Hereweka Garden Retreat News Feed

Hereweka Garden assessed as Garden of National Significance

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We were thrilled by the outcome of the recent assessment by the New Zealand Gardens Trust of our garden at Hereweka.
A 5 star ‘Garden of National Significance’ rating.
Comments included:
"Extensive plant collections including trees and shrubs from around the Pacific and islands in the Southern Ocean as well as perennials, ground covers and bulbs.
Stunning herbaceous borders and a vegetable garden / orchard which take advantage of the micro-climate."

As Hereweka Garden Retreat is nestled within our garden you get to enjoy the garden.

You can take advantage of the access to our extensive garden and bush walks beyond while staying in our Retreat accommodation.

Baby spring chickens hatched yesterday

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It really is Spring!

Yesterday we went up to our henhouse and found 7 newly hatched chickens.

Our grandson was very excited to be able to help Grandad rescue Mum and babies from the chicken house and give them a separate run of their own.

At Hereweka Retreat on the Otago Peninsula, Dunedin our hens have a lovely life with a large chicken house and afternoon free ranging in the orchard.

As we run a sustainable, organic property the chickens have a healthy range of food to eat.
What's more you will get these delicious free range organic eggs in your breakfast tray at our Retreat accommodation.

There is nothing to beat a freshly collected egg for breakfast.

Snow in Spring at Hereweka Retreat Accommodation

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Its hard to believe but we had a snow fall today and it was like a magical wonderland at Hereweka.

Blossom and snow.What a wonderful site.

Our guests loved it.

They were cozy and warm with the eco approved wood burner blazing.

And gorgeous views of the garden and snow from every window of the the our retreat accommodation.

Our accommodation has double glazed widows and wool insulation throughout so is easy to heat even on the coolest days.

Hereweka Spring Garden like being in Japan

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If you can't get to Japan why not come and visit Hereweka!

Our garden is full of many flowering cherries that are at their peak in September.

It's one of our favourite times in our garden.

The flowering cherries, Prunus Yedoensis , are so prolific that they full the garden with a beautiful light.

Its just as I imagine Japan to be in the spring.

I was booked to go with my daughter to Japan this year to see the blossom in Tokyo and Kyoto but sadly because of Covid we didn't make it.

However I can't complain as we live in a beautiful garden with a great display of cherry blossom to enjoy for most of September.

Its a perfect time to book your stay at Hereweka especially as we are running generous special rates at present.
20% discount off our usual rate. A 30% discount for stays of more than 5 days. You do have to contact us directly to receive these rates.

New nesting boxes for native Rifleman birds at Hereweka Accommodation

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This weekend Peter , a friend and Marcia from Otago Peninsula Bio-diversity group put up 15 new nesting boxes for the rare native rifleman or titipounamu.

The rifleman is the smallest native bird and is endemic to New Zealand.

We are lucky at Hereweka to have them nesting on our property.

To encourage their breeding we put up nesting boxes throughout the property.

They particularly love native kanuka forest.

We have stands of kanuka close to our Retreat Accommodation.

Guests are thrilled when they see the rifleman bird flit around the Retreat.

Outsiide Hereweka accommodation we have a huge pot of water for the birds to drink from. Not only visited by rifleman but many other native bird species.

While walking around Hereweka installing the nesting boxes our friend took a beautiful photo of the view from the top of our property.

Winter flowers at Hereweka Accommodation

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There is still plenty of interest in our garden even though we are in the middle of winter.

We have camelias, early rhododendrons, magnolias, witch hazels and wintersweet all out in full bloom.

A cheerful site on a gloomy day which gives us much pleasure.

Our luxury eco accommodation on the Otago Peninsula, Dunedin, is a great place to stay over the winter months.

A cosy retreat on a cool day.

The Retreat accommodation is double glazed, fully wool insulated and has a woodburning stove to keep you beautifully warm.

We are also running a special rate over the winter season . Another good reason to book Hereweka Garden Retreat.

Organic vegetable garden mulched for the winter at Hereweka Accommodation.

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Our winter organic vegetable garden continues to produce well.

We have collected several trailer loads of kelp that washed up on the Hoopers Inlet Road and this has made a wonderful rich organic mulch for the vegetable garden. We will cover this with pea straw to help control the weeds over winter .

Winter produce include carrots, beetroot, cauliflower, broccoli and kale.

Lettuce, fennel and spinach are continuing to grow well under cloches.

At our luxury Retreat accommodation we have lettuce and herbs growing in tubs fulled with our organic compost Guests can help themselves to this when staying at Hereweka

Best time to see the Perennial Borders at Hereweka Garden

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At Hereweka Garden the time to see the extensive perennial borders at there best is late November through to Mid -December.

The picture I have posted is a group of delphiniums flowering dierctly opposite Hereweka Accommodation.

You can view the perennial border from the windows of our accommodation .

Better still take a stroll and absorb the smells and sound of the garden.

Bellbirds and Tui song can be almost deafening.

The roses and lilies at this time of year smell devine.

The vibrancy and variety in tones of colour in the border are delightful on the eye.

Colours and tones of colours have been planted deliberately to create a peaceful and soothing atmosphere in our garden.

It is the perfect time to visit our accommodation at Hereweka Garden Retreat.

Great Walking close to Hereweka Accommodation

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There are many wonderful walks to be had on the Otago Peninsula, Dunedin

Hereweka Accommodation is set in the heart of the Otago Peninsula and is close to many interesting walks.

We supply a pamphlet at our Retreat called "Otago Peninsula Tracks" which has suggestions of over 20 walks.

You can do several interesting walks directly from our property.

Most of the other walks are only a 5 or 10 minute drive away

You will experience a real sense of remoteness when walking on the Otago Peninsula.

Even though most of the walks are only 20 -30 minutes from the center of Dunedin you are unlikely to meet other people along the way.

At "our " beach, Allans Beach , which is only a 5 minute drive from our accommodation, on a sunny day the beach is far from crowded and you might even be lucky enough to have it to your self.

Coming back from my regular Sunday walk on Allans Beach last week I captured this magnificent sky on my camera.

The beach never ceases to amaze me. There is always something different to see.