Magic in Eves Garden Gallery

OVER THE three years that Eve's Garden Gallery has been open, it has progressed in to something simply magical, with a selection of garden ornaments, plants, water features, fish and gifts to suit everybody.
Eve Jones originally came to New Zealand from England six years ago and has been in the shop for the past three.
"When I bought this business, it was just a pet shop, and before that it was mainly plants," said Eve.
"Now I just have fish and pet supplies along with gifts and outdoor ornaments," she said.
The shop is filled with beautiful outdoor gift ideas to suit anyone, from chooks to pukeko's and frogs.
Although decorating your garden comes down to personal taste, Eve said that at the moment, metal and copper lizards are a popular choice.
"People buy them to hang on their garden fences and on the side of their house," said Eve.
Hanging fish are also really popular, along with tall, standing features and pukeko's.
"Everybody likes anything to do with pukeko's," she said. According to Eve, outdoor ornaments are more popular now to smaller gardens because they are more affordable, and can add character to the more simple planting designs.
"It's all about having fun with decorating your garden now, and being less formal."
Ponds are also still a popular choice with gardeners, but are starting to be replaced with water features, as they are more convenient to working people who don't have time to keep up with pond maintenance.
"They are also safer if you have little children around," said Eve.
Even though back in the days, gnomes were a popular choice for everyone's gardens, Eve said it's a bit of a rarity now to see one of those cherry little fellows in the garden - although she still gets the odd gnome collector in her shop every now and then. Lately garden d?cor has progressed to a more artistic stage.
"Now days, people like having fun with decorating their gardens, whether its formal or modern art, whatever the design its affordable," said Eve.
"And because it's so affordable, if you don't like it, you can easily change it."
While some people like the 'rustic' look on ornaments in their garden, not everyone has the same opinion, and a tip from Eve is to spray your metal ornaments with CRC to keep that unwanted rust away.
Check out Eve's Garden Gallery on Broadway in Stratford, its well worth a browse.