This garden was the highlight today – the last day of the tour. Note there’s no apostrophe in the name. Perhaps that’s because both husband and wife garden here. Thirty years ago there were only bare paddocks. Melana Bradley said her mother-in-law took her to a garden centre to explain the difference between annuals and perennials.

It is the most formally organised of the gardens we’ve visited and it caters specifically for weddings.

There are some quirky elements.

The gardens are designed to accommodate weddings and other gatherings.

This horizontal punga trunk is supporting new life.

We were treated to carrot cake and tea in china cups.

In Te Kuiti there were spring flowers in the public loos, a statue of famous All Black Colin Meads in the main street and the railway station is now a restaurant where I had lunch.