Gardens Galore in North Canterbury

For this reason, I think it’s best if you pick one or two areas to focus on - that way you won’t spend too much time driving from one garden to the next!

We rented a place in Hanmer Springs for the weekend and visited three gardens on our way up from Christchurch and another four in surrounding areas the following day. Some were extraordinary and some less so, but that’s all part of the experience isn’t it!  
 
With hindsight we underestimated the drive-time between places and since I’m not a garden tragic probably four or five would have been enough; you can get gardened-out. Also I wouldn’t recommend taking a dog as it was very hot and most places didn’t allow them.
 
But all that’s by the by. The festival is a chance to visit some lovely out-of-the-way parts of the Hurunui and view some gorgeous and interesting private gardens, often established by women out of nought but a paddock -  a testament to their creativity and relationship to place.

Out of the seven gardens I visited, three stood out with the first being the Blue House in Amberley, about 45 minutes’ drive north of Christchurch. An exposed sheep paddock with a stream and a hedge nine years ago, it’s now like a Russian doll with gardens within a garden.
 
Owners Jenny Cooper (who’s also a book illustrator) and Chris Raateland say their solution to the windy, dry summers and boggy winters is variety: “…from gravel gardens to Mediterranean gardens, tussocks, a small wild meadow, woodland gardens, a tiny vineyard and even a bog garden, we are experimenting to see what works best in this varied environment.”
 
The result will have you smiling with delight - and to top it all off there’s an orchard, vegetables and a garden shed straight out of Peter Rabbit.