A place of whimsy and wonder
Julie Haines and her daughter are delighted by the crazy, colourful sculptures that fill The Giant’s House.
What happens when you blend art, gardens and fantasy? You get The Giant’s House, a whimsical mosaic garden that’s a must-do attraction in Akaroa.
The spellbinding garden with an equally intriguing name is a larger-than-life mosaic masterpiece, nestled against a hillside close to the town centre.
When we arrived, expecting a few mosaic sculptures dotted around a pretty garden, we were instead blown away by the scale of artist
Josie Martin’s installations. The enormous terrace garden is packed full of incredible sculptures, blending in harmoniously among the roses, vegetables, citrus trees and flowers.
Our mouths gaping in awe, we entered past giant mosaic dancers, and came to a halt next to a spectacular grand piano with succulents growing under the lid. My daughter sat for a moment on the piano bench and pretended to play a tune for the first of many obligatory holiday photos, then we leapt up eagerly to explore the grounds further.
The garden wraps around a historic home, which was built in 1880 from tōtara and kauri milled from Banks Peninsula.
The Giant’s House was so-named when a young girl looked up from the valley below and said the house must belong to a giant because it was so big.
The name is as apt now, when small children look up at the giant concrete sculptures adorning the grounds.
As we walked around the garden on mosaic steps, the sculptures became increasingly fanciful. We posed delightedly beside multiple animals, a ballerina, clown, acrobats, musicians and a chef presenting a birthday cake for a garden tea party. Even the toilet room is a work of art.
At afternoon tea time, we relaxed in the sun by a fountain (mosaicked and surrounded by sculptured figures, of course) and enjoyed a snack from The Artist’s Palate cafe.
There was no garden at The Giant’s House when Martin moved in 24 years ago. Having trained in horticulture and art, she was able to combine her two passions to restore the property.
She found beautiful shards of old china when she was digging the garden and couldn’t bring herself to throw them away. Instead, Martin mosaicked the front step area with the discarded china and tiles she had bought during her travels as an international artist. She then turned the conservatory floor into a ‘‘stone carpet’’, followed by an installation at the top of the drive.
Over the years the blank canvas of the garden became a flamboyant work of art, and the inside of the house became a unique bed and breakfast and a home for her original paintings. When the Christchurch earthquake destroyed the stone carpet, Martin simply mosaicked the floor again.
The sculptures are built with reinforcing steel and concrete. Josie then colours and mosaics the works with tiles, broken china, glass and mirrors.
Since 2018, the New Zealand Gardens Trust has given the garden its maximum six-star rating, which recognises it as a ‘‘Garden of International Significance’’.
At the back of the Giant’s House, Martin exhibits her art work and paintings in a contemporary art gallery.
The established artist, painter and sculptor has received several awards and scholarships, and undertaken 30 art residences in Italy, France, Spain, India, Turkey, the United States, Mexico, and China.
Josie’s work is playful and a celebration of life.