Daffodils herald the start of Spring Fling

Taniwha Daffodils opens on Friday, and creator Railene Mabin is expecting a big roll-up of visitors during opening weekend. Photo / Warren Buckland

Taniwha Daffodils has the honour of kicking off this year's CHB Spring Fling programme.

Though not a complete sea of yellow last week, Taniwha Daffodils creator Railene Mabin assured the 25 acres at her family's Waipukurau property would be a different sight come this Friday.

"It will look terrific by then. There'll be hundreds and thousands of them," said Mrs Mabin referring to the daffodils that blanket the grounds of Taniwha homestead, on SH2 just south of Waipukurau, every spring.

With the help of her family, Railene has raised more than $250,000 for Plunket by opening up the gates of the property every September for the past 25 years so visitors can pick $5 bunches of the more than 2000 varieties of daffodils that grow there.

This year's Taniwha Daffodils event starts on Friday, September 1, and runs until September 30. If the recent good run of weather continued, Mrs Mabin was expecting a big roll-up of visitors during opening weekend.

"Being a weekend - and judging by the number of people that have come the last few weekends but seen the 'closed' sign and turned around at the gates - it will start off with the bang, I think."

Railene, who was awarded a Queen's Service Medal this year for her fundraising efforts, said preparing for Taniwha Daffodials always involved "a lot of work". Husband Barrie, 83, has spent hours on the ride-on mower creating pathways among the daffodils, while Railene, 82, had planted 2500 new daffodils this year.

"I normally plant 3000 but if you remember there was a drought and it was terribly dry over summer, and I was late starting planting."

As well as picking daffodils together, at Taniwha Daffodils parents can sip on coffees available for sale to go with their picnic lunches by the lake, while children roam around the grounds and play on swings hung from trees.

Dusk in the Daffodils would also be returning this year on September 15 after a successful first outing last year, Railene said.

"It was fabulous last year. We got a beautiful night and we had food trucks and music and wine, and we had the shed all lit up, we had the daffodils lit up from down low, and we had the braziers out and people were out sitting on chairs.

"It was such a beautiful evening."

Taniwha Daffodils is the first of 30 events that will be held across CHB in September and October during this year's Spring Fling.

Artmosphere Gallery in Waipawa is also hosting the Spring Hurrah this Friday night, where attendees will enjoy bubbles, a continuous supper, and live entertainment before the gallery officially opens its New Beginnings exhibition.