September 2026 Newsletter
FESTIVAL INFO | MAP | 2026 GARDENS | TICKETS
Kia Ora,
Just one week left to grab your Early Bird ticket!
The countdown is on to the 2026 Jassy Dean Trust Waiheke Garden Festival, with tickets just $50 until midnight 30 September.
And there’s an extra incentive to get in early – every Early Bird ticket purchased goes in the draw to win a two-night Winter Escape at The Boatshed Waiheke, including dinner, breakfast and ferry transfers if required.
Meanwhile, Kiwi Gardener editor Rachel Clare recently took a sneak peek at some of our 10 festival gardens. Read on to see what caught her eye and get a taste of what’s waiting for you on 7–8 November!
A VISIT FROM KIWI GARDENER MAGAZINE
Jassy Dean Trustees Sally and Jude spent a very pleasant day escorting Kiwi Gardener Editor Rachel Clare around a few wonderful properties which will be on show at the Garden Festival. Garden owners have clearly been very busy preparing for the weekend of 7 and 8 November and the ones we saw were looking beautiful.
Accompanied by professional photographer Jacob Leaf, Rachel enjoyed seeing some of the gardens first-hand, and meeting their talented and enthusiastic owners. She will be writing a feature article about her visit for the October edition of Kiwi Gardener magazine. (Watch out for that on sale from the final week of September). A huge thank you to Jacob for sharing his photos with us for this newsletter.
A keen gardener and plant lover herself, Rachel, and friend Tryphena Cracknell, published a book this year, about New Zealand Native Flowers “Aotearoa in Bloom” which is now available for purchase from bookstores.
First stop for the day was the lovely Church Bay Road property called Oneroa Secret Gardens (image above). Owner Josie Fenton was on hand to walk us through this impressive and colourful garden all of which she had planted and cared for herself with the help of husband Wayne. Gardenia hedges lining part of the boardwalk and pathway promise a cloud of delicious perfume, and pots of gloriously coloured annuals are dotted around the carefully positioned bromeliads and palms covering the sunny east-facing slope of the middle garden.
Josie, who also runs an accommodation business on the site, is clearly a perfectionist as the garden is impeccably presented – and a testament to all her hard work.
Next on the agenda was a trip to the abundant and impressive garden belonging to Marie and Derek Kerr.
This couple are the very busy parents of three young children yet still somehow manage to maintain a stunning and very productive vegetable garden, extensive herb garden, chickens, fruit trees and pretty flower garden. Derek says that Marie is the gardener in the family and he just ‘does what he’s told’ but between them they have created a wonderful living space for a young family on what is effectively a classic quarter acre section.
The caged vegetable garden is particularly impressive with an abundance of many different veggie plants – grown closely together with much thought given to crop rotation and plant structural needs, e.g. courgettes are grown vertically to make for ease of picking and to maximise use of space. Visitors here are sure to come away buzzing with ideas for their own kitchen gardens.
A day trip to Waiheke for garden enthusiasts would never be complete without a visit to Ngaio Lewis’ wonderful plant nursery in Seaview Road and whilst Rachel had visited this before she was keen to see the recent changes. Ngaio has now been propagating and selling plants to raise funds for the Jassy Dean Trust for more than twenty years and she is by far the biggest fundraiser for the Trust. Recently Ngaio’s husband and son-in-law have completed a new boardwalk making access to the stunning gardens much easier. Her selection of plants for sale is truly immense and they are all healthy specimens and very reasonably priced.
Even for those not necessarily on the hunt for that little take-home ‘botanical beauty’ a visit to this lovely garden is still highly recommended. Tall palm trees wave over stunning bromeliad displays and enormous Abutilon and Brugmansia shrubs were heavy with brilliant yellow and deep coral pink blooms when we visited.
Ngaio’s garden is likely to be a stand-alone feature in an upcoming Kiwi Gardener magazine so watch this space.
Next was a visit to the spectacular property of Pamela and Carl Howard-Smith (pictured above). Perched high above the Piemelon Bay peninsula this glorious property cascades down towards to sea in a series of terraces.
With 180-degree sea views the paths lead to a series of little treasures, lovely sculptures, unusual plantings and unexpected shady nooks for contemplation. Small ponds abound, with Pamela’s much-loved frogs often seen peeking from a fat tropical leaf. Son Damon helps maintain this extensive property and was on hand to give Rachel some idea of what was involved in creating the property from a bare gorse covered slope.
This garden needs time to discover all its hidden delights and both Rachel and Jacob admitted they could have spent longer enjoying everything it has to offer.
The last stop of the day was to Ann and Richard Skelly’s delightful cottage garden in Ostend. With the onset of Spring this sheltered and sunny property was bursting with new growth and colour. Enormous Cineraria plants dotted the beds with their deep mauve and magenta flowers, cascades of flowering Loropetalum (Chinese Fringe Flower) were hosting visiting bees and bright lime coloured Sedum edged the darker leafed plants in the flower beds. Richard and Ann have set down new gravel paths winding through the property which makes for much easier access and maintenance.
Ann’s studio, nestled amongst flowering jasmine and with a rapacious wisteria bursting through the deck in front, is full of her beautiful artwork, some of which will be on show during the festival.
All too soon it was time to get Rachel and Jacob back to the ferry. Waiheke had turned on some amazing weather on the day and the whole island was looking spectacular.
We are grateful to Kiwi Gardener for the opportunity to showcase some of the gardens participating in this year’s Jassy Dean Trust Waiheke Garden Festival. Whilst time pressure meant we weren’t able to see them all on the day of the visit, we are confident that those of you lucky enough to have a ticket to the event have an absolute treat in store!
We hope Rachel’s visit has given you a little inspiration to come along and explore these beautiful gardens for yourself!
Remember, you can grab your Early Bird ticket for just $50 if you purchase by midnight on 30 September – after that, tickets are $60.
For tickets and everything you need to know about the festival, visit waihekegardenfestival.org.nz
Until next time,
The Jassy Dean Trust
THANKS TO OUR FESTIVAL SPONSORS
MAJOR FESTIVAL SPONSORS
GOLD SPONSOR
SILVER FESTIVAL SPONSORS
BRONZE FESTIVAL SPONSOR
Additionally thanks to our key festival supporters: Aqua Waiheke, Central Landscape Supplies, Goldie Estate, Greenacres, Sol Bar Waiheke, Island Print, Paper Plus, Te Matuku Oysters, Sign Maidens, Waiheke Cinema and Woolworths Waiheke.
DONATIONS WELCOME
Not able to make the festival but keen to support the cause? We welcome all donations - big or small.
The Trust provides essential assistance to local families, including covering ferry and taxi fares for children needing treatment, hospital stay expenses, funding specialised medical equipment, counselling, and specialist appointments. It also aids with daily health needs such as EpiPens, hearing tests, consumables for diabetics, and school-based and youth community programs addressing issues like neurodiversity and mental health.
Donate today and help relieve the financial burden for those families with sick tamariki.
Applying for support from the Jassy Dean Trust is easy and confidential. If you know someone that might qualify please direct them to the online application form at www.jassydeantrust.org/apply
