Totara Waters – A Tropical Treat to Launch our New Zealand Tour

It was the first touring day of our 3-week garden tour of New Zealand with the American Horticultural Society and our Kiwi-born guide (and Pennsylvania-based landscape architect) Richard Lyon of Garden Adventures, Ltd.  We headed away from Auckland on the north island, stop #1 on the itinerary map below…

Garden Touring Map-New Zealand

… leaving its beautiful skyline behind us.

Auckland Skyline

Before long, we arrived at Totara Waters, Peter and Jocelyn Coyle’s specialist bromeliad nursery and subtropical garden in Auckland’s Whenuapai suburb.  If you can imagine a garden as the love-child of Roberto Burle Marx’s tropical tapestries and the spiky succulents of the American southwest, this one might be it. On a lush hillside overlooking a sound within Waitematā Harbour, we were met with beds of bromeliads under palm trees.

Bromeliad bed-Totara Waters

Peter and Jocelyn related the history of their garden, begun in 1999.

Jocelyn and Peter Coyle-Totara Waters

There were collections of cycads around the house, some adorned with the Coyles’ vintage planters and chimney pots.

Containers and cycads-Totara Waters

I loved photographing the cones of cycads, including this male cone of the sago palm cycad (C. revoluta).

Cycas revoluta-Sago palm-male cone

And as a honey bee photographer, I was fascinated to see them avidly harvesting pollen from that cycad’s cone.

Honey bees-Cycas revoluta-cycad-pollen-male cone

Near the house was Dasylirion acrotrichum or green sotol.

Dasylirion acrotrichum-Green sotol

On the hillside overlooking the water was an impressive collection of succulents.

Succulents-Totara Waters

It’s always lovely to see a well-grown spiral aloe (A. polyphylla)….

Aloe polyphylla-spiral aloe

….and a perfect agave…..

Agave-Totara Waters

…. including agaves in flower as well.
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Agaves-Totara Waters

What a stunning Aloe bainesii.

Aloe bainesii-Totara Waters

At the bottom of the two-acre garden, there was an unusual water feature: the rusted hulk of a decommissioned navy ship, the Hawera.  The Hoyles added their own rusty art to echo the wreck.

Rusting Hawera & iron garden sculpture-Totara Waters

A small nursery onsite attracts bromeliad-lovers…..

Bromeliad nursery-Totara Waters

…. and also provides an outlet for Totara’s named introductions, like Neoreglia ‘Totara War Paint’, below.

Neoregelia 'Totara War Paint'-Totara Waters

Bromeliads, of course, featured large at Totara Waters, including a stunning Alcantarea imperialis in flower near the garden’s parrot cage…..

Alcantarea imperialis flower

….and a beautiful Vriesea splendens.

Vriesea splendens

There was a good collection of bonsai plants…..

Bonsai-Totara Waters

….carnivorous plants….

Carnivorous plants-Totara Waters

…and what is said to be the largest staghorn fern (Platycerium bifurcatum) in all New Zealand.

Platycerium bifurcatum-elkhorn fern-Totara Waters

In the garage driveway was a restored Chevy truck, appropriate for Peter Coyle, who made his career as a ‘panel beater’, which is Kiwi slang for a collision repair specialist.

Totara Waters-truck

It was a delight to be there; then we were in the bus and heading inland to another beautiful garden and our first communal New Zealand dinner.