Editorial: Escape to gardens of gentler time

If you take your cues from the media (yes, that's us) there are some weeks when you'd swear we're losing touch with reality.

What with teapot tapes, stricken oil tankers, financial meltdowns in Europe and lunacy in Libya, the world seems to be in a constant state of tension and a very long way from resembling anything natural and good.

But that's only if you do nothing but read the global and national headlines. There is, in fact, plenty to be enjoyed right here in Hawke's Bay if you have a mind to explore.

I was struck by this at the weekend. There were a lot of cars driving toward Tikokino on Saturday and Sunday and it turns out that many of them were heading to the same places we were bound.

A Mad Hatters fun weekend had been organised by seven stunning gardens in rural Hawke's Bay (the subject of an inviting picture and story in Hawke's Bay Today on Saturday, I should mention) and the temptation to visit was too strong to ignore.

So with picnic packed, we headed in search of a simpler life and were richly rewarded in the backyard of our two big cities.

Gwavas Garden on SH50, 7km north of Tikokino, is a nine-hectare wonderland first planted in 1885, a splendid plantation of towering trees under which camellias, magnolias, rhododendons and azaleas thrive.

Visitors wander in this magical hidden garden, untroubled by the cares of the wider world, as children run and explore what for them is a fantasy land.

You think I paint too much of a water-colour image of the place? No, really it is an enchanted woodland that everyone in Hawke's Bay with an ounce of spirit should visit.

We also discovered the down-home delights of Awatea Country Garden with its densely planted flower beds and the outrageous, blousy colour of the massed peonies at Trenrose Garden in the heart of Tikokino.

Perhaps the best moments of a special day were those spent wandering around the gorgeous grounds and gardens at Awatea Daffodils just 11km from the Maraekakaho monument. Complete with wide swathes of lawn, a bountiful vegetable garden and paths that meander past a beautiful pond, this cottage garden is a real treasure.

Diverse, colourful and peaceful, it's a country escape that seduces visitors with its quiet elegance - miles away from the troubles of the wider world.