Wairarapa Wanderings

The 1.5km steep unsealed drive up to Assisi Gardens looked daunting.  We could see the house perched high on the hill up above us, so that was where we were heading.  This was the first stop on our day out with Anne and the SLG on our “Wairarapa Wanderings”.

We climbed higher and higher, past massed plantings on the hillside and groups of local stone artistically arranged.  All rocks used in the garden came from the property.

A grove of cabbage trees

The views were stunning as we looked across the valley.  Assisi Gardens cover 11 hectares of steep hillside and are only 10 years old.  The beautiful lake  took shape after 9000 mts of peat was excavated (and used elsewhere in the garden) and the previous swamp filled with water from the natural spring.  The owners gave us a potted history of the property and then we took ourselves off on a self guided garden tour.  Large plantings of native trees and flaxes attract the birds in the Spring.

There was no wind the day we visited, unusual as we were so high up in the hills, and the hot Wairarapa sun was beating down as we wandered around the garden.  We were delighted to cool down and eat our picnic lunch under the shade of the decking at the back of the house when we completed our garden tour.

Lunch time out of the hot sun

The two resident dogs, shiny black Labradors called Venus and Serena were eating their lunch too.  They made short work of a large bone each as they chomped happily away.

Is this Venus or Serena with her bone?

As we left the gardens at Gladstone to drive to our next stop the heavens opened and a torrential downpour arrived.  It was so difficult to see that we all slowed down to a crawl, our lights were on, and the windscreen wipers were working on high speed.  Luckily by the time we left the country roads and joined the main road the rain had eased considerably, and unbelievably, blue skies appeared as we pulled in to our next destination. We were to see the rural Carterton  workshop of sculpture Nico Thomsen.  Ten years ago Nico packed up all his heavy metal working tools including a forge into a shipping container and left Germany to start a new life in New Zealand.  He turns pieces iron into garden works of art.  Nico explained the long process to create his stunning flax pieces.  He uses all sorts of metal, from flat lengths to rods, as he cuts, shapes, hammers, welds into the shapes he is creating.

Nico with his flax flowers

We were all taken with this lovely frame covered with flowers and could imagine it in our own gardens.  Nico told us that he paints his garden creations with rust inhibiting oil which gives some protection if applied regularly, but then again, he feels that a little  rust on his outdoor works only enhances the iron works.

Garden sculptor

Sitting in the driveway was a carriage that looked like it was straight out of a fairy tale.  “Would you mind, Nico”, I asked, “if I sat in your carriage?” Goodness knows what thoughts were going through his mind as he graciously consented.  So here I am, feeling like a princess for a moment!

All I need is a tiara

We had a great day out with our SLG friends.  It was Anne’s turn to organise the day out, and she came up with two interesting visits to places we had not previously discovered.