KEEPING THE CASTLE

摘要

Take a peep into the colourful hidden garden that surrounds an architectural treasure in north Taranaki. High on a cliff top in north Taranaki there's a garden that only a few are privileged to see. Quite small and almost flat, it's hidden from view behind a thick wall of greenery - a wall so dense there's scarcely a peep of the restless Tasman Sea some 50 metres below. The garden is remarkable not only for its unique location and colourful flowers, but also for the unusual building that is its centrepiece. Ian and Gwen Besley have cared for the property for almost 20 years now, after responding to a for sale ad in the paper. "It was an absolutely gorgeous day when we first saw it; the sea was like a mill pond," Ian remembers. "It was well off the coastal highway and almost down to the sea. The drive led down a steepish gravel road overhung by pohutukawa and lined with hydrangeas."