What Clare and Tony began in New Zealand nearly three decades ago with a property scattered with timber trees is now a vibrant food forest, home to more than 200 fruiting plant varieties, many of them rare or unusual.
There are 27 varieties of apples, grapes, avocados, bananas, pineapples, Sichuan pepper, berries, nut trees, passionfruit, kiwi, and an abundance of vegetables. But the plants that Clare treasures most are those rooted in her family’s history. “I’ve got a seedling apple my mum grew, a ‘Sharp’s Early’ plum and an easy-peel chestnut from my uncle, that’s been in the family for years,” she says. “My cousin gave me seedlings from the family avocado.”
“My mother’s ancestors sailed from Bohemia in 1863, and I’m told their ship stopped at the Cape of Good Hope, where they got some rare seeds. The family’s been growing them ever since.” This living tradition now spans more than 160 years.
Clare’s passion for gardening is deeply interwoven with her environmental ethos. She’s a local government elected member, and an environmentalist. Through her environmental work, she became increasingly aware of the vulnerabilities in our global food systems, particularly the impact of long supply chains on climate change and sustainability. Growing her own food became a way to reduce reliance on that system and obtain more nutrient-dense produce straight from the garden.
“I just love growing different things,” she says. “Each plant has its own unique properties.” Clare delights in the quirks of plants like Sichuan pepper, which numbs the tongue, and she grows more than 40 varieties of tomatoes in all colors and shapes – not just for their beauty but for their diverse health benefits as well.
She is also passionate about preserving heritage varieties, seeing them as vital to protect biodiversity and maintain the natural variation that’s increasingly under threat. “It opens your mind. What you see at the supermarket, or even the garden center, is a fraction of what’s out there.”
Husband Tony, who works from home, is very much the garden’s behind-the-scenes co-star. “He’s the weeder and the lawn-mower,” says Clare (though she admits she has to label the plants so that Tony does not accidentally pull up the wrong ones).
Tony also built the impressive archway at the garden’s entrance, a structure that’s both decorative and functional, offering support for climbing plants. Their teamwork carries through to all corners of the garden, from compost bins and comfrey tea to trench composting and a worm farm.
As for what’s next, Clare’s always dreaming of additions. “There’s always something to try, always a plant I haven’t grown yet.” And as long as there’s space, her paradise will keep flourishing, one season at a time.
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