Valda Poletti has spent over 30 years turning her New Plymouth property into a native paradise. Te Kāinga Marire, is a lush, native haven in New Plymouth that draws visitors from near and far during the annual Taranaki Garden Festival. In this Q&A, Valda reflects on her journey, the stories her plants tell, and the joy (and work!) that comes with opening her sanctuary to the public.
What keeps you coming back to the festival year after year?
It’s because I wish to showcase our beautiful native flora to New Zealand and the world, and this is a very good way to do it. We’ve got a good collection of natives – people get to see plants here they may see on the mountain. When we made our garden 30-odd years ago, the trend was to plant conifers. We didn’t go down those roads. We looked at what we wanted – our love of New Zealand bush meant and wanted to bring wild New Zealand to town.
How has your garden evolved since the first time you opened?
All trees grow, all plants grow, all trees die, all plants die – we all have a life. So it’s a matter of skilfully working through that. You work through it. If you lose a plant, you can replicate it or plant something completely different.
I’ve done plenty of that with the alpine area, growing plants well out of their zone. The ones that work, work well, so I focus on them. Much as I’d love to have garden like you get in Dunedin, you’ll never get that in Taranaki – we’re a coastal climate means and warm.
What’s one unforgettable moment you’ve had with a visitor?
What’s one unforgettable moment you’ve had with a visitor?
I saw a lady coming out of the fernery crying – she hadn’t banged her head – she was blown away by a feeling she got in there. I do get people who are emotionally impacted by what they’ve walked through.
What’s new in the garden this year?
I’ve reworked the vegetable garden and made it into a manageable garden for one small person, who can only eat one cabbage tree at a time. I’m “floralling” up more of that area with native plants I wouldn’t put in other places – they may be a hybrid, like Hebe speciosa and manukas.
I’ve also got, within the vege garden, some planter boxes made of Future Posts, so they’re made of plastic bags and milk bottles. I’ll put a splash of flower seed.
We’ve put in a walkway dividing the vegetable garden and I got some lovely old posts from Tarata that make the entrance. Once the weather warms, it will burst with colour.
Is there a plant with special meaning for you?
The climbing rose Souvenir de Leonie Viennot on the house. She’s more than 100 years old and feeling her age. We rescued her from a cottage on Baring Terrace that was being demolished. She grew at the foot of a country garden I grew up and played in, so she was a special also grew in my childhood garden. In the early days it was quite desirable so we’d put cuttings in an apple box of sawdust and we’d give them away to people who came.
What advice would you give to someone thinking about entering the festival?
Be prepared for a lot of hard work. I’m on my own here, so you’re on point for 10 days; that’s a long time. If you have help, great – but don’t stress if you can’t be at the gate every minute.