Below you will find a selection of observations, celebrations and bits and pieces that I find worth sharing. My ever growing garden, a 5000 sqm site at the base of Mount Pirongia, serves as both an experiment and a playground and will feature heavily here. I love watching it evolve and become more dynamic as colours, forms and textures merge and settle into their surroundings and biodiversity increases alongside growth.‍ I will also share other happenings, tips or garden based pieces of inspiration that stand out along the way. ‍

Thanks for visiting - Veronica

An interesting example of a historical brutalist style garden in Dunedin Botanic gardens with plants growing over the concrete and wooden structures

5th May 2026

Dunedin Botanic Gardens, mysterious mid-century treasure…

I stumbled upon this neglected retro treasure at the top of the Dunedin Botanic Gardens while visiting this summer. As an admirer of the Brutalist style that flourished in NZ particularly in a civic context in the 60’s and 70’s, it was unexpected and exciting to find this approach in a garden setting! The poetic contrast here between the weight, simplicity and repetition of the build forms and the wild unkempt planting is delightful. The drop into the sunken garden and the sense of enclosure felt spacious, solid and peaceful although a little unloved. I was excited to see the Hydrangea petioralis (climbing Hydrangea) and the Elegia capensis (South African horsetail reed) doing their thing and adding to the mid-century feel.

Upon returning home I hunted for information on the garden only to find the elusive title of ‘Pergola Garden’ on one detailed map. There was no obvious designer attached to it, no blurb, no story. I would love to see it celebrated and restored or acknowledged at the very least and encourage anyone visiting the Dunedin Botanic Gardens to hunt it down!

Three images of NZ Native hibiscus set against a dark architectural house and recycled pavers.

30th April 2026

Our NZ Native Hibiscus…

These little perennial beauties are our rare and delightful NZ native hibiscus species enjoying the sunshine. The smallest of the two (right of image) is also known as Hibiscus richardsonii or Puarangi with the larger stemmed flower belonging to Hibiscus diversifolius. These plants have quite different habits with Puarangi preferring a hot, dry spot and the larger H. diversifolia coping with some shade and wet feet. Be warned although lovely the upright, sprawling 2m high H. diversifolia is spikey and can be a little nasty to work around so better in the back of the garden in less visited areas. The flowers are elegant and unique working in well with the darker more moody colours of a lot of our natives. Both flower for a long time and while the suns out, although each flower is short lived there are many buds. I am told that the Puarangi is a good self seeder, I hope so!!.

A misty morning scene of delicate perennial and NZ native planting set above the Waikato basin .

24th April 2026

Misty mornings expose rich insect life…

While this prospect may not be to exciting to those out there with phobias around our arachnid friends, I am re-assured that they seem very happy where they are and have no incentive to come my way. Our native divaricating plants, of which there are many are known to be a haven for both insect and native skinks, their dense habit provides protection and shelter and are a favorite in my garden. Misty mornings where dew settles on the almost invisible by day webs are really the only time that I notice how prolific, abundant and interconnected these are. Having a diverse range of insect species in the garden provides food for birds and skinks and competition for pests.

Shown here are Gaura ‘Whirling butterflies’ Corokia ‘Yellow Wonder’ & Verbena bonariensis (this last plant is somewhat weedy and coming up in our gravel areas but cannot compete with grasses and are easy to identify and pull out should you wish:)