Colleen and Mike Pettersen's eye-catching garden in central Palmerston North. Photo / Judith Lacy
Colleen and Mike Pettersen's eye-catching garden in central Palmerston North. Photo / Judith Lacy
Where is Christiania and why are the owners of 680 Main St so interested in how many kilometres it is to Raetihi and Huntly?
Thousands of people drive past Colleen and Mike Pettersen's creative, jam-packed garden every weekday, but it's worth going by foot and having a long gander over the fence of the Palmerston North house.
The Pettersens bought the house in 2005; it had been a rental and the front yard was overgrown. They initially rented the house, intending to do it up and sell it, but 21 years later they not only still own it but live there.
The novelty garden has its origins in a comment granddaughter Laura made about 17 years ago. She saw a bridge in a garden and encouraged her grandparents to add one to their place.
The garden is now packed with ornaments and Mike's creations, including two old wheelie bins he has transformed into a Tardis and a phone box.
The Pettersen line is originally from Norway and Christiania is a former name for the capital Oslo. Mike was born in Huntly and Colleen in Raetihi.
The Pettersen bear with his important Covid-19 messages. Photo / Judith Lacy
Mike made the teddy bear on the front gate during last year's lockdown and the bear reappeared during the latest lockdown.
The Pettersens have seen plenty of heart-warming sights from their dining room - parents picking up their children so they can see over the fence, older people bringing visitors to see if anything new has been added to the garden. People ask to pick flowers, take photos and make lovely comments.
Mike says it used to take him 2½ minutes to mow the lawn but 20 minutes to get the lawnmower to the front by the time he'd moved all the cars. So he laid bark.
Using bird feeding stations and houses, Mike is trying to attract birds into the garden so the littlies can watch them from the house. He's mostly seen sparrows, plus a few finches and rifleman, but was hoping for something more exotic. The Pettersens have three sons and a daughter, 12 grandchildren and three great-grandsons.
The wooden cutouts on the fence are not just a nice-looking shape, they are the outline of Norwegian boats. From Albert St you can see a colourful Norwegian boat on the garage roof.
"The more you look around the more you see things Mike made," Colleen says.
There's no theme for the knickknacks that adorn the front fence, Colleen gets them from op shops.
Asked about his DIY skills, Mike says when the couple was young they couldn't afford to buy new so would purchase secondhand furniture and restore it.
Mike, 71, is a major in the New Zealand Army and is the operations manager at the National Army Museum in Waiouru. In January, he will celebrate 50 years of service before retiring in April.
The lollipop pink fence contrasts with the yellow directional signs that point to places important to the Pettersens. Photo / Judith Lacy
The challenge will be finding space in the section for his latest creations.
"He's always got some project on the go," Colleen says.
