Hurunui Garden Festival – Day 2 The Jewel in the Crown

After a rather hectic 1st day of our Hurunui Garden Festival (HGF) tour, we agreed to take it a bit easier on Day 2. We woke up early to birdsong in Coldstream, a garden of National Significance in Culverden.  The rain was holding off so while Derek performed his daily exercise regime (his own special blend of tai chi and pilates), Lily, the schnauzer fur baby, and I set off down the farm race to spread our legs as Minister Chris Hipkins (Chippy to his mates) would say. The herd of heifers were amazed at the sight of such a little dog and escorted us at pace on our walk. This proved a little too much attention for a town dog and Lil was pretty keen to head back to the safety of HQ, our motorhome. Besides we had to prepare ourselves. Today was the day we were to visit Flaxmere, the legendary Hawarden garden of Penny Zino.( Flaxmere website )

Our gardening friends had gushed over the wonders that we were to behold at Flaxmere. We planned to stay there that night after Penny had kindly waived her No Dogs rule for a small well behaved and wormed schnauzer. Many of the gardens in the HGF are part of a working farm so it is imperative that any visiting canines do not endanger the health  of the livestock………downing a Drontal is a prerequisite, if not part of the dog’s regular health regime.   Flaxmere would be our final garden for the day.

We kicked off the day at Hurunui Homestead in Hawarden. The dire weather predictions had not come to bear and the sun was hot as we wandered around Anne and Matthew’s lovely property. Their home, built in the 1920’s  is located on a main road. The hornbeam hedges and brick walls provide privacy and shelter to the croquet lawn and large perennial borders overflowing with irises, roses, peonies and aquilegias. There was also a very striking pink and white candy stripe lupin that we saw nowhere else. The fat peony buds  were beginning to open. I always struggle to suppress a wave of jealousy when admiring peonies never having lived anywhere where they would flourish. I console myself knowing that to truly be successful with peonies you need to have the stamina to endure very cold winters. I do not. Dotted around the garden were cute bird houses made by the local joiner, Matthew Newton. Not just your average bird house – some were more a town house and down one end of the garden there was the equivalent of a bird condo. Prunus Shimidsu Sakura stood guard either side of the entry way. They were the main prunus flowering at this time. The other notable tree in blossom was the Malus Ioensis Plena. Those balls of pink petals are just moreish. A great start to the day.(Hurunui Homestead website )

Next stop was Kintail in Waikari but first, we needed caffeine. Waikari Kitchen not only has great coffee but delicious food. Feeling fortified we drove up the driveway to Kintail. Vicky, the co-owner, gave us a very warm welcome and was interested to hear what we thought of travelling in a motorhome. It seems that could be on Vicky’s and her husband Peter’s bucket list. Looking at the size of their garden and the standard to which it was maintained, made me wonder how they were going to find time to put down their trowels. Their house is set on an exposed ridge with sweeping views over farmland to Mounts Te Koa and Lyford and to the south west, Mt Mason and the Waikari Valley. They have used pencil cyprus to great effect. The cyprus frame the many wonderful vistas or add height in, for example, the beds of agapanthus. Due to the exposed site there was quite a different plant palette used here. No swathes of delicate aquilegias or irises. Instead euphorbia, echium, the forementioned agapanthus, cabbage trees, flaxes and other natives featured heavily. There were sweeping lawns on three levels with teuchrium and buxus hedging used to create separate areas. There was no fussiness about the garden. It looked like it belonged to a hard working family who enjoyed spending time outdoors, enjoying their spectacular bit of Godzone.

There was time for one more garden before we headed for Flaxmere. Newstead, in Hawarden, is a lovely country garden. It apparently started off as one hectare but then fences were moved and paddocks were hijacked to allow for a wedding marquee. The effect is park like. Big sweeping lawns, lovely mature trees and plenty of thoughtful underplanting. I loved the hot border with nandina and red helianthemums. There were plants that I had not seen in other gardens to date – a pure yellow aquilegia, a purple sedum (maybe Purple Emperor), wallflowers and  astrantia. But it’s not all froth. The vegetable garden also looks extremely productive. Pea straw is used extensively as mulch. Apparently they grew the prize winning pumpkin at the 2019 Hawarden Show, weighing in at 91.5kg. What a whopper! How much pumpkin soup would that have made? In 2020 Newstead lost ten mature trees. The garden now has a stumpery. It looked great showing that even when there is a garden disaster there is always a silver lining – the opportunity to plant something new or turn that disaster into a feature.

Flaxmere was a mere hop skip and a jump from Newstead. We found HQ a spot for the night in the parking paddock, slaked our thirst with a cuppa, locked up leaving Lil on guard and headed for the entrance. Flaxmere, is not to be taken lightly. It is a three hectare six star garden of International Significance. Penny Zino is the driving force behind the garden. It is truly miraculous what she has managed to create over the last fifty five years. Penny and her late husband John moved to the farm in 1966. The farm was renamed Flaxmere in a nod to John’s mother’s connection to Hawkes Bay.

The first task was cutting down old overgrown shelterbelts that overshadowed the house. This revealed amazing vistas of Mt Te Koa that were pivotal in Penny’s garden design. The other pivotal feature is water. A stream running through the property was used to create the chain of ponds. Bulldozers were utilised but not before two were submerged in the process.  Penny’s artistic eye and ability to draw her designs has resulted in strong structural elements throughout the garden. All of the different themes in the garden blend seamlessly. Nothing jars. It is very pleasing to the eye. Whether it is the woodland garden , the rose garden, the native area, the marquee lawn or the Mt Te Koa vista area, nothing is higgledy-piggledy. In fact it is the complete opposite of higgledy-piggledy, whatever the word for that may be.

Flaxmere is an extremely challenging environment. Searing hot temperatures in Summer with savage nor-westers to bitterly cold winters with snow on the ground and ponds frozen over. I had taken a picture (one of many!)  of an attractive Burrelli terracotta pot, planted with echeveria. In the barn, there was a photo of that same pot capped with 8 inches of snow. One bit of wisdom that I have taken to heart is Penny’s advice about sourcing plants to ensure they get the best start. Try and source your plants from a nursery further south than your garden. They are likely to be hardier and do better than the same plant from a nursery further north.  This is the joy of garden festivals. Not only seeing the wonderful gardens but talking to their creators who are always so happy to share their knowledge. Whether it is plant identification or a tricky cultivation question, they are always happy to share .

The thing that stuck out to me most at Flaxmere is the woman at the centre of it all. It is hard to believe the slender welcoming smartly dressed septuagenarian still does 90% of the work in the garden herself. This is the story of her life. It appears that she has always been extremely hardworking and resourceful. When farming incomes dropped dramatically, Penny grew gypsophila. At that time a carload of gypsophila was fetching as much as a truckload of lambs. Penny and John, along with some of their green fingered neighbours, set up a Country Garden collective operating garden tours. This was an innovative concept being the first cluster group of gardens to open in NZ.  She set up a nursery cultivating climbers after talking to Nurserymen around Christchurch to identify a gap in the market. This was later expanded to old fashioned roses. With a friend, Penny established the Art in a Garden exhibition that they ran together for 11 years, attracting 2,000 – 2,500 visitors to the garden not just from NZ but overseas as well. So much energy and drive in such a petite package. Penny Zino is truly the Jewel in The Crown of just not the Hurunui Garden Festival but gardening in NZ. You can tell I’m a big fan.

We had to have two sessions at Flaxmere. The day we got there rain delayed play. We scurried back to HQ as big drops of rain tumbled down. The next day, the sky was blue, the sun was hot, the colours in the garden were brighter and Mt Te Koa had emerged from behind the clouds. Penny’s attention to detail has resulted in a garden that has something to offer in any season. I’m looking forward to returning to Flaxmere. I’m thinking early next year! The roses should be pretty special.