We were lucky enough to stay 3 nights in the B&B cottage on site at Aramatai Gardens (highly recommended!). Jill is a wonderful host and her garden is beautiful. The ponds, lovely trees, seating areas, and naturalistic pathways make this a very restful garden. We also enjoyed seeing the white geese waddling about, cute piglets in the adjacent paddock, and friendly farm dogs who greeted us warmly from over the fence. Jill’s garden is well worth visiting and I’d love to see it again in November/December, when the peonies and roses will be doing their thing.

It’s not until you tour a garden such as this that you realise how much more you can do with your own garden. Full of sculptures, art work, mirrors and flowers. There was so much to see that it was impossible to take it all in on the first round. Mary and Mark have made use of every inch of their garden. It’s a small garden and you really need at least an hour to take it all in. You will leave inspired with so many ideas. Mary answered all our questions and was very friendly and informative. Thoroughly recommend touring this garden

We visited after Mark spoke to our garden club the previous Monday.
Everyone was absolutely blown away by the thought and expertise that went into this exceptional garden....full of plants + wonderful areas which made us all want to explore more. Almost too much to take in with the one tour....I had to go round 3 times just to make sure I hadn't missed anything. Skillfully laid out- making the most of all areas with the use of mirrors a standout. Really clever the way the big water tanks were camouflaged...hardly noticed them.
What a garden - we all loved it.....and slunk away to check out our own gardens to see how we could measure up!

Anne and Ron a quick thank you for providing Somerfield Garden members with such a wonderful visit to your amazing garden (the tulip tree was a very special topic of interest and discussion) and also for the lovely home prepared lunch.  You are getting a well deserved reputation for the quality of your delightful food and I have to confess that personally I ate far too much as I could not resist a second visit to the table.

They are so good for the kids and adults it was like a world of wonder land with its hard worked products and tasty goods on the table. It might be made by hand, but you can tell it was worked on for months.

It is a must-see!

What a wonderful way to fund-raise for our Zonta Awards - a Garden Tea in a beautiful rose garden of one of our members. Thanks to Val Lott for her generosity in hosting us at her home. Our guests appreciated Val's generous sharing of her knowledge of her garden and the roses. Even though there was a mixture of sunshine and a little liquid sunshine, our guests really enjoyed the company, the delicious food, the ambiance of the afternoon and the background music by a talented young musician. Recommend as a venue

Completely in love! Utterly perfect for a night to recover. Graeme and Tracy Whanganui

Warm and welcoming hosts. Beautiful gardens . Gorgeous and comfortable room. Lyn, Australia

Beautiful place, great location, amazing food and company. Alonso , Peru

Gorgeous setting only 10-minute drive from Invercargill. Super comfy bed. Lovely breakfast. The owners are a joy to converse with. Joy , United States

Hi Anne & Ron,  I just wanted to thank you both so much for our wonderful garden visit on Monday. Our members were all so appreciative of the time you spent with us and amazed at your beautiful garden and the vast variety of plants.  We all came home inspired.... thank you again for sharing your stunning garden with us and making us so welcome in your home.

I just wanted to thank you for allowing my twin sister and me to visit your amazing property last week. What an absolute inspiration and delight you are Judy. You’ve kept that dream alive after your dear husband passed and I think it’s keeping you going!! We so enjoyed the experience, swapping our funny gardening stories and seeing your beautiful garden. The photos don’t do it justice but I created a post on my own page, The Uralla Garden. Hope you don’t mind.  I used some of the photos from your website but captioned them as such.
Hope you are well and once again thank you Judy

Incredible use of a medium-sized section giving the impression it is so much larger. The front is full of beautiful flowers and the back has an abundance of fruit trees and vegetables together with an all-weather entertainment area. There are endless surprises with garden art, statues, mirrors and an incredible Tillandsia 'tree' made from driftwood with the plants secured on. Was also very impressed with the well-hidden water tanks. Lots of ideas to take away for my own small section.