Fernglen Gardens

This morning, we ventured a little further afield on our walk. We saw a sign for “Fernglen” and decided to see what there was to see.

It turns out that Fernglen Gardens is a beautiful spot down a steep hill from the main road. The first European on the land was a Mr. Fisher who bought the property in the 1880s, and over the years turned it into both his family home and a native plant nursery and garden. Several generations later, the property was sold to the city, which now runs it as a public garden.

Everything is closed during lockdown, of course, but we were able to walk in and take a look around. One of the coolest things was the motion-activated water feature… As soon as you walked onto the property, a sweet little stream and waterfall started to flow.

Lots of the plants were labeled, and it really reinforces just how many native species there are, and how varied they are. Lots of things in flower this time of year.

We left the garden and kept following the road all the way to the end. It went down steeply, about a 13% grade according to the level app on my iPhone, where the road changed its name from Kauri Road to Hebe Place. The hebes turn out to be a genus of native plants… I thought so but had to look it up just to be sure.

We climbed all the way up to the top of Hebe Place… a dead end… and admired the view. There’s a path into the bush that would have taken us back to Fernglen but after last night’s rains we decided to stay on the road.