Monday, November 9, 2009

Rhodofest

Officially it's the Taranaki Rhododendron & Garden Festival and I finally got to some of the gardens on the weekend, well 2 actually plus the carvers who are part of the Fringe Garden Festival. Yup, 51 official gardens are not enough, there are also 72 fringe gardens, studios and the tractor trail. Te Kupinga Stone Sculpture Society create stunning carvings out of the local andesite - art meets power tools!


Then I went to the Japanese Tea House. It is a beautiful little tea house built of traditional materials in a backyard with a fabulous view of the mountain. It was a bit cloudy but if you look carefully it is there.


Then on sunday I went to Tupare which is an historic home just 10mins from town but it feels miles away. You come in at the top o the ridge and the gardens go all the way down to the river.

Most wonderfully there is a field at the bottom full of daisys and buttercups! Just like going to the zoo to see the pidgeons, my favourite flowers were the ones growing wild.

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