You can own the Tree Church
What price do you put on a one of a kind Waikato garden with a Tree Church?
That is what Barry Cox is looking to find out with the sale of his 15 year arboricultural labour of love – a chapel made of living trees.
The 68-year-old has the O¯ haupo¯ property up for sale by tender.
The Tree Church is a combination of both Cox’s pleasures of trees and churches.
‘‘If you don’t like church architecture there is something wrong with you, that is my opinion.
‘‘I was in the tree business and I googled it to see if anybody had done anything like that and they hadn’t so I thought I will do a church out of trees.’’
Cox initially made one pew – out of macrocarpa for himself to sit on.
‘‘But it looked stupid in there so we’ve now got about 24 pews in there to make it look nice.’’
The Tree Church can hold about 120 people depending on how cosy guests want to get.
The maintenance isn’t too bad – Cox describes it as more of a lifestyle – as he continues to still do the majority of the work.
The Tree Church is built around a frame. The walls are now ake ake after Cox tried and didn’t like holm and copper sheen.
‘‘The roof is made of alnus impreialis it’s very fine and flexible and hardy.
‘‘People do ask when am I going to let it fill in completely but I go up there to prune it to let the light in.
‘‘In the mornings now when the sun is coming through it and you might get a little bit of fog, it’s quite something.’’
Cox started the project in 2011 and it took about 18 months to build.
There was a deadline with Cox’s niece-to-be wanting it finished for her October 2012 wedding.
Initially, it was to be a private retreat for Cox to sit and enjoy but he started finding people in his garden when he got home so he thought the only way to control it was to open it to the public.
Cox hosts about 20 weddings a year from the end of October to end of March.
‘‘I have never advertised weddings. It’s social media, I don’t know how it works but it works.
‘‘Weddings are becoming a lot more international now with a lot from China, the Philippines.’’
Only once have they had a wedding affected by rain.
Cox also has bus tours with a lot of those coming from retirement villages, but he’s also had tours from the likes of Russia and Portugal.
The former dairy farmer has no landscaping experience but has always liked trees.
‘‘I planted a lot of trees on the dairy farm I had and I just wanted to make a living out of working with trees.’’
There are about three to four acres in garden and about six acres in total.
There is also a large workshop with accommodation and a twobedroom house at the front of the property.
‘‘When I drive in and look at it and I think how am I going to replace this – you don’t know how many times I have stopped and looked and thought what am I doing?
I’ve worked for 15 years on a project and then move on but you’ve got to have transition sometime.’’
Tenders close at 4pm on March 10.
‘‘Nobody can put a value on it so that is the easiest way to do it. Do you know what a garden is worth?
‘‘We’ve had people that are interested in just building a house to live here.’’
He would like the next owner to continue to develop the garden.
Cox is now looking for a less intensive lifestyle having brought a property on the outskirts of Hamilton.
When it went on the market his friends began checking he was okay, but Cox is not bowing out yet.
‘‘I’m going to live until I’m 100 and plant my last tree on my 100th birthday.’’