Ayrlies Garden

Story

Ayrlies Garden is a country garden near Whitford, southeast of Auckland on the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of New Zealand's best-known gardens, and has been described as the "quintessential New Zealand garden".The garden now covers some 12acre of rolling terrain, with large lawns, ponds and waterways, and heavily planted informal borders which make strong use of colour, including a "lurid border" of 'hot' colours. Some areas feature roses, clematis and perennials; others contain lush, sub-tropical plants, such as Petrea, Alocasia, bromeliads, vireya rhododendrons and Ficus dammaropsis. It also includes many large trees - mostly liquid amber, swamp cypress and pin oak - which have grown rapidly in the warm and wet climate, with rare frosts and over 50in of rain a year. It contains several structures around the main house, including a small 'sitooterie' - a low gazebo, to sit out in and admire the view. The large site is unified by a consistent planting and use of materials.