Middle Earth Tututawa at Rivendell Gardens

Experiencing Rivendell Gardens is like a journey to Middle Earth Tututawa.
Owner Ruth Drawneek bought the property from Biddy and Rusty Barrett four years ago (Barrett's Gardens), and with partner Michael Self, has opened the gardens to Fringe Festival visitors.
They changed the name to Rivendell for the fairy-tale corners of the garden where elves and fairies were thought to dwell, and the river that flowed at the bottom of the eight acres of garden.
Ruth and Michael said the gardens were not as formal as they once were with Rivendell recovering after the big weather of 2004.
Some trees toppled around the gardens, but nature soon healed the wounds.
The Tauwharenikau and Mangaehu Streams, which flow through garden created walkways along its banks.
Across the streams, sturdy-planked bridges have been built to take the visitor to higher ground where views through emerging colours of maples contrast against rhododendrons, as you discover another part of the garden.
Rivendell has 300 varieties of magnolias and was rated in the top three magnolia gardens by the International Magnolia Group when they visited a few years ago..
The not-so-common in gardens yellow magnolia stands out in contrast against the last of winter deciduous varieties.
The garden also has hundreds of different maples and a thousand different varieties of rhododendrons.
Ruth and Michael have cut out the blanket insect spraying of Rivendell, which has seen the increase of bird life return to the gardens.
The morepork are abundant as they settle in the garden near the cottage at night and feed on the giant green Puriri moth.
The North Island robin is also a visitor as are dozens of fantails that feed on the thrips.
A family of donkeys come running when you call a heavily-pregnant Sally, Daniel and baby Rosa, and in the paddock above, Braveheart the Highland bull watches from his vantage point.
There are larches from Scandanavia which the Vikings used for their ship masts. When a son was born the Vikings planted a cluster of larches and when he was of age, they cut them down and used them for the poles of his house or for his ship.
In a clearing near the giant macrocarpas the scent of the Else Frye rhododendron wafts in the air. There are trillium in clusters and the mouse lily named because the flower looks like the rear of a mouse complete with a tail.
"We are still finding gems after all these years," they said as we descended the path to look at the Himalyan Lily that grows eight-feet tall, has a beautiful scent and flowers through to Christmas.
Another legacy of Biddy Barrett's are the rambling roses that grow through the hedges along the roadside.
Wherever you walk and wherever you look, Rivendell is a feast for the eyes and the senses.
The gardens are open throughout the Fringe Festival and visitors are welcome to camp on the big lawn to take part in the folk music festival.