■ A Whakatāne garden nearly 30 years in the making has captured top honours – and hearts – in the Keep Whakatāne District Beautiful Gardening Competition. Rachel and Grant Hughes took out first place in three categories – Best Town Garden, Supreme Town Garden and Alfresco Courtyard Patio Garden – for a property that feels more like a hidden retreat than a suburban backyard, writes Beacon reporter Tamara Herdman.

Water features, hand-built bridges over ponds and gently turning water wheels are spotted throughout what Mrs Hughes calls garden “rooms”, with each space revealing itself gradually in bursts of bold colour.

Weeping cherry trees fitted with whimsical self-portrait pottery faces shade a cosy nook designed especially for visiting grandchildren.

The garden has been a labour of love since the couple moved in during 1994.

“I change things all the time,” Mrs Hughes said.

“I’ve probably had eight different gardens over the years.”

What has remained constant is the teamwork behind the transformation. Mrs Hughes is the gardener and creative driver, while Mr Hughes builds the structures that bring her ideas to life – from courtyard screens and archways to seating areas that blend seamlessly into the landscape.

Colour sits at the heart of the garden’s identity, with vibrant purples, oranges and greens dominating the planting palette.

From rare bromeliads and sunflowers to towering birds of paradise, subtlety is not part of the plan.

Children are also central to the garden’s design. Grandchildren and neighbouring children visit often, with bubble machines switched on to add to the magic. Some areas have been shaped deliberately from a child’s eye level, including a miniature fairy garden Mrs Hughes said she made lying on her stomach.

“Everything looks different from a child’s view,” she said.

That sense of enchantment has turned the garden into a destination. Garden clubs visit regularly, and friends visiting for morning tea often stay late into the afternoon.

Despite its lush appearance, the garden is entirely chemical-free.

Weeding is done by hand, snails are picked off after rain, and birds take care of the rest.

An all-organic fertiliser, Charlie Carp, is the only supplement to sun and soil, rain and regular watering.

The garden also tells a personal story. Sculptures, pottery and artwork – some created by family and friends – are placed throughout, each holding a memory.

A statue of a child playing hide-and-seek, once from Mrs Hughe’s mother’s garden, has been repainted to fit the theme.

“I painted her hat purple,” Mrs Hughes said.

“I got married in this colour; I love purple.”

Now retired after working on the hospital outpatients’ front desk, Mrs Hughes says the garden has long been her refuge.

“After heavy days at work, I’d love to come home, make a cup of coffee and just walk around the garden looking at the plants and listening to the water,” she said.

In a garden that is constantly evolving, change is part of its appeal – and the reason visitors keep returning.