Four Seasons in One Garden!
Welcome to Aston Norwood Gardens. We hope you enjoy experiencing the gardens as much as we have enjoyed creating them. Twenty-two years ago, our gardens started as bare paddocks with only a few trees. Now, our gardens have come of age with a real sense of maturity. Loosely based on a Japanese garden theme, there are landscape and water features with thousands of flowering cherries, maples, rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias. The gardens are a delight to explore.
What are you waiting for? We look forward to seeing you soon.
Contact us through the Café – 04 526 6639
GARDEN ACTIVITIES
Eels have taken up residence in the bottom pond. They will lift their heads out of the water to get their dinner. Food can be purchased in the café. The eels make this their home in every month that has an “r” in it!
When the gardens were first established, there was no bird life around. As trees grew, a variety of birds became a part of the gardens. Currently, there are waxeyes, starlings, sparrows, herons, hawks, magpies, lorikeets and three sets of wood pigeons, and tuis (when the cherries are in blossom).
A LITTLE HISTORY
In 1994, a young couple, Mark and Fiona Rammell, were shown a piece of land that an employee of theirs had purchased at Kaitoke. They were told that they had the chance to buy the land they were currently walking over, or the piece next door. Mark and Fiona were very taken with what they saw and decided to take a look at the plot next door that was still for sale. As the contour of the land leant itself to having different areas for different gardens, and since gardening was in Mark’s blood, they decided to purchase the land. Each night, from then on, Mark would sit at his drawing board, designing the gardens.
In order to get the land ready for planting, an amazing man named Les, was employed to re-shape the land where necessary and to put all the walking tracks in. Les had an uncanny ability to translate what Mark told him and showed him, into reality. With the gardens now ready for planting, plants were purchased and the gardens began to take shape. Jean, Mark’s mother, was a great support to Mark in the choice of plants for the gardens.
To begin with, there was so much bare ground that some areas ended up being over-planted. Over the last few years, these areas have been revamped with some of the earlier plants being cut out and replaced by more suitable specimens.
A feature of the gardens has always been the wonderful flowering cherries. Although the blossom is not out for much of the year, the spectacular showing is well worth the wait and enjoyed by many. It is something not to be missed. The gardens have been used for many weddings and photographs. Seats have been placed strategically throughout the gardens, and bird feeders put in place to attract the bird life.
The gardens are constantly evolving with new work being undertaken on a regular basis along with general maintenance. Working with nature and the elements ensures that your work is never completed as our gardener, Bill, has found out. As you wander around the gardens, Bill is always available for a chat. From the road it is hard to imagine the vista of gardens that await you.
The gardens have been described by many as Wellington’s best kept secret. Come and enjoy these gardens, spread the word and become part of their ongoing history.
The gardens have been named in memory of the respective places in the UK, where Mark’s parents, Colin and Jean, lived.
