Heritage Roses Garden Tour to South Canterbury, November 2016

Travelling With Midge-Otago Style.....

What a great trip we had to Timaru and surrounding places at the end of November, 2016.

The intimable Midge Ruka was our tour organiser and she had a great selection of gardens lined up for us to visit. She had a bit more than gardens up her sleeves as it turned out! Woe betide you if you were tardy or slept in. It would cost you!

It was an early start on the morning on Friday 25th November but everyone made it at the appointed time and our bus driver, afterwards known as, 'Frosty Phil from  over the hill', drove off to the motel to collect the Southern contingent before heading off to our first stop at Aboyne,the lovely garden of Alison and Neville Ludeman  on the outskirts of Oamaru  where a lovely morning tea made up for the lack of breakfast.

Jill Hulme admiring the borders at Aboyne

Alison has a beautiful garden which reflects many years of gardening expertise.She has a love of all roses so we enjoyed the mix of old and new roses which climbed,tumbled and framed the garden. The rose, 'Mary Rose' took my eye. We were all struck by the health and vigour of her roses and  eager to get hold of the mix she is trialling for rose health.
We  were able to wander through the garden enjoying the innovations developed by Alison since taking over the property from Neville's parents who settled there in the 1940's. Large trees gave structure to the garden and lots of views of the rural countryside. Old roses tumbled over the garden sheds and Tripallium climbed over the trellis.This climber dates back to her mother-in-laws plantings but still in fine form.

Roses in all their glory at Aboyne

Our next stop was Quambatook, 'pace of rest Australian style. Although Kathrin and Ray McNally have farmed here for 34 years the family have been on this site for over 100 years. The pathways lead through established trees,rhododendrons, rose beds and many other treasures. The lawn in front of the house is deliberately left open for the views up to the mountains

Looking up to the Kakanui Mountains from Quambatook

Next stop was lunch .We were taken to Teschemakers School on the outskirts of Oamaru...

The altar piece at Teschemakers

A  lunch was served dining room of what was once a boarding for young catholic girls. The school has been closed for some years but it has been handsomely restored and is a conference centre for events, weddings and business functions.

 The chapel is know for its spectacular altar piece which has been at the heart of court action in recent times. Happily it has been resolved and the chapel is home to weddings.We were able to visit the chapel and the beautifully done up suites for guests.We were planning our next home away from home but lunch called and we sat down for a very fine lunch of ham and fresh vegetables,followed by pavlova and fruit salad. Traditional fare but fresh and beautifully presented.

Ladies who lunch!

Later we piled back on the bus and headed off towards Timaru for the rest of our adventures. After the fines for wayward behaviour were handed out we had a stopover at an iconic building on the outskirts of Timaru which lots of us had been curious about for many years. This was on the Timaru Garden tour which maestro Midge had managed to get us included for a couple of our garden visits. Our convenor was baled up by the local media and a photo appeared in the Timaru Herald the following day. It was like visiting royalty.

Late in the afternoon we arrived at the Timaru Botanic Gardens to visit the species garden. This is the work of the South Canterbury Heritage Rose Society and what a treasure it is. I can recommend a visit if you are travelling through Timaru. Daphne Whitford Smith and her team of rosarians are responsible for the garden and the care and expertise which keeps it a joy to visit. The roses were in robust health and members were happy to explore the garden. Fran and Maureen proved hard to get back on the bus so they were duly fined by Midge for tardiness.

Time out in the Species Garden

All done we thought, but no after a pot luck tea at our motel we were off to visit Maree Haynes Interior Design and Gift shop which opened specifically for our group.Our long suffering bus driver became the master of stowing our purchases safely in the hold.

 Saturday had us underway by eight o'clock heading for the hills-literally I have to say. Our bus driver did not subscribe to modern technology so we were lost in the back blocks of South Canterbury several times. Maybe that was why we had an early start!

Members enjoying the abundance of Penny's garden

Never mind we did eventually arrive at Penny Seyb's garden on Mt Horrible Road and entered a wonderland garden of roses established by Penny, initially from cuttings given to her by her grandmother-no names attached,so over the years she became involved with Heritage Roses where she has built up an impressive collection of roses. Old climbers were  dripping from trees planted when she arrived here as a bride . Sadly she is moving on and seeking to establish a new garden. We wish her well for this move. At least the roses will be named this time.

Morning tea catch up

Our next stop was at Shirley Smith's home where we were treated to a lovely morning tea and great views up to the mountains. Shirley has inherited her garden from her husbands family so she iis busy restoring and enhancing the garden.
As you can imaging there was some flagging of energy so it was lovely to arrive at Erma Linyard's garden where we sat out in her lovely garden and marvelled at the work she has done over  forty years.
We enjoyed our picnic lunches sitting in Erma's garden and marvelling at the work needed to keep such a large garden looking so inviting. She uses donkey poo as a key ingredient for the health of her roses.
Erma planted roses her from Trevor Griffiths. Malus trees,Magnolias and rhododendrons are also a feature of the garden.

Guys and Gals

Before we staggered back to home base we visited two other interesting gardens on the local garden tour which gave us some other perspectives on local gardens.

Ladies cut a dash!

The high light of the trips with Midge are the evening entertainment she manages to surprise us with and sure enough this trip lived up to expectations. I wish you could have seen the faces of the regulars at the RSA club in Timaru when fifty women in drag appeared in  their midst. I kid you not. We had orders to dress in 1920's garb prior to setting off and we were paired up with another person so we presented as couples dressed for a night out out on the town. The reception was astonishing but entertaining . It was probably a good thing that we had our own room for the rest of the evening as there was a lot of laughter and hilarity as skit followed skit and the evening culminated in a dress parade and awards for style and wit.





It was a weary lot who fell into bed that night.
Early than most of us would have wished for we were once again piling onto the bus and heading off to the Festival of Roses market Day at Caroline Bay and the Trevor Griffith Rose Garden.

Crepuscle at her best

Our final stop in Timaru was Daphne Whitford Smith's garden. Daphne is a past convenor of the South Canterbury Heritage Rose group and a member of the Heritage Rose  Register team.
It was difficult dragging members away from Daphne's garden as there was so many treasures to be seen and Daphne had so much expertise to share with us but we eventually drove off for the return trip home.

A few treats though on the way. We visited Sherry Bryan and Keith Barclays'garden  in Oamaru for afternoon tea and a wander around their garden. Sherry is a Heritage Rose member and past President of the Dunedin Garden Club and Keith is a superb vegetable gardener.

Our last stop of the trip was at the Exquisite Blooms Peony Farm at Waianakarua where the last of the cash was exchanged for plants and the bus driver managed to keep smiling as he found more space to accommodate our treasures.
The last  stretch journey saw a few members nodding off as it had been a full on few days with lots of walking,talking and socialising which is exactly what a good garden tour should be known for.
Thanks Midge for a great weekend and lots of happy memories to treasure. It is this that makes Heritage Roses a  special group to belong to and attests to the objects or association.