Garden Club tour discovers Kaipara’s hidden delights

OASIS: The fascinating garden of Maungaturoto artists Richard and Diana Moore.
 

Behind an unassuming weatherboard house in Maungaturoto, Mangawhai Garden Club members had one of those jaw dropping moments. 

The spectacular small garden of Richard and Diana Moore features hundreds of bromeliads cleverly planted amongst clumps of mondo grass and lush plantings of palms, pungas, ligularias and ferns, all shaded by two mature puriri trees.

The back drop for all these beautiful tropical plants are rock formations made by Richard. They look so realistic with water running down to a pond and every nook and cranny planted to soften the effect. Paths wind their way to the back of the garden where more rocks are under construction.

Richard and Diana are both artists and involved in a landscaping plan for Maungaturoto. If the town ends up even half as beautiful as their own garden, it will become a great destination for tourists and garden lovers alike.

Next stop was the Matakohe Kauri Museum for a guided tour. We admired work from Mangawhai artists included in the Kaipara Community Art Exhibition. From a real saw mill, to ornate kauri furniture and a huge collection of kauri gum, there is so much to see at this great museum.

Just down the road is the home of Marion and Doug Shaw. Doug is one of the few remaining fern growers left in NZ. After hearing about the long process involved in collecting the spores and growing them on sphagnum moss, it’s easy to see that you need to be very dedicated to achieve success at producing viable ferns. There are so many beautiful ferns in NZ and thanks to people like Doug, we are able to grow them in our home gardens.

Our last stop for the day was at the Pioneer Gardens Nursery, owned by Peter and Rowie Panhuis. Their speciality is hydrangeas at very reasonable prices and judging by the greenery spilling out of the bus storage compartment, the Mangawhai ladies were very happy shoppers.

Peter and Rowie also own The Pines B & B in Paparoa, an historic home and cottage built by an English gentleman. He brought his family and later a governess/mistress who lived in the cottage that is now used for guests. The local schools weren’t considered good enough for his children and years later when two of his sons married local girls he disinherited them. Who would have thought that the sleepy shores of the Kaipara were the home for such scandals!

After  a delicious afternoon tea in the cottage and admiring the ancient oak that straddles the driveway, we boarded our bus to head back to Mangawhai. As usual, our trip was fun and informative, thanks to our lovely hosts.