2027 CONFERENCE

$875.00

Ancient Worlds to Living Landscapes:
Gardens of Waikato & South Auckland

Thursday 8th April to Sunday 11th April 2027

Journey through the storied landscapes of Waikato and South Auckland, where ancient trees, visionary estates, and gardens of extraordinary ambition tell the story of a region shaped by both deep time and restless creativity. Over four days, we travel south from Auckland through landscapes that range from the fantastical to the contemplative — from a living cathedral of trees to the world's most celebrated fictional countryside, from intimate private gardens to the serene grounds of a Buddhist temple.

Beginning at the Auckland Botanic Gardens and weaving through the Waikato, we'll visit gardens that challenge, inspire, and endure — some rooted in the ancient world, others carrying their landscapes boldly into the future. The journey brings us to Hobbiton for our Gala Dinner, where the gardeners who tend this remarkable place will join us to share their story, before we return north through some of the region's most celebrated private landscapes.

Registration is available to Members, Assessors and Friends of the NZ Gardens Trust. Friend membership is available below if required.

IMPORTANT:
If you need to become a friend in order to attend the conference please CLICK the + button beside the FRIEND MEMBERSHIP to add it to your cart before clicking PURCHASE

This main conference price includes a $25 stripe processing fee per registration. If you wish to avoid this fee please download the manual entry form here, submit it to me, and I will send you an invoice.

Please note: Buses depart from and return to Auckland Airport, with accommodation in central Hamilton. We explore the territory between on our journey — southward on Day One, and northward home on Day Four.

Ancient Worlds to Living Landscapes:
Gardens of Waikato & South Auckland

Thursday 8th April to Sunday 11th April 2027

Registration is available to Members, Assessors and Friends of the NZ Gardens Trust. Friend membership is available below if required.

IMPORTANT:
If you need to become a friend in order to attend the conference please CLICK the + button beside the FRIEND MEMBERSHIP to add it to your cart before clicking PURCHASE

Friend Membership

from $65.00

Type:

REGISTRATION

Registration is available to Members, Assessors and Friends of the NZ Gardens Trust. Final Date for Registrations 15 March. Registration includes garden entries, morning/afternoon teas, lunches, the conference dinner and conference transport.

Early Bird Price: $875 incl GST until 31 January (Plus $25 stripe processing fee if purchased online)

Full Price: $925 incl GST 1 February to 25 March or until sold out (Plus $25 stripe processing fee if purchased online)

CANCELLATION

50% refund before 15 March, thereafter at the discretion of the Trustees.

ACCOMMODATION

We will be staying in two hotels in Hamilton and travelling from there. The Novotel or the Ibis. We have a discounted room rate for delegates. Contact your chosen hotel for your booking and mention you are part of the NZ Gardens Trust Conference.
Novotel Auckland for the night before or after: https://accorevents.com/offers/custom-offer-gardens
Novotel or Ibis Hamilton: https://accorevents.com/offers/nz/garden/trust

TRANSPORT
Buses will be leaving Auckland Airport at 12.00pm and will meet anyone who chooses other transport options at Auckland Botanic Gardens at 12.30pm. Please indicate which pick up point you require.

We will return to these two locations on Sunday by 3.15pm.

REGISTRATION

8 April
11am at the Novotel at Auckland Airport OR 12pm at Auckland Botanic Gardens

CONFERENCE ITINERARY while details await confirmation

CONFERENCE DAY 01

Thursday 8 April: South Auckland to Hamilton
The conference opens with lunch at Auckland Botanic Gardens, 64 hectares of themed gardens and national plant collections in Manurewa. In the afternoon we visit Sweetgum Cottage in the Hunua Ranges, Lynda Hallinan's exuberant cottage garden of wildflower meadows, cutting beds and a heritage orchard. The day ends at Addenbrooke, a restored early 1900s villa set in four acres of garden rooms, where the Board hosts welcome drinks to mark the official opening. We then travel on to Hamilton for a free evening.

CONFERENCE DAY 02

Friday 9 April: Waikato and the Gumboot Gala Dinner
We begin with morning tea at Woodlands, a historic estate on the banks of the Waikato River and the birthplace of Anchor butter. Lunch follows at the TreeChurch, where Bev and Chris Gatenby have grown a living chapel entirely from trees. In the afternoon, a fully guided tour of the Hobbiton Movie Set ends with a drink at the Green Dragon Inn. The evening closes with the Gumboot Gala Dinner in a marquee at Hobbiton, where our keynote speaker is Auckland artist and photographer Emma Bass. A former nurse, she has long been interested in how flowers and the natural world can lift the spirits and support wellbeing, and her work has been gifted to hospitals and hospices. Her floral portraits find beauty in blooms that are fading or imperfect, and play with the line between the real and the artificial. Her work has been shown in New Zealand and overseas, including at the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition in London.

CONFERENCE DAY 03

Saturday 10 April: Hamilton Conference Day
The morning takes in two gardens overlooking Lake Karapiro: Balnahar Grove, eight hectares shaped from a former dairy farm, and Tiverton, where Sue and Peter Britton have turned a bare hillside into a series of colourful garden zones. After lunch and the raffle, we tour Hamilton Gardens and its collection of gardens from different periods and cultures. The afternoon session brings together a panel plus speakers including botanist Phil Garnock-Jones on his new book He Puāwai: A Natural History of New Zealand Flowers. The Trust's Annual General Meeting follows, with a free evening to finish.

Indian Char Bagh Garden Hamilton Gardens.jpg

CONFERENCE DAY 04

Sunday 11 April: Hamilton to South Auckland
The final morning begins at Ayrlies, Beverley McConnell's celebrated garden of sweeping lawns, waterways and the famous lurid border, with morning tea and a plant fair. Lunch is at Fo Guang Shan, New Zealand's largest Buddhist temple, whose four-star gardens and Tang Dynasty architecture offer a calm close to the weekend. Buses return to Auckland Airport mid-afternoon.

PLEASE NOTE: The itinerary may change so please check the itinerary supplied at the conference registration.