Barewood Garden, one of Aotearoa’s Oldest and Most Treasured Private Heritage Gardens

Barewood remains one of Aotearoa’s oldest and most treasured private heritage gardens. Designed and developed over 55 years, it is a mature garden, bountiful in romance, escapism and surprise.​ Since 1970, the garden at Barewood has been led forward with heart, soul and pure determination. ​

​The garden at Barewood radiates from the traditional 100-year-old homestead, around which the 4-acre garden has evolved. At the top of a sun-baked farming valley, a flourishing oasis reveals itself. The climate is harsh and the clay ground tough, yet here you’ll discover an established and lush garden, ambrosial in fragrance and layered with texture and colour.

​​​In spring, the century old homestead sits swathed in cascading white wisteria and old-fashioned fragrant roses, under which the wide veranda offers a cool reprieve in the heat of a hot summer’s day. From the house, each aspect offers something very different; from the kitchen, brick paths lead to a formal and well established potager with a mix of speciality fruits trained over canopies, self-seeded flowers, aromatic herbs and ever-changing produce providing an abundant and playful display. Across sweeping lawns, unusual herbaceous plants and shrubs create structural borders with interesting colour combinations threaded throughout. To the side of the homestead sits the original cob cottage dating back to the 1800’s which now houses a thoughtfully curated gift shop.

​The garden consists of many rooms; all created to compliment the house and connect with the wider landscape.

​In 2025, Barewood Garden changed hands for the first time in its history. Under the stewardship of new hands, regenerative practices are being implemented around the estate, whilst honouring the formal and classic style of the garden.

Visit an extraordinary variety of public and private gardens including Barewood Garden, and witness the spectacular natural landscapes of New Zealand’s South Island on our tour Natural Landscapes and Gardens of New Zealand’s South Island led by Professor Tim Entwisle, former Director and Chief Executive of Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria.

Source: https://www.barewoodgarden.com/

Photos by Carolyn Ferraby & John Patrick