Pukeiti Gardens

Pukeiti was started in 1951 by a group who bought a block of rainforest on the saddle between the Pouakai Range and Mount Taranaki and began planting rhododendrons into it rather than clearing for a conventional garden - which is why the collection sits under a canopy of native trees, in gullies and along streams, instead of in beds. It grew into one of the larger rhododendron collections in the world, several thousand plants including species collected in the Himalaya and hybrids bred here. The site is high, wet and often in cloud, which is exactly what rhododendrons want. Flowering runs roughly September to November with the peak in October, and outside that window the garden is green, dripping and rather quiet - pleasant, but not what people come for. There is a cafe, a treehouse-style lookout structure, and walks from ten minutes to a couple of hours. Entry is free, funded by the regional council.

The landscape

• Rhododendrons under native canopy - planted into rainforest, not beds.
• The Himalayan species - large-leaved plants collected in Asia.
• The gully walks - streams and paths through the collection.
• The lookout - the elevated structure over the garden.

When to go

September to November, with October the peak - the reason to time a visit. Outside flowering it is a wet green bush garden and much less remarkable.

Practical notes

It is high and wet; rain and cloud are normal and the garden is often dripping. Paths are steep and slippery in places. Outside the flowering weeks there is little colour.

Nearby

New Plymouth and the coastal walkway are north; Dawson Falls and the mountain are east.