West Whangārei Gardens

Garden Name: Berm Gardens   NEW 2026

Address: 62 Second Avenue, The Avenues, Whangārei

Property Description: A small property in The Avenues using the berm as a garden.

Ian uses beds on the berm to run a community garden, growing simple fruit and veg from seedlings. It is a way of doing things for yourself and your neighbours , and requires interest but not too much effort. It isn't that difficult to do.

Visitors can drive by to see what Ian does at any time, or can stop for a closer look and ask questions if you want on Saturday morning.

Opening Days and Times: Saturday 28th February, 9am - 12pm (to talk to Ian), or anytime over the weekend if you just wish to drive by

Garden Name: Woodhill Community Garden   NEW 2026

Address: Next door to 48 Fifth Avenue, The Avenues, Whangārei. Follow the path beside the stream.

Property Description: Neighbourhood community garden.

Woodhill Community Garden has been operating for over 10 years. A group of local families developed an overgrown section into a lovely open space, with support from Whangārei District Council. Weekly community working bees are from 4:30-5:30 Thursday and 9:30-10:30 Saturday. 

The garden is focused on neighbours growing vegetables and fruit together. From kale to apple cucumbers, broccoli to bananas, stevia to sugarcane, peas to pineapples. Recently introduced a neighbourhood composting scheme to try and reduce food waste. https://www.facebook.com/61577956995799/

Sales: Refreshments

Opening Days and Times: Saturday 28th February, 9am - 12:30pm 

Garden Name: Land of the Lotus Water Gardens and Banana Park

Address: 304 Mangakāhia Rd, Maungatapere, Whangārei

Property Description: Land of the Lotus Water Gardens and Banana Park is a tropical oasis with bananas, pineapples, lotus and many other tropical edible plants. The property has a boutique collection of over 40 varieties of bananas, a pineapple plantation, the largest lotus watergardens in Northland, and tropical and hardy waterlilies. 

Recent additions to the gardens include mango trees planted outside 3 years ago now fruiting, and giant tropical guava. People are free to walk around the property on around 15 acres. There is a children's playground and accommodation available on-site. A spectacular property that should not be missed.

Sales: Many plants are available for sale including bananas, sapote, inga beans,  cherimoya, pineapples, many citrus varieties, tropical guava, and of course lotus, hardy and tropical water lilies

Opening Days and Times: Saturday 28th February and Sunday 1st March, 9am - 4pm

Garden Name: Old Wheelbarrow Farms    RETURNING 2026  

Address: 321 Mangakāhia Rd, Maungatapere, Whangārei

Property Description: A large 13 acre organic family veggie garden now open to the public. 

Old Wheelbarrow Farms is 5 years in the making from a paddock to a thriving vegetable garden with a nursery, hothouse, lots of chickens and ducks, over 700 bananas, and many native plantings. It has been transformed into a paradise.

They love to share their passion for growing nutrient rich healthy food. They sell their produce at the Whangārei Growers' Market and public are also welcome to visit and pick their own veggies by appointment.

They are looking forward to being on the Northland Edible Garden Trail again this year and meeting all the keen gardeners in the community. They will be available to share their story of how they turned a paddock into a thriving nutrient rich garden.

Sales: Refreshments, plants and garden produce

Opening Days and Times: Saturday 28th February and Sunday 1st March, 9am - 4pm

Garden Name: Whistle & Bloom    NEW 2026  

Address: 1478 State Highway 14, Maungatapere, Whangārei (opposite Snooks Road, the first house on the shared driveway - on left). Parking in the avocado orchard, follow the signs. DO NOT PARK on shared driveway

Property Description: A thriving cut your own flower garden with an edible garden as well. 

Discover rustic charm at Whistle & Bloom, a developing farm park featuring a seasonal "Cut Your Own" flower garden, predominantly dahlias. Set on farmland, this family-run operation also produces fresh vegetables and orchard fruits, supporting the extended family. A delightful blend of agriculture and floral beauty in one welcoming spot.

Sales: Pick your own flowers and garden produce

Opening Days and Times: Saturday 28th February and Sunday 1st March, 9am - 4pm

Garden Name: Kōtare Subtropicals at Kōtare Farm

 Address: 68 Snooks Road, Maungatapere, Whangārei. Please park on the grass immediately inside the front gate by the feijoa trees. There is also some parking if you drive down the driveway and park near the house.

 Property Description: Kotare Subtropicals featured on Country Calendar: https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/country-calendar/episodes/s2024-e32 

Kōtare Subtropicals is a working 4.7 hectare orchard and nursery on volcanic soils in Maungatapere. The orchard grows feijoas, figs, bananas, turmeric and small amounts of pineapples and tropical papayas. They also have an extensive home orchard of citrus, plums, apples, cherimoya and more. There are mixed plantings of flowers, shrubs and trees as well as areas of vegetable garden.

They have a greenhouse with bananas, pineapples and tropical papayas planted. It is where they grow their more unusual subtropical fruiting plants for their nursery business. These plants include soursop, rollinia, jackfruit, black sapote and more.

Sales: There will be plants for sale, but please bring cash

Opening Times: Sunday 1st March, 9am - 4pm

East Whangārei Gardens

Garden Name: Fay McIntyre   NEW 2026

Address: 20B Dundas Road, Riverside, Whangārei. Limited parking is available on a section near the entrance of this property. The property slopes, so a reasonable level of fitness is needed.

Property Description: This is a wonderful subtropical fruit garden.

Tucked away up a secluded driveway, this secret subtropical fruit forest was originally planted over 20 years ago. It features a range of rare fruit trees including jackfruit, mangoes, yellow mangosteen, dragon fruit,  black sapote and jaboticaba amongst others. All significant trees are labelled.

The current owners have lovingly restored this large garden, adding even more diversity with 8 banana varieties, starfruit, ornamental pawpaw, longan, and an array of flowering plants to attract pollinators.

Sales: Jackfruit seedlings for sale

Opening Days and Times: Saturday 28th February, 9am - 4pm

Garden Name:  Wai Spot Farm   RETURNING 2026    

Address: 60 Old Pārua Bay Road, Parihaka, Whangārei (Only open for workshops below) 

Property Description: The 22 acre property is a work in progress and currently most of it is being converted into native and edible forest. One acre has been planted using Syntropic Agroforestry principles. Kathryn is trialling a variety of plants including water chestnut, sunchoke, mexican sunflower, mashua, yacon, turmeric, ginger, sugar cane, inga bean, pineapple, and tagasaste. She uses compost bins with worms, manure, and chicken poo in deep bedding.  Most of the gardens have some weeds as she would rather manage weeds just enough to grow some food and be spray free.

Talks/Demonstrations: 1 hour long for each workshop.

"Gardening with Chickens", Saturday 28th February, 1pm - 2pm, Sunday 1st March, 9am - 10am

"Syntropic Gardening", Saturday 28th February, 9am - 10am, Sunday 1st March, 1pm - 2pm

Spaces are limited to 15 people per workshop. Please register at waispotnz@gmail.com. Cost is $3 per person

Opening Days and Times:  Only open for workshops above.

Garden Name: Terry’s Patch    NEW 2026

Address: 215 Awaroa River Road, Abbey Caves, Whangārei. There are 2 large parking areas at the bottom of the steep drive.

Property Description: One acre of very organised and productive vegetable and flower gardens..

This garden is 10 years old. Attached to the house there is an extensive indoor/outdoor area with raised vegetable gardens. These gardens have irrigation, a goldfish pond and a fountain. They are under a plastic roof and can be accessed from the house without getting wet.

The owners grow all vegetables from seed in a small glasshouse. They have many garden beds on terraces. No sprays are used and vulnerable vegetables are covered with fine mesh cages.

Opening Days and Times: Saturday 28th February, 9am - 4pm

Garden Name: A Lime & Kicking    NEW 2026

Address: 216 Awaroa River Road, Abbey Caves, Whangārei. Good parking down drive. Children to be supervised due to sloping property and thorny bushes. 

Property Description: Finger limes, giant pumpkins and watermelons.

Finger lime (Citrus Australasia), also called caviar lime, is gourmet Australian bush tucker. It is great as a garnish and can also be made into marmalade or pickles. It grows readily in Northland on small spiky bushes and Tanya has an extensive collection of them.

Tanya is also having a go at growing an enormous pumpkin. Come and see how it is going.

Sales: Sausage sizzle, lemonade with a burst of finger lime pearls, plants, finger limes and watermelons. Please bring cash.

Opening Days and Times: Saturday 28th February, 9am - 4pm

Garden Name: Bananarama   NEW 2026

Address: 249 Awaroa River Road, Abbey Caves, Whangārei. Some parking down the drive and some on the turning circle 20m past the drive.

Property Description: This is a creative and colourful edible garden.

The property has been developed over 20 years from farmland. It is very much clay under 20-30cm of topsoil, so provides a few challenges building up the top soil with 'rotten silage', arborist mulch, crop and drop species and gypsum to break down the clay. There are established fruit trees and over the last 3 years there has been the addition of many tropical fruit trees, bananas, pineapples, blueberries and free range chickens.

There is a new banana circle which will be fed with 'rotten silage' prunings, grass clippings, cow poo and chicken poo. Bana Grass along with Sugar Cane are planted for shelter. Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia Diversifolia) is also used as a perennial support plant for the bananas and it has spectacular flowers. Annie also adores summer flowers.

Sales: Dragonfruit, Tithonia plants, Frangipani plants and a few perennials. P[ease bring cash.

Opening Days and Times: Saturday 28th February, 9am - 4pm

Garden Name:  Brent and Wanda Burge   RETURNING 2026

Address: 7A Waimahanga Road, Onerahi, Whangārei

Property Description:  In 2021 Brent and Wanda's amazing quarter acre property was listed as a feature story in the New Zealand Gardener magazine. They moved to their property in Onerahi 11 years ago with a dream to have a garden that would supply their family with fresh organic and nutrient dense fruit and vegetables. Brent saw this as an opportunity to try all sorts of new and interesting plants. 

Brent has achieved this on his terraced property in Onerahi where every piece of land is filled with exotic fruit and veges. Plants include grapes, apples, pears, plums, figs, feijoas, jaboticaba, lucuma, atemoya, kei apple, pimenta, surinam, casimiroa, spreen and lots of others. Brent also grafts new and interesting fruit tree varieties onto his existing trees and has a huge wealth of horticultural knowledge to share. 

Grafting Demonstrations: 3pm, Sat 28 February and Sun 1 March

Opening Days and Times:  Sat 28th Feb and Sun 1 March, 9am - 4pm

Garden Name:  Wai A Ariki Food Forest Onerahirahi   RETURNING 2026

Address: Corner of Church Street and Whimp Avenue, Onerahi, Whangārei

Property Description:  Over the last 10 years, volunteers have turned an unused messy corner of council land into a thriving edible garden.

Hundreds of fruit trees, vines, bananas and vege gardens are now spread throughout this wonderful community garden. The property is classified as a drainage reserve and receives over half of the Whangārei Airport's surface water during rainfall. Dams have been created and the irrigation is set up to water the plants when needed.

The gardens are 100% donated, gifted and volunteered by the people for the people without government funding. The area is spray free and many groups of volunteers meet regularly to keep on top of the weeds and to help and learn. School groups also visit to learn about gardening. Produce is gifted to whānau, community and the general public. All benefit from the fruits of the volunteers' combined time, presence and energy.

Volunteers should be on site during the trail to answer any questions. 

Opening Days and Times:  The community garden is open 24/7. Entry is free however any weeding is appreciated

Garden Name: Briar Monro Pottery  NEW 2026

Address: 82 Kiteone Road, Pārua Bay.  Please park on the road. Only limited mobility parking in the drive. The property is on a moderate slope.     . 

Property Description: Permaculture-based half acre garden with pottery studio.

Three years ago this garden was a horse paddock of clay and kikuyu with a fantastic view. In this sort time it has been transformed into an abundant and beautiful food forest, potager garden, home and pottery studio. Developed from scratch, using permaculture and syntropic agroforestry teachings, Briar Monro began by planting a perimeter of native trees to provide shelter and habitats before planning and developing the rest of the property. It's amazing what can be achieved in just a couple of years.

There are lots of before/after photos and Briar can explain how she has worked with, and continues to learn about the highly expansive clay, other challenges and developing sustainable systems. Briar is also a full time potter.

Sales: Pottery

Opening Days and Times: Saturday 28 February and Sunday 1 March, 9am to 4pm. Tours 11am and 2pm on both days. 

North Whangārei Gardens

Garden Name: Mike Jellick  NEW 2026

Address: 63D Great North Road, Springs Flat, Te Kamo

Property Description: Well organised and efficient berry house and plastic house.

Mike has a 21m x 6m berry house with steel frame and chicken wire where he grows blackberries, boysenberries, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and grapes. He has raised beds, irrigation, and cigarette plants (Cuphea Ignea) to attract the bumblebees.

Mike also has a 16m by 3m plastic house for vegetables. This has raised beds and irrigation. Mike makes his own seaweed liquid fertiliser to feed the soil and uses no sprays other than Neem oil.

Opening Days and Times: Sunday 1 March, 9am - 4pm

Garden Name:  Darnie's Garden

Address: 414 Tōwai Road, Maromaku

Property Description:  Syntropic food forest plantings in a large front and backyard - 'Our Playground'.

Darnie is passionate about growing their own food. She would love to introduce syntropic agroforestry to others. "I'm no expert, simply learning through trial, errors and lots of observations". In 2023 she started small with a 7m food forest install, 3 years on there's less lawn and more trees. 

As a busy mum of 4 young children, she hopes to inspire others to become more self-reliant, to just give it a go and start somewhere. She's  enjoying creating an edible backyard for their children to play and feast in.

Sales:  Delicious home baking - savoury and sweet (best fudge ever), plants, bamboo stakes (her 10 and 12 year old are fundraising for sports)

Opening Days and Times: Saturday 28 February, 8am - 4pm