Garden Study Tour -Learn Gardening at home
Titoki Point Garden
"Max Moore is a brilliant plantsman, perhaps Australia’s leading Hosta expert, a former parks superintendent,
and a good friend. I have lost count of the number of times Max has told me that Titoki Point is the
best garden in New Zealand." John Mason
Located in a forest, in the centre of New Zealand’s North Island, this hill garden is one of NZ’s most visited gardens. The garden seems much larger than its 3 acres.
Visitors enter at the bottom of a hill and walk through a series of changing gardens to reach the house and nursery that sits on the crest of a hill, with views to the active volcano Mt Ruapehu in the distance.
The dominant feature when you enter is a stand of massive redwood trees planted in 1923. Most of the gardens development however, was undertaken since the 1960’s, by the owner, renowned landscaper Gordon Collier. A long driveway provides vehicular access along one boundary; with a network of walkways connecting sections of the garden to each other and the driveway.
At the bottom of the garden is a water garden and bog garden, featuring hostas, primulas, trilliums, and eleven species of Gunnera. Variations in foliage shape, colour and texture create a well thought out patchwork all year round. Another section of the garden, is devoted to American wildflowers.
A gazebo provides both a platform from which to view the garden and a place to rest as visitors climb the hill. Surrounded by Cardiocrinum giganteum and Anthropodiums, the gazebo itself becomes a major feature when viewed from a distance.
At every turn, you find stunning effects, from a silver garden to a maple walk and clipped hedges. The grove of silver birch is simply stunning above mass plantings of Agapanthus and Bergenias.
Titoki Point is open to the public from October to May, Wednesdays to Saturdays.
It is located at Taihape, 20 minutes off Highway One (turn off south of Waioura).
Contact Details
Phone: New Zealand 06-388 0085
Email: Titoki Point
A small entry fee applies.
