The Orchard and Native New Zealand Plants
The Orchard
Planting apple trees in the ballance house orchard, 1989
The Orchard at Lakeview (the original house name) was planted in the 1800s and John Ballance also planted a fruit orchard at his home in Wanganui. As part of the restoration programme in the ‘90s, it was decided to replant the orchard with apple trees provided by Greenmount College and all are traditional 19th century varieties.
The current apple trees were planted in 1989 by a touring New Zealand rugby team on a very wet and cold day. The Kiwis, reluctantly left the warmth of the coach, saying that they now understood why Ballance had left Northern Ireland for a life in New Zealand! There are also two very tasty plum trees.
one of the apple trees which was planted by the speaker of the new zealand house of representatives rt hon david carter, on 14 april 2015
In front of the Tea Barn is a mature border filled with native New Zealand plants.
an iconic New Zealand ‘Kōwhai’ Tree
In 2020, it was fantastic to see our Kōwhai tree flowering in May after 30 years! Presumably because of the exceptionally dry sunny Spring that year. Kōwhai being the Maori word for yellow This tree is native to New Zealand, often regarded as the country’s national flower. Renowned for brilliant yellow flowers, it acts as a seasonal food source for birds. See some more information and photos of the Kōwhai tree at the following links:
