L'Orangerie.
After spending a weekend in Tauranga sampling just a handful of 200 gardeners' and 88 artists' offerings at November's NZ Garden & Art Festival, we came away impressed. The gardens and art are magnificent but we were left wondering just what they are eating and drinking in Tauranga that gives them such vitality and enthusiasm for life.
Take the festival's oldest, largest and possibly quirkiest garden, The Looking Glass in Papamoa Hills. Its owners, at 80 and 73 years, are definitely some of the district's more age-enriched gardeners.
Gael and Cedric Blaymires have beavered away on their informal 8ha garden for three decades. As Gael leads the way, pointing out the rare trees, she explains the fairytale themes and layout.
A natural amphitheatre has hosted Warwick Broadhurst's plays; Peter Cramond sculptures and playhouses punctuate the walking tracks. But my favourite feature is the heady stairway to heaven. The property, recognised by the NZ Garden Trust, is on the market so this festival offers a last chance to view.
Gael says children derive so much pleasure from the garden's treasure hunt layout.
"Hopefully, some of them will be gardeners one day." Just not during this festival. All tours are limited to adults.
Also paying tribute to children in her new-to-the-festival garden is Rebecca-Jane Sandford at L'Orangerie at Ohauiti. This rambling country garden is a popular wedding venue -- along the lines of ordered chaos, says Rebecca, whose trees, shrubs, lavender, daphne, hydrangeas, erigeron daisies, forget-me-nots and vinca work together so well. The venue's popularity owes much to the wonderful imagination, planning, planting and sheer hard graft of its owner, who has transformed paddocks into outdoor rooms. We love the delicately planted Onderland and its princess wooden throne Rebecca created for daughter Maggie's first birthday -- and kauri forest for son Moss. Lots of oohs and aahs for the home's architectural style, too, which Rebecca describes as French country meets Kiwi woolshed. If you're lucky kunikuni pigs Maybelline and L'Oreal might treat you to piggy squeals.
Back in urban Tauranga, combining her passion for art and gardens, as well as playing muse for 41-year-old photographer Tracy Stamatakos, Jenny Coker's zest for life belies her age. "I'm looking 68 in the eye." Her waterside garden is primped for spring and summer colour and perfume and features "masses of hydrangeas and old roses" framed by a silk tree.
Complementing the outdoors work are Jenny's indoor works in oils and watercolours. Did we mention she's also talking on botanical art? Jenny's and Tracy's show is called The Paintbrush and the Pixel and the pair say they learned so much from working together.
Jenny has us in stitches when she says she's heard she needs to draw the curtains the week hundreds of people make their pilgrimage round all the gardens. She's not the first to comment that sometimes garden tourers love to have a squiz in the windows, too.
Kevin McCardell's visual deceptions.
Another festival artist is Kevin McCardell. Even if you're focused more on gardens than art, budget some time for Kevin's workshop. Those jackets hanging casually on the walls are actually carvings chiselled from kauri. Hats, boots, seagulls, picnic tables with fish'n'chips wrapped in newspaper ... all wood. Amazing.
Not an exhibitor but a speaker is Katikati's Andrew Boylan, of Incredible Edibles. His forte is growing things that look good and taste good. "People like to know where their food comes from."
He and wife Fiona have 6ha in nurseries and enjoy taking new varieties to the market. Though his nursery is not in the festival, you can book tour groups at edible.co.nz.
His festival topic is growing fruit trees and berries even on the smallest sections. And talking of small brings us to the exhibitors who are big on little ... Kaylene and Gerry Don's Mount Maunganui townhouse, where every wall is a vertical carpet of grasses and multi-coloured flora. As they say, their love of gardening has driven them up the walls.
The NZ Garden and Art Festival (November 17-23)
The ninth annual festival features 94 gardens (zone by neighbourhood) plus art and sculpture symposia, enviroschools open days, long lunches, and a weekend expo pavilion at The Lakes. Tickets from $29 (one day) to $130 (seven days).
When you need to stop for eats, try Harbourside (upmarket, uplifting and delicious) on The Strand Tauranga. For tasty and generously sized pizzas, we recommend the new and trending The Pizza Library at the Mount.
Donna McIntyre was a guest of the NZ Garden & Art Festival and Trinity Wharf Hotel.