Spring Gardens in New Zealand

Check-in at Sydney International Airport for your flight to Christchurch. Meet Paula Benneian, your Ross Tour Leader at the departure gate. Christchurch is known as New Zealand’s Garden City, a unique destination where thriving garden traditions merge with dynamic urban renewal. Check into your hotel, Distinction Hotel. Celebrate together tonight at our Welcome dinner.

Today, enjoy a full day of garden visits. Firstly, travel north to the small township of Amberley; visit Blue House Garden This is a garden where strong design and a plant woman’s passion go hand in hand. This afternoon; enjoy a visit to No 11 Historic Cottage and Garden; the garden surrounds the cottage. Finish the day with a guided tour of the Christchurch Botanic Gardens; the gardens boast an impressive collection of plants which provide a tranquil oasis.

This morning we depart Christchurch and travel to Flaxmere Garden in North Canterbury, a 6 star Garden of International Significance. Enjoy a packed lunch at Flaxmere, in this 3-hectare garden there are a series of garden areas each distinct using different cultivars and connected with a series of ponds which have their own personality. Coldstream is next, a lush tranquil oasis, awarded a 5 star Garden of National Significance.

Today, visit Loch Leven, another Garden of National Significance, the result of hard work by its owners over the last 33 years and is still evolving. This 3-acre garden is set on a small farm in the Amuri Basin. Remainder of the day is at leisure to explore the quaint township of Hanmer.

This morning travel to Blenheim via Kaikoura. Lunch is included today. Enroute visit Welton House; settled high on an ancient dune and surrounded by geometric rows of vineyards, Welton House Garden is at once thoroughly modern whilst proudly celebrating its 150-year history.

Today we see 3 stunning gardens of National & International Significance, including Carolyn Ferraby’s Barewood, in classic English style, elegant, generous, a connoisseur’s delight. Lunch included today. Then, Paripuma, a magical and earthy beachside paradise & Whitney Garden, a working garden with fruit trees and vegetable gardens.

Another day filled with private gardens of Marlborough; visit the romantic Hortensia House Garden, and the Japanese-inspired native Moritaki Garden.

More private gardens of Marlborough on our list today; visit Willows Green Garden & another two local private gardens by Tim and Sally Wadsworth and Kirsty and
David Wraight.

Hidden away and perched high above the Pacific Ocean, in a magical oasis of its own making, lies Winterhome Garden, 10 acres of structured formal garden and park-like grounds. This afternoon travel across the farmlands of the North Canterbury Plains and the Waipara wine district and on to Christchurch.

We are heading to the unspoilt old French whaling depot of Akaroa on Banks Peninsula. Visit Fisherman’s Bay Garden that sits on the coast, skillfully designed to fit into the rugged panoramic landscape. Free time to browse the cute shops in Akaroa. Then to Giant’s House, now part of Akaroa folklore, a fun garden of exuberant sculptures and mosaics. Farewell Dinner included tonight.

Margaret Long’s Frensham Gardens is the last on our itinerary, some say it’s the best! Margaret’s superb skill with short and long vistas has made a strong structure. Her considerered use of flowering shrubs; roses, peonies, wisteria, clematis, and the filtering of light which is created by judicious pruning has made Frensham one of New Zealand’s five star gardens of National Significance. Transfer to Christchurch International Airport to connect with your homeward flight.