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Hortensia House, named after the French
word for hydrangea, is the private homestead and garden of
Georges and Huguette Michel. It was Huguette's love of
hydrangeas that inspired the title. She has reflected her love
of these old favourites in the recently planted hydrangea
hedge outlining the driveway, which brings welcome colour
throughout the summer.
The Monet-inspired garden is informal in design and is loosely
themed on blue and yellow capturing an essence of serenity and
reflecting the colours of the house. Huguette's favourite
shade of hydrangea is blue and these along with lavenders,
for-get-me-nots, love-in-a-mists among others provide the blue
tones throughout the garden. Yellow is provided by various
varieties of roses including 'Pimpernel' and 'Graham Thomas',
other favourites include pansies, daisies, aquilegias, and
gazanias. The desire to have flowers in the garden all year is
reflected in the large variety of species to be found in the
garden.
Numerous roses add a vibrant splashes of colour among the
hundreds of native plants and fruits trees. Among the many
fruit trees on the property are red cherry guava, weeping
white mulberry and a beautiful persimmon tree outside the
kitchen window.
Huguette and Georges welcome you to come and experience their
stunning garden. As you stroll along the bank down an inviting
shaded pathway enjoy the mass plantings of arum lilies
relaxing in the cool waters of Spring Creek. To enhance your
garden experience, most plants have been labelled.
Adding another aspect to the enjoyment of their garden is the
small craft shed in which one will find a variety of old milk
cans, buckets, tin-wares, pots and trays, all expertly
hand-painted by Huguette Michel-Fleurie.
Opening Hours:
Hortensia House Gardens and Craft Shed is open
Thursday,
Friday and Saturday 2.00 to 5.30 pm
Address: 134 O'Dwyers Road, Blenheim.
Phone: 03 570 5167
www.hortensiahouse.com
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