Puketarata Garden is a garden of international significance. Photo / Alyssa Smith
Puketarata Garden is a garden of international significance. Photo / Alyssa Smith
A south Taranaki garden with international significance is featured in this year's Centuria Taranaki Garden Festival.
Puketarata Garden, located in Hāwera, lies inside an outer pa rampart, on a north-facing, free-draining slope.
Jennifer says she and her husband Ken Horner purchased the property in 1978 as a bare hillside property of 20 acres (8ha).
"It has a gully which we've fenced off from stock and we grew many plants from seedlings and cuttings. In 1983 we had a house built on the site which was completed by architect Paul Seton with bricks from the Pātea Town Hall and interior doors from the Ōpunakē Convent."
Since then Jennifer says they've added to the property to make it a family home and garden.
"In 1983 to 1984 we established a main lawn and garden and built a grass tennis court in 1991. We've had a lot of pleasure over the years with expanding our garden. It's very much a family space where we raised our children and now, it's where our grandchildren love to come and visit."
When you drive up to the garden, you can see some of Ken and Jennifer's sheep. Photo / Alyssa Smith
The garden features a range of native and exotic plants, she says.
"Taranaki grows such great gardens so I've been able to keep expanding. I love native plants. We have cabbage trees, dracophyllum, rata, kauri, nikau, ponga, coprosma, hutu, pseudopanax, miro and totara hedges."
Protecting the environment is important, Jennifer says.
"The garden party of the Taranaki Regional Council's possum control scheme, with possum and rat bait stations maintained throughout the property. This has greatly increased the bird population, in particular, tui, kereru and bellbirds."
In 1995, the garden first opened in the Rhododendron (now Taranaki Garden) Festival and has been involved ever since, Jennifer says.
The garden features a range of native and exotic plants. Photo / Alyssa Smith
"It gives us something to work towards and helps to keep the garden tidy. I've had a lot of lovely people visit the garden. I've met so many nice and interesting people. Gardeners have a shared interest so there's always something interesting to talk about."
As well as receiving positive feedback from visitors, the garden is also a garden of international significance as assessed by the New Zealand Gardens Trust (NZGT).
"The NZGT was established as a trust of the Royal NZ Institute of Horticulture to assess and promote noteworthy New Zealand gardens and horticulture. The NZGT rates gardens using a three to a six-star system providing a guarantee of the quality of over 100 registered private and public gardens. We received a six-star rating."
Jennifer says she and Ken are looking forward to welcoming visitors to the garden.
"It's something we enjoy, we can't wait to meet more people."
• Puketarata Garden is located at 14 Ngawhini Road, Hāwera and is open for the Centuria Taranaki Garden Festival, running until November 6.
