The Auckland Garden DesignFest will be held on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th November 2024, 10 am - 4 pm.

The two-day design event, organised jointly by the Garden Design Society of New Zealand, Rotary Newmarket and Dove Hospice & Wellness, showcases the best of New Zealand garden design talent whilst supporting some incredible charities including Youthline, Garden to Table, Forest & Bird, Dove Hospice & Wellness and Rotary Newmarket.

The event allows attendees to rub shoulders with some of New Zealand’s garden design elite and
visit up to 16 unique, professionally designed gardens. Festival Director Deb Hardy says "The weekend is a unique opportunity to ask questions, take advice and be inspired by ideas to enhance your own garden and outdoor space. We're still securing gardens but we're super excited about the great range of designers and gardens so far; varying in size, style, budget and age including swimming pools, amazing outdoor rooms and spaces, courtyard gardens, edible/productive gardens, sculpture, garden art, colour, and planting from clipped and formal, perennials, colour and NZ natives. On-site accommodation also seems to be a theme in some of our gardens..."

Following the success of our previous bus tours, we are once again offering a guided bus tour option, visiting half of the gardens on Saturday and the other half on Sunday. The tour leaders are former lecturer in Landscape Architecture Penny Cliffin and practising Landscape Designer Anna-Maria Morris. Both are long-serving members of the Garden Design Society of New Zealand (GDSNZ). For more information please visit our website: gardendesignfest.co.nz/tours

Earlybird tickets are on sale now via our website, powered by Humanitix. If you've not heard of Humanitix before - they are amazing! 'Tickets for good, not greed'. Humanitix donates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity. We love that.  Our partnership with Dove Hospice & Wellness means that tickets are available from all 8 Dove Hospice Shops across Auckland - Newmarket, Epsom, Remuera, St Heliers, Meadowbank, Mt Wellington, Panmure and Glen Innes. So if you’d prefer to purchase a hard-copy ticket in person and do a spot of op-shopping at the same time, this is the best option for you.

For more information and updates on the 2024 Auckland Garden DesignFest (including volunteering opportunities), please visit www.gardendesignfest.co.nz or follow Auckland Garden DesignFest on Facebook and Instagram.

All images are courtesy of official festival photographer Carme Aguyao.

The Garden Design Society of New Zealand was established in 2002 by a group of enthusiastic professionals working in garden design practice and education. Members of GDSNZ came up with the idea for an Auckland Garden DesignFest after visiting the Melbourne event, run by the Rotary Club of Kew.

The Rotary Club of Newmarket was formed in 1945 and since then its members have been involved in many community projects similar to the Auckland Garden DesignFest. Rotary's main function as an organisation is to provide its members with the opportunity to be of service to the community either locally or internationally. There are over 30,000 Rotary clubs worldwide providing substantial benefits to mankind.

Dove Hospice & Wellness specialise in care that enhances holistic well-being from diagnosis of a life-threatening illness. We support people for whom a cure or remission is expected with our ‘return to wellness’ programmes, and also patients whose illness is no longer curable.

The Auckland Garden DesignFest is a project that will provide much-needed funds to our chosen charities so they can have the greatest positive influence on their communities. The Rotary Club of Newmarket and Dove Hospice & Wellness are privileged to be associated with the Auckland Garden DesignFest.

Gardens range in size from a large balcony/terrace to a half acre.