Hidden Gardens showcases Wellington’s emerging horticultural talent

Wellington’s Hidden Gardens is providing a platform for Wellington City Council’s horticulture apprentices to showcase their skills and creativity, while encouraging people to discover some of the capital’s most beautiful outdoor spaces

Each apprentice works alongside an experienced mentor to design, plan, plant and maintain a garden from concept through to completion. The project brings together creative design and practical horticulture, giving apprentices responsibility for developing a space and caring for it as it establishes.

Mentoring supports that process, allowing apprentices to apply their learning to a complete garden project. Their involvement spans the initial idea, planning and planting through to ongoing maintenance, connecting design decisions with how a garden develops over time.

First created in 2015, Hidden Gardens has become a much-loved event that adds colour and interest to Wellington. This year, six apprentices have created gardens exploring themes ranging from stormwater filtration and remembrance to circular forms and Wellington’s past.

Six gardens to discover

Filtration Station – Nick Bowker-Napp

Nick Bowker-Napp’s garden (pictured above) combines planting with an educational display about stormwater filtration. A transparent panel reveals layers beneath the planted surface, while accompanying signs explain the roles of foliage, roots, soil and rock in slowing and filtering runoff. The installation makes an ordinarily hidden process visible, linking the garden above ground with what happens beneath it.

Walking in Circles – Amber Johnson

Circular forms provide the theme for Amber Johnson’s garden, where rounded planting shapes and globe-like flowers repeat the design idea at different scales. Low mounds of foliage sit alongside grasses and flowering plants beneath established cabbage trees. Its location overlooking a sports field adds another connection to the accompanying clue: a garden “where round things grow”.

In Loving Memory – Atom Zonnevylle

Atom Zonnevylle’s garden centres on remembrance, with a curving, mulched path leading through planting to a bench beneath surrounding trees. Reused-looking bricks and tiles define the path edges, while planted beds sit within the established vegetation. The seating creates a place to pause, reinforcing the garden’s reflective theme.

Thinking Vertically – Carys Collins

Upright sections of timber bring height and sculptural interest to Carys Collins’ garden. Set among low planting beneath an established tree canopy, the weathered wood creates a series of vertical features across the slope. The accompanying riddle describes a place “where fallen logs stand tall and life begins anew”, connecting the garden’s structure with its theme.

Inner Peace and Lightness – George Murray

George Murray’s garden pairs a planted rock feature with a nearby bench, creating a small space for contemplation. Stones of different sizes form a raised arrangement, with low-growing plants adding colour and softening its edges. Established trees and shrubs surround the garden, while its clue invites visitors to find somewhere to pause and lighten life’s heavier moments.

Yesterday’s Horizon – Molly McDougall

Molly McDougall’s garden combines a planted bed with a timber screen displaying historical photographs. Positioned against a broad view across Wellington’s hills and suburbs, the installation places images of the past alongside the present-day landscape. Its riddle directs visitors towards a ridge and “plants from a horizon long gone by”.

Follow the clues

Visitors can use riddles published on the council’s Hidden Gardens webpage to find the six installations and vote for their favourite.