our plant gallery

The New Zealand Gardens Trust gives Pukeiti five stars, rating it as a Garden of National Significance. Such gardens are “. . . highly recommended gardens for their presentation, design and plant interest throughout the year. They have a distinctive identity of their own and a character that gives them an edge.” 

In 2016, Chelsea Flower Show judge Christopher Bailes ranked Pukeiti at number two in his personal top 10 of the globe’s gardens in British newspaper The Daily Telegraph, describing it as “possibly the ultimate rhododendron experience”.  

Unique in all the world, Pukeiti is the only rhododendron collection growing within New Zealand’s native rainforest. With its acidic soil, 400 metre altitude, 3500mm annual rainfall and shelter provided by native bush, the garden is in fact ideal for growing gorgeous rhododendrons. 

The season begins in July when the large-leafed rhododendrons begin flowering in the aptly named Valley of the Giants, followed by the camellias, the large magnolias and the michelias. The rhododendron display peaks in October, while the garden bursts with colour from primulas, hostas, clematis and thousands of daffodils, tulips and bluebells. Growing to three metres tall, the giant honey-scented Himalayan lilies flower in December, while the hydrangea collection is in full bloom by January, flowering through to early autumn. In the covered Vireya Walk, vireya rhododendrons flower several times a year.  

Through and surrounding it all is New Zealand’s spectacular native bush, with greens of every shade and hue wherever you look. New Zealand’s native flora evolved in isolation for millions of years meaning that today eighty percent of our trees, ferns and flowering plants are endemic and found nowhere else in the world.  

Our native New Zealand birdlife is just as unique, and tui, weka, korimako, kereru, piwakawaka and tahou thrive at Pukeiti. After many year’s absence, the toutouwai can now be seen again in the garden, as well as the North Island kiwi, both testament to the success of Taranaki’s predator-free conservation program. In the past few years, the TRC has also worked hard to restore the endangered kokopu, a small native freshwater fish, to the mountain streams and pools running through the garden.