Garden Name: Far North Tropicals

Address: 85 Taipa Heights Drive, Taipa

Property Description: Aaron Montgomery-McCloy of Far North Tropicals https://www.farnorthtropicals.com/ will give a free workshop on improving success in growing tropical plants.

The workshop is for both those wanting to explore setting up a tropical orchard and those troubleshooting growing tropical plants in a home garden. It will include setting up a banana, pineapple or papaya orchard and how to get bananas/pineapple/papaya to fruit successfully. Aaron can also cover incorporating bananas into a beef farm.

Talks/Demonstrations: Free workshops on Sunday 8th February at 10am and 2pm

Sales: Tropical fruit plants for sale

Opening Days and Times:  This garden is not open outside of workshop times.

Garden Name: Taipa Community Garden  NEW 2026

Address: North side of Taipa Area School, State Highway 10

Property Description: A community garden space for growing kai and rongoā for the community. A place for teaching and learning about sustainable gardening practices, holding workshops and being in nature.

1 year ago we started developing this space, transforming it from an empty overgrown eyesore, to a space with a water supply and the old garden beds back in action producing kai with many fruit trees planted. There is a fence with beautiful artwork painted by our community. What a difference a year makes! Jade has now completed the potting shed which is a real gift to our Taipa community garden. Next year we'll gather as whānau to plant, paint, create mosaics, and continue to plant and tell the story of this place together.

 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61570567771666 

Opening Days and Times: Sunday 8th February, 9am to 4pm

Garden Name: Kaingaroa Plant Lady  NEW 2026

Address: 57D Pairatahi Road, Kaingaroa

Property Description: A wild and ever-growing food forest, created almost entirely from seed, cuttings and koha.

With under $200 spent on trees, our māra celebrates abundance without big budgets - a place where subtropicals, herbs and fruit trees thrive together, feeding our whānau, the soil, and all the life that calls this place home. This garden features glass houses from recycled materials, permaculture guilds, chickens and a vegetable garden. 

Sales: Homemade herbal balms and 100% cacao

Opening Days and Times: Sunday 8th February, 9am to 4pm

Garden Name: 90 Mile Gold Orchard

Address: 29 Hukatere Road, Pukenui

Property Description: Banana and Coffee trial plot.

We are a small Avocado orchard on Hukatere Road that mostly supplies the NZ domestic market with the fruit we produce. Luckily there is also a little space to dabble in a few other growing interests such as Passionfruit, Banana and Coffee. The Coffee and Bananas are growing together and are an experiment that gardeners may be interested in with our increasingly warmer temperatures. There are many different varieties of Bananas and some are producing really lovely bunches. The waste from the Banana crop is spread around the Coffee bushes for mulch. The two crops grown together have created a peaceful tropical environment which is relaxing to wander through.

Sales: Banana pups of a few different varieties

Opening Days and Times: Sunday 8th February, 9am till Sunset

Garden Name: Māra Kai O Te Hapori   NEW 2026

Address: 12 Puckey Avenue, Kaitaia

Property Description: Community gardening in Te Hiku - building local resilience through food security and sovereignty.

Our garden behind Te Hiku Connect at 12 Puckey Avenue Kaitaia, is open to the public as a learning resource for our community. We are open Tuesday mornings 8-10am and Thursday mornings 9-11am. Everyone is welcome to come along and learn from our knowledgeable gardeners. 

The organic food grown in the garden is intended for volunteers to take home and excess is provided to other organisations such as the Kaitaia Food Bank. This garden welcomes anyone of any age or ability.

Opening Days and Times: Saturday 7th February, 9am to 4pm

Garden Name: Yavanna Permaculture  NEW 2026

Address: 9 Enid Avenue, Kaitaia

Property Description: Ongoing conversion of a 9,000m2 former sheep paddock to a productive permaculture property.

It is impressive what has already been accomplished in just the first 2 years: a productive vegetable garden based on Hugelkultur beds which don't need any watering in summer; a banana circle that receives all our grey water; over 200m of productive syntopic food forest lines planted out on contour; a herb garden next to the tiny house; a shade house nursery; small animals; a pond; a beehive; and hundreds of native trees and other trees planted out across the property.

We do most of our own plant propagation; are off-grid for power and water and don't use any gas. Johan has been a permaculture teacher for the last 15 years and likes to share his experiences about sustainable living on a small budget.

Opening Days and Times: Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th February, 9am to 4pm 

Garden Name: Austen's Exotic Gardens

Address:  129 Larmer Road, Kaitaia

Property Description: 50 year old family garden which has NZ's largest collection of tropical and exotic plants covering 10 acres. 

It contains many interesting edible fruit trees including: Banana (20 varieties): Cherimoya (10 varieties): Sapote (4 varieties), Jackfruit (3 varieties), Lucuma (3 varieties), Coffee (6 varieties): Inga Bean (5 varieties), Mango, Longan, Lychee, Pineapple, Jaboticaba, Davidson plum, Rose Apple, Black Apple, Bolivian Mountain Coconut, unusual Passion Fruit, and more.

Talks/Demonstrations: Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th February: 10am. 2 hour long guided tour.  $10 per person. 

Opening Days and Times: This garden is only open for the tours above.  Please register via the form below:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScBh6mswLglsr2CblRKNzoRqc0Y7uF11-p9obmH-C1W10WR5w/viewform?usp=sharing 

Garden Name: Krishna Sanctuary

Address: 271 Takahue Saddle Road, Takahue

Property Description: Tucked away in a fertile valley, Krishna Sanctuary is a testimony to the abundance of food Mother Nature can produce. https://cloud-1de12d.becdn.net/media/original/e7191d2aa36db937afa1cd7994282299.pdf 

Krishna Sanctuary is a 6 acre organic property, with 2 acres in a wide variety of fruits, nuts, veges, and flowers for year round supply. The remaining area is pasture for our two friendly old house cows, some native bush and a permanent stream running down from the mountain. The property is off-grid, utilising solar and hydro-electric from the stream. Our composting toilet system is unique, cheap and useful. Cooking and heating is with a locally built wood stove. 

Lunch: Vegetarian lunch, 12 noon to 2pm. $10 per person.   For catering purposes please let Aaron and Jaya know at least  a day before if you are coming and any special dietary requirements. 

info@krishnasanctuary.org 

Opening Days and Times: Sunday 8th February, 9am to 4pm 

Guided tours between: 9am to 12 noon; 2 to 4pm