‘I can’t wait for people to come’
The annual Taranaki Fringe Garden Festival starts this Friday, running through until November 5. Now in its 19th year, the event features gardens and places of interest around Taranaki. This year, 36 gardens and seven places of interest are included in th
When Karen Mekalick retired two years ago she started cataloguing the plants in her garden. “I’ve recorded about 500 species of plants.”
Those species and many more will be on display at the end of the month when Karen and her husband Valentine open up their garden, Bohemian Embassy, for this year’s Taranaki Fringe Garden Festival.
“My husband’s ancestors are from the Czech Republic, historically known as Bohemia. We incorporated that in the name and came up with Bohemian Embassy.”
The garden has no theme, she says, with her goal to plant as much as possible.
“I want to make the best use of the space. I always try to find the right place to put them, but sometimes they surprise me and establish themselves in the concrete cracks and garden edging.”
The garden features perennials, alpines and woodland plants.
“I also have some fruit trees scattered around as well. One of my favourite features in the garden would have to be the large oak tree.
When we first moved here we had to prune it back and take the karakas off it to keep the weight off it.”
Some of the plants have been given to her by other gardeners.
“Jill Kuriger gave me some dwarf Korean lilacs and plantaginea hosta. The thing with the gardening community is they’re always happy to help out and share tips and plant cuttings.”
Karen has entered garden festivals for several years, entering the original Taranaki Rhodododendron Festival in the early 1990s and then entering the Centuria Taranaki Garden Festival in 2013-2014.
“This will be my second year entering the Taranaki Fringe Garden Festival. What I enjoy most is meeting people. You meet so many people from all walks of life. Some will tell you the scientific names of plants or help you identify one. It’s very encouraging to see people enjoying themselves.”
She is currently adding the final touches to get her gardens festivalready.
“It’s a lot of work but it is rewarding. I can’t wait for people to come and see the garden.”