The Photo Gallery | My Back Garden

This is the garden of our home in Martinborough, where we escape to as often as time allows. It’s our weekend retreat in the countryside, where the climate is frequently several degrees warmer than our place in Wellington – on the beautiful, but often wild and rugged south coast of the North Island of New Zealand.

We only took ownership of the property at the beginning of this year and the roses are thanks to the previous owner. I love their colour and scent, but hate the thorns. We plan to have them moved to another part of the garden and push the grass area back further, to make room for more summertime play with the children.

The girls adore making flower arrangements with them, and the other flowers in the garden.

I love the lavender bushes that line the deck.

On every visit to the house I pick the fresh lavender and hang it to dry, making me feel instantly relaxed.

Once it’s dried I place it around the house, in little pottery vases, like this one I discovered in a gorgeous shop called ‘Vintage Treasure‘ in Martinborough.

It’s always lovely to bring something from the garden into the home, especially as our days are shorter now that Autumn is here in New Zealand. I do love the late afternoon light – I just wish it would last longer.

The garden in Martinborough is also blessed with lemons, limes and other fruit trees. The climate is kinder to them there. I brought home a basket of goodness from the back garden to enjoy in our Wellington home, until our next visit.

Looking at those lemons makes me think of a ‘G&T’ first and foremost – just what I need to warm me up on what is a very windy day in my Wellington back garden. The silver-birch tree is losing the last of its leaves with every gust.