Taking lessons from the pros: Hollard Gardens

I'm a little nervous.  It's been about 1.5 weeks and i'm 1 for 3 with my seeds.  The beetroot all has nice little sprouts on it, but nada (or 'nil' is the term used here) from the cucumber and watermelon.   I'm not giving up yet.   I decided, on my Wednesday afternoon off, to get some inspiration from the pros at Hollard Gardens.

Established in 1927 by Bernie and Rose Hollard, the 4.5 hectare garden orginally was private.   The husband and wife couple, pretty much gardening legends in NZ, gifted it to the nation and is now served under a public trust fund.  It's amazingly well-kept, and best of all, free to visitors!   Below are the pictures I took---- my apologies for so many, but I had trouble picking and choosing the best ones to highlight, because they're ALL so beautiful!

In typical New Zealand fashion, the gardens had a kickass playground with a firemans pole, swing bridge, rope climb, and giant tire swing!!

I tried out the tire swing, and yes, it's as fun as it looks :)

After a few peaceful hours of strolling, observing absolutely the spectacular rhododendrons and azaleas, watching the tuis hop from branch to branch and the bumblebees buzz around to collect their nectar, I left relaxed, refreshed, with a renewed hope to keep on trying with my little seedling veggie garden.

Cheers from your favorite novice NZ gardener!