Grand Illusions
This small 800 square metre garden packs a punch. Though small in area, it’s grand in stature and finds space for a series of themed rooms ranging in style from colonial to contemporary.
Craig Thorburn is an award-winning gardener. With three golds at the Ellerslie Flower Show he knows how to create beautiful garden spaces. He describes himself as a plantaholic and enjoys the challenge of growing unique subtropical varieties.
You’ll notice plenty of structural elements in Craig’s garden. He owns the Grand Illusions garden shop next door where he sells steampunk birdhouses, barbed wire spheres and Buddha statues. They offer new points of interest and colour among the beautiful green foliage and form in his garden.
Greytown
Craig developed a love of gardening from his father. When he was 13 years old, his dad built him a glass house to raise seedlings in. It was Craig’s job to mow the lawns on the family’s acre section and ‘do the gardens.’
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Today, he continues to develop his gardening style – favouring unusual bulbs of bromeliads, trilliums and cardiocrinum (Mt Pure Lily). You’ll notice a strong Balinese connection, where Craig visits regularly. He’s looking forward to extending his Grand Illusions garden for 2020 to have a dedicated space just for his Bali garden.
With narrow stony paths, this garden is not accessible for wheelchairs or strollers.
Parking is available behind the South Wairarapa Workingmen’s club on Greytown’s main street.
GALLERY
