Stuff Magazines

Q&A

with Isaac Weston & Lara Bui

FAVOURITE TREES: The New South Wales Christmas tree ( Ceratopetalum gummiferum) teems with birdlife and seems to attract every type of bee and bug, and monarch butterflies. This and the orange tree were here when we bought the property. I also love acers – they are so shady and soft and seasonally transitional, with their tiny buds, fiery autumnal colours and gorgeous new tips in summer. Acer palmatum ‘Senkaki’ has fiery red bark in winter so when it loses its leaves it is still an amazing colour and then the trunk goes back to green in summer. (Lara)

BIRDLIFE INCLUDES: Spoonbills, tūī (there are tūī babies in our trees every year), moreporks, falcons, kingfishers, swallows, rosellas, wax-eyes and fantails. (Lara)

WE PL AN TO: Add paths to link decks and fulfill Lara’s desire to plant more acers. (Isaac)

AN AREA VISITORS OFTEN COMMENT ON: Our cheerful gazebo, with its flamingos in amongst tropical planting, its cheery yellow Hello Sunshine sign and its bright upholstery. It’s an elevated place to sit and overlook the garden and estuary. (Lara)

A SECRET THING ABOUT OUR PROPERTY: From the road there is no indication of what we consider a wonderland behind our house. (Lara) THE GARDEN IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC: During the biennial Bay of Plenty Garden & Art Festival, and by private arrangement. We love sharing it. (Isaac)

/ GARDENS TAURANGA

en-nz

2023-06-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-06-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

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