A BIG crowd in last night for our Medieval Cloister gardens talk + sneak-peek tour. I won't post any photos of the unfinished garden quite yet so as not to spoil any of the surprise. A massive thanks to Hamilton Gardens staff for all of your work last night - it was great working with you on this!

"A retired history-lover with a personal library of over 1,000 rare books, his apple varieties and techniques harken back to the golden age of cidermaking in England in the 17th and 18th centuries". #gardenhistory #wairarapa www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...

An upcoming talk at Dunedin Botanic Garden on their Peter Pan statue, which looks interesting! #gardenhistory

Charming open-the-flap cover of 1950 guide to Kew. The wintery scene in the Palm House transforms to summer and a view of the Pagoda when the door opens. Truly, a garden for all seasons!

"Finishing touches being placed on the carved figure of a swan which will surmount one of the pylons at the new [Auckland] Domain gateway". New Zealand Herald, 18 March 1936, P10. #gardenhistory

The GHRF presents: The Marilyn Yeoman Memorial Talk 2026: “The Medieval Cloister Garden: A Vision of Paradise“, by Annette Giesecke. Followed by: An exclusive tour of the Medieval Garden by Hamilton Gardens Director Lucy Ryan. Details below: gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2026/01/12/t...

"plants associated with Xmas in the Nthn Hem–holly, ivy, mistletoe–are celebrated for their evergreen leaves in winter or their fruits. But in the Sthn Hem, Xmas falls in peak flowering season, a time of rebirth and reproduction more akin to the northern Easter". theconversation.com/most-of-nzs-...

Our 2022 Xmas blog: The Auckland Wintergarden glasshouses came under threat in 1937, though not from some wartime enemy. Instead it was from Santa Claus, parachuting in to the Domain. Oh, ‘Chute! We look at Santa’s near miss... #gardenhistory gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2022/12/20/o...

“Although English Mistletoe may not have been seen by New Zealanders hanging from lamps and ceilings during the festive season, few have not heard about it”... We take a look at the history of European mistletoe in New Zealand. #gardenhistory gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2025/12/22/m...

“Although English Mistletoe may not have been seen by New Zealanders hanging from lamps and ceilings during the festive season, few have not heard about it”... We take a look at the history of European mistletoe in New Zealand. #gardenhistory gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2025/12/22/m...

The mysterious history of Aotearoa’s stolen statues, via The Spinoff #gardenhistory. thespinoff.co.nz/society/15-1...

The mysterious history of Aotearoa’s stolen statues, via The Spinoff #gardenhistory. thespinoff.co.nz/society/15-1...

"THE HOSE MAKES AN EARLY APPEARANCE. — Owing to the prolonged dry spell the gardeners at Albert Park find it necessary to water the seedlings". Auckland Star, 26 Aug 1932, P8.

ICYMI: "The imaginary gardens described by Lewis Carroll include elements of old gardens, reflect the changing culture of the Enlightenment and, like all good art, they can perhaps challenge our perception of the world". #aliceinwonderland gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2025/10/03/a...

New blog: "The imaginary gardens described by Lewis Carroll include elements of old gardens, reflect the changing culture of the Enlightenment and, like all good art, they can perhaps challenge our perception of the world". #gardenhistory gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2025/10/03/a...

The sundial in Hamilton’s Garden Place: "Generations of children have played on it, various vandals have bashed it, and thousands of people have gazed at its various dials without the slightest understanding of how it works". #gardenhistory gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2025/09/25/h...

ICYMI: Part three or our look at ships figureheads as garden ornaments in the early 20th Century. gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2025/09/14/s...

A number of figureheads from ships ended up as garden statuary in New Zealand in the early 20th Century. Here, in Part 3, we finish off our look at these items, including the stories of the America, Helen Denny, and others. #gardenhistory gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2025/09/14/s...

A BIG crowd in last night for Peter Sergel's talk on the writing of "The Time Traveller's Guide to Hamilton Gardens", and a journey through gardens (and civilisations) in space and time. The talk was in association with Hamilton Book Month with help from Friends of Hamilton Gardens. #gardenhistory

Upcoming talk, Hamilton Gardens: "To support the food supply... a ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign was launched... For this... the Ministry even employed Disney cartoonists, who created such characters as Doctor Carrot and Potato Pete". #gardenhistory gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2025/08/19/m...

I stopped by 'The Floral Ship' on the Strand in Tauranga today, which has been in place since 1938. Currently it is decorated with Climbing Fig, Snapdragons, Dusty Miller, and more! #gardenhistory

I stopped by 'The Floral Ship' on the Strand in Tauranga today, which has been in place since 1938. Currently it is decorated with Climbing Fig, Snapdragons, Dusty Miller, and more! #gardenhistory

“There's zero commercial production in New Zealand, so we are importing about $95 million worth of rice from overseas, which equates to about 85,000 tons, which is a lot of rice being imported, and there's emissions with the transport as well.” www.rnz.co.nz/life/food/wh...

"...a worldwide ‘palm craze’ spread... from the 1850s on. At times this led to an appreciation of the nikau, but relative to the palms that fascinated Europeans in their newly built palm houses, the nikau palm could easily be overlooked". gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2025/08/05/f...

Thursday 21 August, 6:30 – 8:00pm, Chartwell Room, Hamilton Gardens Pavilion, 6:30-8:00pm; $10 cash, no registration required. In this entertaining talk, Peter will provide highlights of Hamilton Gardens. #gardenhistory gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2025/08/04/t...

[New Blog] The Zhi Garden Album (《止園圖》) is a set of 20 paintings created in 1627, held L.A. and Berlin. Who built Zhi Garden? Where? When? Was the garden depicted even a real place, or merely a product of the artist’s imagination? #gardenhistory gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2025/08/01/t...

"They’re one of the world’s most important food crops and delicious roasted, mashed or fried, but the exact genetic origins of the humble potato have long been something of a mystery to scientists". www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...

Another blog from the archives: Tamarillo; a history of the Tree Tomato and its name in New Zealand #gardenhistory gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2024/07/01/t...

Another blog from the archives: "John Cooper’s Topiary Garden, Newman", written by a Cooper descendant, Paul McDonald, loaded with images from the family's collection. #gardenhistory gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2023/05/02/j...

"New Zealand is known for growing lots of things but cranberries aren't one of them. Imagine then, being the owners and operators of the country's only commercial cranberry farm". www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...

Another blog from the archives: The Giant Pumpkin of Zaccheus Wells; A Legend that Lived in Memories for 50 years. #gardenhistory gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2021/09/04/t...

From the archives: ‘Shakespeare Gardens’ are themed gardens that cultivate plants mentioned in the works of Shakespeare. Such gardens were developed in the USA from 1916, but Dunedin has one that pre-dates these by several years. #gardenhistory gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2020/06/29/a...

"Such pools whether used as water gardens or goldfish ponds can be fairly inexpensive and may be the means of changing an unattractive hollow into a pleasing feature of the garden design". NZ Journal of Agriculture 85, 15 November 1952, P448. #gardenhistory

A number of figureheads from ships ended up as garden statuary in New Zealand in the early 20th Century. We have published blogs on two of these to date: the Hydrabad and the HMS Wolverine. Links to the blogs in the comments. #gardenhistory

The ship figurehead in question (wolverine on the base)

In the early 20th Century, old figureheads of ships featured as items of statuary in New Zealand gardens. In this blog we examine the HMS Wolverine, whose figurehead adored the garden of a residence in Devonport, Auckland. #gardenhistory gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2025/05/25/s...

"NEW ROSE GARDEN IN CHRISTCHURCH.—Six tubs of Japanese irises have been placed in the "mirror" pool which Jorms the centre of the new rose garden in the Botanic Gardens. Many of the roses are now in bloom, and in a few days they are expected to be at their best". Hawera Star, 7 December 1935

New Blog: Yarrow is also known as arrowroot, death flower, eerie, and more. Then there is its botanical name, Achillea millefolium. Why is this the plant of Achilles, that ancient Greek hero famed for his exploits in the Trojan War? #gardenhistory gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2025/04/07/w...

"Len and Dorothy [Dot] Grey were pioneers of avocado growing in New Zealand, with Len being the second generation of the Grey family to grow avocados in a dynasty that goes back to 1921. Here they are featured on NZ television's Country Calendar programme in October 1966". youtu.be/YFSCCzoZqSM?...

"Len and Dorothy [Dot] Grey were pioneers of avocado growing in New Zealand, with Len being the second generation of the Grey family to grow avocados in a dynasty that goes back to 1921. Here they are featured on NZ television's Country Calendar programme in October 1966". youtu.be/YFSCCzoZqSM?...

Magnificent talk tonight from Annette Bainbridge on "forgotten colonial plantswoman" Mary Mitchinson, of New Plymouth, at Hamilton Gardens. It should get a repeat performance in New Plymouth in a few months, and hopefully she can to do a recording of it also for those elsewhere. #gardenhistory

Upcoming garden history talk at Hamilton Gardens (NZ): “Finding Mrs Mitchinson: The Life of a Forgotten Colonial Plantswoman” Mary Mitchinson ran the Caledonian Nursery in New Plymouth for over ten years after the death of her husband in 1895... gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2025/03/12/u...

"It was 1914 when Woolford’s grandfather, William McMiken, started an orchard on Silverdale Rd. That was 111 years ago, and the business has been in the family ever since." #gardenhistory www.waikatotimes.co.nz/rural/360586...

'The Hawke’s Bay Gardens of Alfred Buxton'. #gardenhistory www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/the-hawke...

We have now published 68 blogs relating to #gardenhistory, mostly relating to New Zealand garden history. Take a browse through our Blog Index. gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/blog-index/

If you are in Hamilton tomorrow, as part of HamLit2025, part of the Hamilton Arts Festival , Peter Langlands will be talking about his book 'Foraging New Zealand', and Kate Evans about 'Feijoa: A Story of Obsession and Belonging'. #gardenhistory haftokk-premier.eventfinda.co.nz/2025/foragin...

“The likeliest place to find a ship’s figurehead nowadays is… in a suburban tea garden...”. Our latest blog is on the figurehead of the 'Hydrabad', which for many years adorned a garden in Foxton. #gardenhistory gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2025/02/14/s...

Nothing says Valentine’s Day like a German postcard depicting a Zeppelin airship festooned with Forget-Me-Nots, bearing a four-leaf clover and carrying two baskets of roses. Brought home to Eketāhuna by 2nd Lt Henry (Harry) Youle MC, New Zealand Rifle Brigade. #ValentinesDay

“The likeliest place to find a ship’s figurehead nowadays is… in a suburban tea garden...”. Our latest blog is on the figurehead of the 'Hydrabad', which for many years adorned a garden in Foxton. #gardenhistory gardenhistoryresearchfoundation.com/2025/02/14/s...