Ora Garden
"If a visitor to Aotearoa could see only one garden to gain a sense of our bush and our cultural history the 100% Pure New Zealand Ora - Garden of Wellbeing in Taupo is the one I'd recommend."
NZ Gardening personality Maggie Barry, AA Magazine 101 Must Do Weekends, October 2008.
A remarkable New Zealand garden, winner in 2004 of a coveted Chelsea Flower Show gold medal, has been recreated permanently at Taupo Museum to showcase central North Island flora.
This is the '100% Pure New Zealand Ora - Garden of Wellbeing', complete with its special birdsong sound track. It was the first garden taken by Tourism New Zealand to showcase 'a slice of New Zealand' in London as part of its international marketing strategy.
Now, this special show garden has been recreated and replanted in Taupo by the original team of designers and artists as a living exhibit in a courtyard at the museum. The challenge is to keep the garden true to its original design as it grows and develops over time - a truly fascinating process.
The Ora Garden is a popular attraction in its own right. Click here to download the museum's Ora Garden brochure as a PDF for more fascinating details about the garden.
Groups with a real interest in the garden can request a museum guide to explain the history of the Ora garden and answer any questions ($2 per person for groups of six or more visitors).
The attractive courtyard space alongside the Ora Garden is used for workshops, as a classroom space, inhouse functions and is also available to hire.