Sunday Jan 6th,Cool Bright, 70∞
After breakfast at the B&B in Dunedin, a city thick with its Scottish heritage, we ventured of to the Otago peninsula to explore.
We made a thankfully brief visit to a garden called Glenfalloch. Similar in many ways to most Cornish gardens, a little tree fern here, a little Gunnera there, and too many Hydrangeas in bloom to tie it all together. For whatever the reasons, this garden doesn’t seem to be making it. I t seems that they have circled the wagons around the Café and Bridal Garden, both revenue generators, and dumbed down the horticulture overall in favor of cute and mediocre splash. A woodland under story of Cardiocrinum gigantium was a nice surprise on our way out of one of the many paths marked “Closed For Renovation”, doubtful.
We soon arrived at Larnach, perched high a top a ridge that runs along the peninsula. It was still relatively early in the morning, so once again we had the garden almost entirely to ourselves.
Lenny and I seem to have a system worked out, we arrive, we split, and we rejoin later and compare notes and finish the garden together. Larnach suited that style. Different garden areas surrounded the castle. A requisite natives garden, a very interesting South Seas Garden and a resurrected rock garden. I say resurrected because the original plantings took place over 120 years ago and since then the property has been abandoned and allowed to grow over twice.
Quite amazing really that anything can recover from that and still look good. This climate here is really conducive to growing.
The castle is clearly a place to have events, and sure enough the flowers arrived, the tables were being set and preparations were being made for a wedding and reception in one of the banquet rooms adjacent to the castle. While waiting out the front lawn a rather precocious little hedgehog strolled out of a garden bed, paying me no attention and for a little while stole the show for several of the visitors.
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