Garden pulled from Taranaki Fringe Garden Festival over complaints of cow dung

Janet Schultz's country garden was pulled from the Taranaki Fringe Garden Festival following complaints. Photo/ Supplied

A country garden has been pulled from the Taranaki Fringe Garden Festival after complaints of cow poo and mud.

Janet Schultz, who owns the Norfolk Rd garden, says the garden was pulled three days into the festival.

"By that point, I had four complaints out of 400 visitors. It will be the people who are not used to dairy farms and don't understand how they work.

"I was told people complained that the garden was not in pristine condition which is certainly not the case."

The garden was closed on Tuesday.

"I was called on Monday at 8.30am and the garden was closed on Tuesday at 9.15am. I was meant to open at 9.30am. I've put a lot of effort into my garden, I've taken time off work and I've had friends help me as well. To have my garden pulled is just a kick in the guts really."

Schultz says she is disappointed by the decision.

"Entering the Taranaki Fringe Garden Festival was on my bucket list but this whole experience has made me angry. This will be the first and last time I enter the festival. I feel like I've been thrown under the bus."

She's received a huge amount of support, Schultz says.

"People are still coming to see my garden. I've decided to keep it open for them. The founding members of the festival have come to the garden as well and told me it's something I can be proud of. I've received a lot of donations from people which is really appreciated."

John Lucas, chairman of the Taranaki Garden Trust, says Schultz's garden was pulled from the festival for not being up to standard.

"It is imperative that visitors have an excellent experience when they come to the festival and we need to manage garden standards in order to achieve that. As the festival is an annual event, word of mouth and visitor feedback is extremely important to its continuing success.

"This wasn't an easy decision to make and we hope the garden returns to the festival in the future."

He says the garden was assessed twice.

"At this time feedback was provided to the gardener. With 51 gardens and a predominantly volunteer committee, it is not possible to get around all of the gardens prior to launch to check that work has been completed and we rely on the gardeners and a high trust model to ensure this happen."

To enter the festival, Janet paid a $250 entry fee, which Lucas confirms will be refunded.

Schultz says she is donating this to the Taranaki Rural Support Trust.

"They do a lot for the rural community and mental health and it's important to support them."