Spring delights greet garden club

 

With spring just a couple of weeks old, the Mangawhai Garden Club ladies set off to enjoy a day visiting Eden Gar-dens and the grounds of Government House in Epsom.

Our fingers are crossed that Jim Hickey’s forecasted rain won’t arrive today.

The gardens sit within a disused quarry site on the slopes of one of Auckland’s 40 volcanic cones, Mt Eden.

Eden Gardens had its beginnings in July 1964 when horticulturist Jack Clark and other enthu-siasts looked past the overgrown eyesore and envisioned the beautiful garden we see today. The steep volcanic rock embankments of this five-and-a-half acre site provide various levels for planting and a sheltered microclimate that encourages healthy growth of hundreds of species of plants.

As we enter the gar-dens the incredible sight of hundreds of pastel tulips sitting beneath a canopy of spectacular pink magnolia blooms is truly breathtaking. In other garden beds, tulips in fiery reds, yellows and orange make bold statements against a lush green background. Tropical vireyas with huge clusters of blooms in every shade and hellibores

(winter roses) add a delicate softness amongst the plantings.

The gentle splashes of a waterfall add to the feeling of tranquility and encourage visitors to re-lax, sip a coffee and take in all the beauty of their surroundings. At the base of the waterfall, the pond is surrounded by ferns, ligularias and taros and nestled amongst the walls of lush greenery are bright splashes of orange clivias.

For the energetic, steep paths lead to the top of the quarry walls and vantage points along the way offer beautiful views down to the canopy trees and peeks of bright colour between.

The drone of traffic draws the eye to the mo-torway just a short dis-tance away and the city and harbour beyond. It’s hard to believe this lush, tranquil setting is in the middle of a bustling city.

Just a short stroll to the end of the car park brings us to the gates of Government House, our next stop. The present house was built in 1921 by Sir Frank and Lady Mappin, a wealthy Auck-land businessman. For the next 45 years they de-veloped the garden, making great use of the natural volcanic rock features and existing trees and wooded area. The prop-erty once included the quarry that supplied all the rock for the city but when the Mappins gifted their property to the State as an official residence, the quarry was considered too much of an eyesore and was rejected. This became Eden Gardens.

The house has three manicured lawn areas, used for official functions, surrounded by huge specimen trees dating over 100 years. During World War II, the Governor’s lawn was cultivated to provide vegetables for servicemen’s families. Although lack-ing the colour of Eden Gardens, the grounds of Government House are significant as a survivor from an era of grand es-tates and having many trees that are the oldest of their type in the country. Most other gardens of this size in Auckland have been subdivided or completely redeveloped.

After a stroll across the expansive lawns, through the wooded area to admire the massive Morton Bay fig and past the house, hoping for a sneaky peek inside, we headed back to our bus for a sleepy trip back to Mangawhai.

From Viv Martens

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