New Zealand Gardeners Bring the Wilderness to Suburbia
- 14 years ago
The mountains are the limit for Valda Poletti and her husband Dave Clarkson.
They were both passionate outdoor adventures when they meet, but later on with the arrival of children and busy careers they needed a solution.
That solution was to bring the great outdoors to suburbia.
[Valda Poletti, Gardener]:
We’ve created this lovely little space with birds singing, the rustle of the leaves, the alpine plants flowering, the smells, the fragrance of New Zealand nature.
Valda and Dave have successfully re-created a fernery, alpine meadow and wetland, similar to what is found in New Zealand’s wild.
Their garden named Te Kainga Marire Mar rear re is renowned for its wide use of indigenous plants and has since been awarded a ‘Garden of International Significance'
[Dave Clarkson, Gardener]:
“There's not many plants that have been collected from the wild, it's against our principals to take from the wild, so you’re normally reliant on people like ourselves who collect it.”
Their half-acre plot in New Plymouth, New Zealand was a dense clay waste land covered in gorse and blackberry before they began. 35 years on, it’s a native plant paradise, making those years of hard work well worth it.
[Valda Poletti, Gardener]:
“We don’t have to go racing off to holiday somewhere to find happiness because we are happy here everyday, 12 months of the year, so that’s been the real benefit”.
So if your in this neck of the woods Valda and Dave’s garden is open daily from September to April to anyone wanting to draw a little green inspiration.
NTD, Taranaki, New Zealand.
They were both passionate outdoor adventures when they meet, but later on with the arrival of children and busy careers they needed a solution.
That solution was to bring the great outdoors to suburbia.
[Valda Poletti, Gardener]:
We’ve created this lovely little space with birds singing, the rustle of the leaves, the alpine plants flowering, the smells, the fragrance of New Zealand nature.
Valda and Dave have successfully re-created a fernery, alpine meadow and wetland, similar to what is found in New Zealand’s wild.
Their garden named Te Kainga Marire Mar rear re is renowned for its wide use of indigenous plants and has since been awarded a ‘Garden of International Significance'
[Dave Clarkson, Gardener]:
“There's not many plants that have been collected from the wild, it's against our principals to take from the wild, so you’re normally reliant on people like ourselves who collect it.”
Their half-acre plot in New Plymouth, New Zealand was a dense clay waste land covered in gorse and blackberry before they began. 35 years on, it’s a native plant paradise, making those years of hard work well worth it.
[Valda Poletti, Gardener]:
“We don’t have to go racing off to holiday somewhere to find happiness because we are happy here everyday, 12 months of the year, so that’s been the real benefit”.
So if your in this neck of the woods Valda and Dave’s garden is open daily from September to April to anyone wanting to draw a little green inspiration.
NTD, Taranaki, New Zealand.