Returning for their second year in the garden festival, Yvonne King and Adrian McLeod share the joys and surprises of opening their garden, Beechwoods, to the public. In this Q&A with Virginia Winder, they reflect on festival life, garden progress, and the delight of sharing their space with fellow plant lovers.
What keeps you coming back to the festival?
This is only our second year and we enjoyed the deadline of getting our garden presentable for the festival and meeting all our wonderful gardener visitors.
How has your garden evolved since your first time opening?
Our garden is still a very young garden and since the last festival we have been smartening up areas within the garden. This is an ongoing process for a developing garden.
What’s one unforgettable moment you’ve had with a visitor?
Adrian had a woman come up to him and say, “You don’t remember me do you?” Adrian had to admit he didn’t. “Well,” she said, “we sat together in primary school!” (Adrian is 77)
Will we see any new features or changed areas in your garden this year?
We have extended our orchard and completed the planting in our esplanade garden.
Is there a plant or feature in your garden that holds special meaning for you?
The two native beech trees (a mountain beech and a silver beech), which are at the centre of our garden and after which our garden, Beechwoods, is named. Beeches are not endemic to Taranaki so these would have been planted probably mid last century.
What advice would you give to someone thinking about entering the festival?
Just go for it. Commit to getting your garden to a good standard, but it doesn’t have to be perfect. Give yourself permission to take the 10 days off from the rest of your life and immerse yourself fully into the festival and your garden visitors. We have plenty of pre-prepared meals in the freezer and lots of snacks to keep us going. A sense of humour is essential, especially if the weather turns bad.