Maureen and Mike Henry are once again opening up their five-hectare Chantecler garden, in Lower Shotover, for a Plunket fundraiser on October 5 and 6 — but after that they’re pulling stumps.
Mike explains they’re almost 80 and, having hosted more than 30,000 visitors over the past 15 years, "it’s just become too much of a mission to keep going".
Apart from this Chantecler Spring Daffodil Event, they’ll only be opening for four pre-booked tour groups.
The couple originally bought their property — later enlarged — in 2003, then really got to work on their garden after shifting here three years later.
They’ve formed formal and English garden areas, a lavender-dominated French-themed garden, Tuscan- and Asian-inspired landscapes, a large orchard and vegetable plot and a New Zealand native garden, with populations of fallow deer, sheep, alpacas and chickens also sprinkled around.
Chantecler — named after a country hotel in South Africa — was recognised as a ‘garden of significance’ by the NZ Gardens Trust. "But it wasn’t my thing to be with people who wanted to be all snooty about their gardens," Mike says, "so we resigned and just kept going."
Mike, who had to clear damage caused by last Friday’s snow storm, says for the first weekend of October there’ll be 10,000 or so daffodils in full flower.
"A lot of early rhododendrons, and a lot of magnolias, all those sort of things will be in flower."
The couple have hosted Plunket fundraisers for about 10 years but also helped other charities — "when we did the breast cancer thing we had 1300 people through".
After they’ve farewelled their last visitors, "I just want to sit down in my bloody chair with my whisky and be as happy as anything", Mike says.
- Wakatipu Plunket’s Chantecler Spring Daffodil Event runs on October 5 and 6 from 10am-3pm, 14 Lower Shotover Rd; tickets $20 from eventbrite
