200 people already through the gates by noon on Saturday at Myrton's Folly in Opaki.

"They come in four or five at a time - it's been pretty busy."

At the McDonald garden volunteer Debbie van Zyl counted 250 people through the gates by lunchtime. "It's fantastic. It's such a good cause - I think people support it."

At the nearby Dungallan property, first-time Wairarapa garden tourists Claire and Martin Shearman, of Wellington, were impressed at the organisation and the beauty of the gardens on the tour.

Mr Shearman got nipped by an eager eel at the ponds at Dungallan, drawing blood, but that was part of the fun.

"What is surprising is how complex the gardens are," he said.

"What is very unassuming from the outside, there's so much to be seen inside."

Funds from the garden tour will be used to help keep Pukaha wildlife safe from predators.