Safari unveils new gardens

Kerikeri Rotary Club's annual Garden Safari is returning this weekend with 18 never seen before properties for gardening enthusiasts to explore.

Organiser Vicki Douglas said all gardens in this year's safari were in the immediate Kerikeri-Waipapa area, because the club was conscious of the high cost of petrol.

In previous years some gardens have been as far away as Matauri Bay and Whangaroa.

She said this year's gardens were a mix of old, established and new creations, none of which had featured in the safari before.

One Edmonds Rd garden in particular was "absolutely beautiful" with 5 acres (2ha) of paths and plantings near Kerikeri Inlet.

Some would feature displays such as the Northland Regional Council's plant-swap scheme, in which gardeners can exchange invasive plants for similar-looking natives, and Rotary's Shelterbox project, which provides emergency housing in areas hit by natural disasters.

Morning teas and lunches would be available in one of the gardens on the route. A few were down such long driveways that shuttle buses would be provided.

This year's safari also marked the return of Auckland gardening enthusiasts for the first time in several years, with four busloads booked so far, Ms Douglas said.

Another new feature this year was the scarecrow competition currently under way around Kerikeri, both to promote the event and to provide a school holiday challenge.

Fifty groups and businesses had made scarecrows, with the child who located the greatest number winning a digital camera. All but a few are in central Kerikeri, with one halfway up the fire station's siren tower and another outside a pharmacy looking suspiciously like a local GP.

Ms Douglas said businesses had had a lot of fun making the scarecrows and the competition had lifted spirits in the town.

Tickets for the two-day safari cost $20 from Kerikeri businesses Kwan Garden Creations, McFadziens Pharmacy, Plantzone, Shoestyles and BP. See www.gardensafari.co.nz for more information. Gardens open from 9.30am-4.30pm. Overheads are covered by sponsors so all proceeds from ticket sales go to community projects. Entry forms for the scarecrow-hunting competition are available at McFadziens Pharmacy.