Taupō's Liston Heights tops for retirement gardening

Norman Gray's winning garden for a one-bedroom unit at Bupa Liston Heights Taupō. Photo / Clare Jordan.

From Yorkshire and Leicester to Taupō, the best retirement village gardeners in New Zealand live here.

Norman Gray, 91, has always loved flower gardening and says he plants whatever is in season.

"My dear wife Catherine used to look after the vegetables and I did the flowers."

Norman, arrived in New Zealand when he was just 20 years old - "from Last of the Summer Wine country, Yorkshire."

The garden is at its best now, and Norman says annual flowers are his favourite.

"You get to clean everything out and start again, twice a year."

Formerly the night porter at Taupō Hospital, Norman says he finds gardening very therapeutic.

"My wife died when she was 49 and I brought up five children.

"I would see them to bed at 11pm and then head out to work," said Norman.

All five children are now in the medical profession and Norman says he and Catherine passed a love of gardening onto all their children.

Norman says life at Liston Heights is paradise, and he puts two gardens from Taupō winning down to the inspiration from manager Clare Jordan.

Norman Gray, winner of the Bupa New Zealand award for best one-bedroom garden. Photo / Rachel Canning

After seven months' marriage, Leicester-born Robbie Shearer, 94, lost her New Zealand-born husband bomber pilot Edward Robinson in World War II.

"He always said if anything happened to him, I should go and see his people."

Two years later Robbie, aged 20, came to Wellington to meet her husband's parents. They lost two sons in the war.

"They wanted a daughter and they asked me to stay. So I bought two sections, one for my parents who came out from England to live."

A builder was required, and the builder arranged for Robbie to go a ball with his son, Stan Shearer.

Stan and Robbie Shearer enjoy their winning balcony garden. Photo / Supplied

"And that was that! After Wellington we went to live in Blenheim and bought a section that was full of beautiful old roses. Our love of gardening had begun."

Their fondness for gardening was passed also onto the Shearers' three children. When they left home Stan said to Robbie, 'let's do something, you go and buy some land'.

"I bought two sections on the [Lake Taupō] lakefront and we built the Manor Grove Motel and Truffles Restaurant."

As for Edward Robinson's parents, their adopted daughter (Robbie) stayed in close contact with them throughout their lives.