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Contact Name: Carolyn Melling
Phone: 09 818 6914
Fax: 09 818 6391
Website: Click here

Street address
108 Parker Road
Oratia, Auckland

Postal address
108 Parker Road,
Oratia, Auckland

Landsendt

Garden Tours and Arboretum

•Garden tours and visits are by appointment only.
•Garden closed on Sundays and public holidays.
•Garden closed during events such as weddings.
•Please scroll down page for tour options.
Landsendt is registered with the New Zealand Gardens' Trust. It is a 'Garden of National
Significance'. The property was purchased in 1962 by Dick and Annemarie Endt. It was a run down dairy farm with 'Sunnydale', the oldest house in West Auckland. The house was also in disrepair.

Dick chose this land as it was frost free, making it perfect for growing subtropical fruit. He named it Landsendt after the family orchard in Holland. His first crop was Tamarillos. He later grew kiwifruit, macadamias and feijoas. Always on the lookout for something different, he went to South America to find new crops. He brought back babacos, cherimoyas and coconuts to name a few. These plant hunting expeditions were the beginnings of what the garden is today.

Dick and Annemarie have retired and their daughter Carolyn and her husband Anthony Melling now run Landsendt - a garden, nursery and landscaping business. Carolyn's passion has been to transform the amazing plant collection into a garden, showcasing the special plants from her father's forays.

The garden tour takes you on a journey. It is not just a pretty garden but also an interesting story of horticulture in New Zealand. Our botanical history is so important.

Sunnydale also has an interesting past. Built in 1860 from kauri timber milled on the site. In 1892, William Thompson was murdered by poisoning. This murder was sensational at the time, being a rare occurance in the new colony. The research has uncovered a story that starts in Thames and ends tragically in Oratia. The tale lives on through part of the plant collection at Landsendt. This story unfolds during the tour.

Everything has a story. This is what makes a place so interesting. Our plants tell stories. South American coconut with a Gondwanna link to New Zealand, amazon snake trees, tallest palms in the world, ethno botanical plants, stunning xerophytic plants such as a pure white bromeliad, South African aloes, Mexican grass trees... and of course we can't forget about the birds. You will no doubt have a close encounter with the many wood pigeons and tui that nest in the garden. Landsendt is a food larder for birds. Occaionally we get some really special visitors - the kaka, blue heron, a stray kookaburra and white cockatoo. Spotted doves have also recently become residents.

If you have never visited Landsendt then this will be a truly amazing experience. If you have visited but it was a while ago, you probably will not recognise the place.

The gardens have been transformed from an orchard to a tropical paradise. It is an evolution...
of a garden, a family, and a piece of West Auckland's history.

Garden tours are by appointment only. We look forward to seeing you.

A guided tour around our garden takes about one hour. Let us know your time requirements before-hand so we can tailor it to suit.

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TOUR OPTIONS:
- $10.00 per person; guided tour.
- $15.00 per person; tour plus morning tea (tea/coffee and cake)
- $20.00 per person; tour plus lunch (tea/coffee, filled sandwich, slice)
- Special lunches on request
- $10.00 per person for self-guided tour. This is for groups of up to 6 people.

Our plant shop offers a range of plants, many rare or unusual.

The garden has gravel pathways and grassed areas. It is not suitable for people with mobility restrictions (wheelchairs/walkers), as there are steps and uneven surfaces.

A coach is able to turn around at the bottom of the drive. Driver may need to assess this before driving down our driveway.

We also have specialised workshops for those wanting something different:

- Floral demostration using our garden plants, follwed by a tour highlighting suitable plants to grow.
- Bromeliads: How to propagate them, sun/shade requirements, understanding their habitat etc, followed by a tour throughout our propagation area.
- Garden Design: How to improve your garden, plant choice, creating a framework, followed by a tour higlighting landscape features in the garden.

$35.00 per person, includes morning/afteroon tea. Minimum of 10 people.

We look forward to seeing you.

Please contact us if you are interested in booking a garden tour.