Aotearoa NZ Archives | Sage Journal

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Aotearoa NZ

Vegetable garden in Martinboriugh - Glendower

Working with the wild

At Glendower, a historic Martinborough property now open to the public, Jen Pudney has spent years uncovering an old garden while allowing a new one to evolve. Increasingly, that means making space for butterflies, insects and the plants that find their own way in.

Books

Toutouwai / robin | The bushman’s friend

With the karure / black robin winning Aotearoa's 2026 Bird of the Year, we take a look at the history and meaning of New Zealand’s robin – with Robert Vennell, Song of the Birds.

The standalone “cookhouse” is an entertainment area with wonderful garden views in Canterbury garden

Books, Gardens

Elemental design | A Canterbury garden designed for weather extremes

Creating this Canterbury garden meant factoring in weather extremes, while also designing around a central entertaining pavilion, anchoring it to the surrounding landscape

Lucy and Jacob's garden wedding in Lower Hutt - Sage Journal

Books, Gardens, People

Growing together | Jacob and Lucy’s garden wedding

A year before their vows, Lucy and Jacob Sheehan were carving terraces into their sloping lawn, with a garden wedding in mind. The space now continues to evolve, thriving with native plants, vegetable beds and fruit trees.

Art, People

From garden to canvas | The More Things Change by painter Julie Battisti

For her new exhibition The More Things Change, painter Julie Battisti worked closely with Dunedin florist and flower grower Jolene of Estelle Flowers, building compositions from seasonal blooms, garden-grown stems and unexpected foliage before a brush ever touched the linen.

Books, Gardens

The green room | An art-filled inner city cottage garden

This inner-city cottage now opens seamlessly onto its new garden – a lush haven with a pond, striking sculptures and hedges for seclusion.

The vista at Flaxmere, across the garden and up to the magnificent mountain range.

Books, Gardens

The long view | North Canterbury’s Flaxmere garden

For nearly six decades, John & Penny Zino have called Flaxmere home, raising their family while gradually evolving the property from a working farm into the beautiful garden it is today.

Gardens

Locus Pacis | The practice of peace

Charlotte and Jason, owners of landscape design and construction business Espaso Verde, have named their garden, Locus Pacis – meaning the practice of peace.

Landscape overlooking regenerative farm and wildflowers at Wild Things Wānaka

Books, Gardens

Stewarding the land | Wānaka’s regenerative market garden

A novice grower turned market gardener, Caitlin Ovenden’s Wild Things Wānaka is a family-run farm that focuses on regenerative practices. Her varied produce is sought after by locals through The Farm Shop, and also features on restaurant plates across the region.

Gardens

A garden made for movement

When architect Aaron Paterson and his wife Kate renovated their Auckland villa, reworking the garden was always in the plan. Together with landscape designer Xanthe White, they shaped an abundant, accessible space – designed with wheelchair movement in mind – that prioritises colour, flow and connection to the house.

Curved beds and soft planting at Satis Garden by Noble Fox

Gardens

Restoring a cottage garden on the edge of a Marlborough vineyard

A revived 1920's Blenheim garden, reworked into a productive space for growing flowers and vegetables and enjoying life in the outdoors.

Events, Gardens

A New Zealand coastline, reimagined in Shenzhen

The award-winning garden Ocean's Edge was proudly featured among a small collection of internationally designed gardens at the 2026 Shenzhen Greater Bay Area Flower Show in China.

Books, Guides

How to design a small garden with NZ native plants

A practical guide to planning & planting a small native garden, with planting combinations and tips

Books, Plants

The hidden kingdom that keeps our planet alive | The Secret Life of Fungi

Insight into Aotearoa’s remarkable fungi and their vital role in sustaining the planet, by author and fungi photographer Jay Lichter.

Gardens

Farnworth Farm | An English garden set in rural Hawke’s Bay

Just outside Havelock North, with views to Te Mata Peak, Farnworth Farm is a working property where organic garden and farmland are being shaped together. Under head gardener Carla Pick, the garden is a gradually evolving landscape.

Timber shed framed by natural planting and gravel garden path – Neville Design Studio.

Gardens

Maximising sunshine & space | The pocket garden in Point Chevalier

This Auckland garden embraces the home’s sunniest corner. Compact yet considered, it is a place to pause and unwind but also meets the homeowner's practical needs.

Hands-on flower cultivation in the working garden at Paradise Botanica.

Gardens, People

Paradise Botanica | A garden that rebuilt a life

Victoria Chammanee’s 'Paradise Botanica' garden is now open to the public through Secret Gardens. Once a site dominated by kikuyu and concrete, it’s now a biodiverse sanctuary. Victoria tells us about her approach to gardening, the work required to reshape her site, and how it quite literally helped to rebuild her life.

A vibrant backyard filled with a mix of vegetables, fruit trees, and flowering plants.

Guides, How-to

How to raise a family on homegrown food

Abylene Chalmers became proficient in growing organic food and shares steps on planning a garden that can feed your family.

Books, Plants

The anatomy of a kōwhai flower & how it unfolds for bird pollination

Kōwhai is regarded by many as New Zealand’s unofficial national flower, providing abundant nectar for some of our most-loved native birds.

Close-up of a forest mushroom with muted green cap surrounded by natural woodland foliage

Books, Plants

Waxgills Gliophorus | A hidden world of New Zealand fungi

Waxgills Gliophorus fungi – some of the breathtaking, often overlooked New Zealand fungi.

Wayne Webster, Whistling Green - Secret Garden X Sage Journal

Gardens, People

Finding balance | Thirty years of change at Whistling Green

Located in Hillcrest, Auckland, this garden blends Aotearoa and Asian influences – evolving and transforming since Wayne and Rama first bought the property in the early 1990s.

Sunset view over trees and foliage in garde

Books, Guides

What is a food forest?

Angela Clifford and Nick Gill from The Food Farm in North Canterbury talk us through what a food farm is, and how they set up their food forest layers.

Henry Blakely Landscapes - Julia's Garden

Gardens

A timeless Christchurch garden designed for picking & pleasure

Henry Blakely Landscapes designed this Christchurch garden to reflects the homeowner’s love of plants and her wish to gather flowers for her home.

Gardens, People

A painter’s palette | A garden of gentle colour at The Blue House

Illustrator Jenny Cooper has shaped a soft, expressive garden around her home – The Blue House – in North Canterbury. A story told in partnership with Resene.

Lush planting beside a contemporary building with layered greenery

Gardens

A woodland-inspired coastal garden in Takapuna

This Takapuna property balances open lawn, coastal resilience and layered planting to create a calm, textural space for family life.

Drone view of a heritage estate with white gravel driveways, gardens, and surrounding trees.

Books, Gardens

The enduring garden at The Elms | Te Papa Tauranga

The fertile land at Te Papa Tauranga has been cultivated for centuries – not least, The Elms Heritage Garden.

Gardens, Travel

A quaint historic cottage garden in Ophir

Complete with cosy charm and gorgeous garden views, Ryan’s Cottage in Ophir, NZ is the perfect accommodation for your next getaway.

Gardens, People

A new crop | How a Marlborough farming family blends cut flower & traditional farming

Jo Ensor is blending family life, heritage and a love of horticulture as she transforms part of her Marlborough farm into a thriving cut flower garden — and builds her business, Tyntesfield Blooms.

One Fine Day Landscape Design - Ōtūmoetai Garden

Gardens

A mid-century garden in Ōtūmoetai with its own gin garden

A family garden designed to bring everyday joy, complete with a ‘Gin Garden’ filled with herbs and edible flowers, perfect for dressing up your summer drinks.

Gardens, People

Restoring Kaikōmako | The garden that sparked the Secret Gardens garden-share platform

Jane Mahoney shares the story behind Kaikōmako — her ten-year garden project in Corsair Bay, Canterbury, and the beginnings of Secret Gardens.

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