Hey, I’m Emma.
The camera-shy editor and founder behind Sage Journal.
I come from a line of gardeners, always able to call my mum or nana to chat about what to plant where, figure out why a plant is turning up its toes, or to see if there’s a cutting going spare. I know not everyone is this lucky.
When we bought our first house 12+ years ago, I quickly realised what a struggle it was to find local garden inspiration and advice. I wanted relatable stories, aspirational projects, and connections with knowledgeable gardeners – both new and old.
So six years ago, I started Sage Journal. To share stories of hands-in-the-dirt, soil-on-the-clothes gardeners. People who are sometimes failing, often succeeding, and always asking questions.
My aim was to create Aotearoa’s most trusted gardening resource. Now, with a large local following, and growing engagement from Australia and beyond, we’ve not only become the home for gardeners, but for design lovers and nature-inspired creatives too.
And in spring 2025, we brought Sage Journal to print.
It is a publication where knowledge – especially the kind passed down through conversations in the garden – can be shared and preserved.
Sage Journal aims to continue these discussions with our ever-growing, like-minded community, and we want you to be part of them.
With love and dirty fingernails,
Emma Sage x
An entrance way garden that gives visitors a reason to stop, and take a moment to breathe, before stepping through the front door.
Designed by BWLA.
Te Whare Māra - The Garden House - blurs the lines between landscape and architecture. This Wellington garden exemplifies landscape design that boasts beauty, sustainability and meaningful spaces to inhabit and enjoy.
Designed by local.
Recipe developer and gardener Bri DiMattina’s book, Nostrana, sets out to rekindle the joy of the home garden and kitchen. Nostrana means homegrown, ours; growing food with the intent of sharing it with others.
In this interview Bri shares her keys to starting and enjoying the edible garden journey —
There is something magical about a summer garden that boasts colour, texture, wild-life and long-lasting florals. One of the best (and easiest ways) to achieve this is with perennials — and particularly perennials that flower all summer long.
The design starts with a “horticultural riot” out the front, countered with a restful side passageway. The internal courtyard is a space for reflection, accompanied by a more contemporary back garden. Designed by Fieldwork.
A contemporary sub tropical garden to compliment the former railway cottage’s new renovations. Designed by PARKER.
By early summer in some gardens you may struggle to keep your plants from becoming victims to dry soil and severe drought, especially if they are new plants or plants with lots of new growth. Find out what will thrive in the garden in drought conditions…
Whoever said bigger is better certainly hasn’t visited this South Melbourne Retreat. Designed by Ian Barker Gardens.
HELLEBORE (Lenten or Winter Rose) — A winter-hardy shade perennial that is easy to grow and blooms prolifically late winter to early spring. A must-have in all winter gardens.
This salad uses three of the Two Raw Sisters’ (Margo & Rosa Flanagans’) favourite, most-used winter ingredients.
Recipe by Two Raw Sisters, from SALAD
Sherwood’s trump card is its grounds. They were previously covered with bracken, wilding pines and an old abandoned car. The team has since refreshed the area. A very large vegetable garden is front and centre (which also forms a handy circuit for a bike track). Sherwood employs a full time horticulturalist to grow for the restaurant, to maximise what of their menu is grown in-house.
Heather Loughlin’s Matua garden doesn't just provide solace for herself. The site has become an intentional habitat for bugs. This is Heather’s way of recognising the vital role insects have to play in our biodiversity.
Orchids are probably the oldest cultivated flowers in the world and are used in many cultures as a flower that represents value. Green orchids symbolise good health, long life and strength, while white orchids symbolise innocence, elegance and respect. They are a flower of substance and are really long lasting.
Sumac has a long culinary history in the Middle East. Ground sumac is sprinkled over all manner of food. Olivia Sisson shares her story of finding and foraging this tart delight.
Liv Worsnop is a Hawke’s Bay born artist and passionate environmentalist. She found her way into the realm of environmentalism through her art studies and opportunities that arose during the Christchurch Earthquake recovery. Back in Hawke’s Bay now, Liv relishes gardening on her family’s property in the Tuki Tuki Valley.
Tara Morton and Nick Walbridge are the proud owners of Waikanae’s mid-century modernist retreat — Riverbank 1965. Riverbank is a renovated architectural gem, originally built in the mid 1960s in a California ranch-style. The property consists of 1.5 acres of secluded trees and landscaping, with direct access to the Waikanae River.
Harvesting your own grapes is an enticing prospect, as a multitude of growers in the Bay will endorse. Rod and Emma Easthope have been entwined with grape growing and winemaking since they were children. So they should know. Their story is one of respect for the land, their craft and family life.
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