Designer Line-up Announced For Auckland’s Premier Garden Festival

Organisers of the Auckland Garden DesignFest have today
confirmed the list of 15 professional garden designers who
have made the cut for their 2022 event. Visitors can meet
the designers onsite at 18 private gardens throughout
Auckland on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27
November.

Garden pictured was
designed by Neville Design Studio and Studio Naomi Rushmer.
Credit: Scott Sinton.

Ticket
holders will be spoilt for choice with a wide array of
garden sizes and design styles.

The designers
selected for 2022 are;

Adam Evans (Urbis Landscapes),
Alex McClew, Andy Hamilton, Barbara Garrett, Damian
Wendelborn, Dan Mackay (Ministry of Ground), Geoffrey
Marshall, Jenny Pullar, Joanna Hamilton, Rachael Farthing
(Babylon Gardens), Rachel Thomson (Gardenia Design), Richard
Neville, Trish Bartleet & Sal Gordon, Trish Bartleet
& Pip Cheshire, Val Puxty, Xanthe White
Design.

Deb Hardy, Auckland Garden DesignFest,
Chairperson says; “The designer list for 2022 is like a
roll call of some of Aotearoa’s best design talent. This
includes the likes of Xanthe White, Trish Bartleet and
Barbara Garrett who have had their work featured in our
events since the first in 2011. They have all built up a
cult like following and for good reason. A notable addition
to the list this year is Geoffrey Marshall who was one of
the driving forces behind the iconic Heroic Gardens Festival
and who is now putting his creative energy into our event
for which we are very grateful.

“We are also
thrilled to welcome some new designers to this event. Alex
McClew, a highly experienced, award winning, designer will
make his AGDF debut. He will be joined by Rachael Farthing
from Babylon Gardens, who is a newly accredited member of
the Garden Design Society of NZ. Also taking part for the
first time will be award winning, garden lighting designer
Jenny Pullar.

“We are confident that the quality and
range of gardens which visitors will be able to explore is
our best ever line-up and that’s really saying
something!”

The gardens are located in Takapuna,
Freemans Bay, Ponsonby, Pt Chevalier, Avondale, Mt Eden,
Remuera, Parnell and Kohimarama.

The selection
committee describes the range of garden styles as ranging
from formal, modern, edible and sub-tropical through to what
some visitors may think of as quirky or provocative, but all
are set to inspire.

Highlights include pools, ponds,
water features and even a few chooks! There are also outdoor
fireplaces, fire pits, lighting, lounges, lawns, paving,
boardwalks and paths a plenty! And if that’s not enough
there’s art, sculpture, coffee, food and a little retail
therapy.

For the first time, 12 of the 18 gardens are
fully or partially wheelchair accessible.

The two-day
design event founded in 2011, is organised jointly by the
Garden Design Society of New Zealand and Rotary Newmarket.
It showcases the very best of New Zealand garden design
talent whilst supporting some wonderful charities including
Lifeline Aotearoa, Garden to Table, OKE and
KidsCan.

Lifeline Aotearoa is a first time charity
recipient for this event. Operations Manager Helena de
Fontenay says of its inclusion: “We are delighted to be
named as one of the charity partners for the 2022 Auckland
Garden DesignFest. It’s no secret that hobbies like
gardening are beneficial for mental wellbeing. We encourage
people to take some time out to visit these beautiful
gardens while raising much needed funds for Lifeline so that
we can continue to always be there when people need
us.”

Tickets for the Auckland Garden DesignFest are
available now from iTICKET,
The Village Square Trust in Parnell or your favourite Kings
Plant Barn store in Auckland.

Visitors can choose from
$65 all garden tickets, $25 for a three-garden pass or take
advantage of the Earlybird discount for all garden tickets
at $55 for tickets purchased up until
31 October 2022. For the first time ever we have an
‘Access All Gardens Ticket’ available for visitors that
are wheelchair dependent, for the special price of just $40
to reflect the number of gardens that we have assessed as
being accessible for wheelchair users, only from
iTicket.

For more information and updates on
the 2022 Auckland Garden DesignFest, visit www.gardendesignfest.co.nz
or follow Auckland Garden
DesignFest on Facebook and Instagram.

About the
charities:

Lifeline Aotearoa
helplines and HELP (4357) textline provide 24/7,
free and confidential support for people experiencing any
kind of emotional distress.

Garden To Table
empowers kids to grow, harvest, prepare, and share
great food and take learning out of the classroom and into
the garden and the kitchen.

OKE
provides Kiwi kids the opportunity to learn life
and social skills by introducing productive gardens into
schools.

Kidscan is dedicated to
helping Kiwi kids affected by poverty by providing
essentials so that kids can participate in learning and have
the opportunity for a better
future.
 

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