Of the 12 featured this year, 10 were new to us and it’s revealing in more than one sense what people manage to create behind hedges or fences that you pass regularly without a second thought.

In fact, not just the properties on the trail, but others nearby had clearly paid attention to their curb appeal and it’s nice to think that our regular featuring of this consideration has inspired some to do that.

Another aspect was that most of the gardens had vegetable patches as well as flower displays and again we’d like to think our regular ‘Gardening with Wally’ feature had had an influence. Of course, it’s also likely that the big increase in the cost of vegetables in the stores has prompted folks to do this.

The best gardens are those that also have mature trees and Waikanae is noted for them, especially in what is known as the ‘Garden Zone’ — the eastern half of Te Moana Road and the immediate streets on both sides of it.

The weather over the first 4 hours on the Saturday was wet before it fined up with sunny periods. On Sunday it was overcast all day. However, sometimes when taking garden photos that can be useful as the diffuse light reduces the hard contrast between sunlit and shaded parts of the vegetation.

We’ll post more pics over the next week or so.