Enormously popular Heroic Gardens Festival back again

The enormously popular two-day Heroic Gardens Festival, showcasing the creativity and hard work of gay and lesbian gardeners, will be held over the weekend of March 6th -7th. This Auckland-wide event opens 32 gardens to the public this year.

The Festival, now in its 14th year, has raised over $460,000 for good causes. Auckland’s eight hospices will again benefit from Heroic Gardens, which last year raised $30,000 for them.

The gardens range from Whangaparaoa to Waiuku and from Piha to Orakei with many clustered on the North Shore and central Auckland. They include small city and large country gardens, as well as the James Wallace Trust’s Rannoch Sculpture Forest tucked on the volcanic slope of Mt Eden, and the Kelliher Estate on Puketutu Island.

Gay and lesbian gardeners are a quirky bunch. Their choice of plants and garden layout says much about who they are. Some are older with established, stately gardens. Some are young, and spectacle, colour and provocative sculpture reflect their gay and proud attitude.

Artists like Kevin Kilsby in Mt Albert and David Poole at Matakatia in Whangaparaoa have their works featured in their gardens and on sale over the weekend. Other gardeners are providing home baking, refreshments, jewelry and Venetian masks.

Some Heroic Gardens have featured in magazines and on television, including Dale Harvey and John Newton’s Mangere garden with its 47 separate garden rooms.

Bonsai lovers will head for Robert Langholm and Simon Misdale’s garden in Mt Albert to see New Zealand’s largest collection of bonsai arranged in the Japanese style, including an outstanding bonsai kauri forest 45 years in the making. About one third of Robert and Simon’s bonsai collection is over 80 years old.

Peter Brady’s iconic garden nestled around a Spanish Mission-style bungalow will attract many new visitors, as well as the regulars who return to see this constantly evolving garden with its prized specimen plants, vibrant sub-tropicals, bird life and wonderful sculptures.

Many of the garden owners will be available to talk about the "how-and-why" of what they have achieved. They are happy to share their knowledge and experience and hopefully answer the difficult questions. This festival includes something for every gardener and every person who enjoys garden design or plant variety.

The Heroic Gardens Festival programme will be published in the February issue of NZ Gardener and will also be available at Kings Plant Barns and Palmers Gardenworld Centres, selected retailers and your local Hospice. Tickets are $30 and valid for both days. To buy tickets on-line visit www.heroicgardens.org.nz.