Fountain Gardens

Fountain Gardens
Plummers Point

Aug 27, 2015

This morning we visited Fountain Gardens in Plummers Point. The owner was unable to be there today (the friend who met us said she was very sorry to miss us) so we took a self-guided tour through the 3 acres of former dairy country tucked beneath Plummers Point Road. 

The garden is marketed as native, with a touch of the traditional and surprises around every corner. There are more than 30 unique water features, including a floating bridge, an Italian horse cascade statue and seven dwarves who make their home in a shallow pond.  The waterways are fed by four natural springs which, along with 60 tons of Hinuera Stone, form the basis of the landscaping within the property’s flagship gully.

The native gully looks magical as the brook gently wends its way towards the harbour and dappled light rains down through the trees. It’s presumably because of this gully of cascading pools that the property was formerly known as the Cascade Fountain Gardens. 

While the garden is mainly native, there are also cacti, silvery eucalypts and English-style wrought iron lamp-posts dotted throughout.

The Fountain Gardens website (www.fountaingardens.co.nz) says: “This garden has been created and tended through sheer passion and ingenuity, rather than by precise technical know-how – it is unpretentious, natural beauty offering romance, serenity and beauty.”   

The mix of styles gives this garden the feel of a passion project – a gardener’s love letter to the varied plants and sculptures which take the artist’s fancy. For me, most striking of all was the sky-high giant bamboo plantation, towering above the deck where weddings are held.

Keri

Special thanks to Megan C for organising the visit – despite the fact you could not make it. You’re a trooper!