Scenes From the Weekend: Gardens, More Gardens... and Rugby

There is no better medicine for a stressed body and mind than a good dose of exercise and outdoors time and this weekend I got that. The gardens are delicious at the moment, with early spring flowers starting to pop up everywhere. It isn't full blown flower mania yet, but I sort of love the tiny pops of colour in a mostly barren landscape, its more rustic looking.

On Saturday morning I went to enjoy a cuppa and a wander through the Auckland Botanical Gardens. I often overlook the gardens due to the fact the nearby Hamilton gardens are outstanding and dramatic so the more understated Auckland gardens stand out less but I was pleasantly surprised.

The Auckland gardens have developed they multisensory gardens in a really creative way. They have a huge variety of sustainably organized culinary gardens, a huge leash free dog area and a artistically presented herb garden. The herb garden was my favourite, it was packed with a variety of heavily scented herbs and there was a large pavilion with beautiful flowers hanging to dry. It was so picturesque.

 After my relaxing day at the gardens I headed off to the All Blacks Rugby match with some friends from work. To be honest, I like playing sport but watching it is not my favourite thing, though this game was an exception. Maybe it was the fun music and fireworks, or the fact we did so well, but I was proud of myself for getting through the game without getting out the John Green book I had stashed in my handbag.

What do you know? Sunday rolls around and I felt the need to do some garden exploring again. The domain winter gardens are the coolest, quirkiest gardens in Auckland, in my opinion. The glasshouse has gorgeous art deco symmetry which is beautifully offset by the quirky botanical arrangements inside. The late afternoon light was perfect and I managed to get some fun shots with my new camera so keep an eye out for them on instagram.

So as the week steams ahead remember to take time to smell the roses, literally not just figuratively. What are your favourite gardens to visit?