About Us
It all started in 1973 at our Kauri Road, Oratia property where we discovered that we grew ferns well.
We sold Oratia in 2015 and transferred ourselves and our stock ferns to a new house and smaller boutique fern operation in Waipu, Northland.
While still aiming to grow mainly ferns unique to New Zealand, we specialise in those that thrive in Northland plus other native companion plants that coexist with and complement ferns.
We also stock some NZ native orchids.
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We are a registered supplier to Whangarei District Council.
Our house. The fernery is in behind on the caravan side.
Early morning sun on our planted drive border.
Our house. The fernery is in behind on the caravan side.
Ferns are great for planting under established sub-tropical plantings which are common in Northland. We think all landscaping plans should include ferns in their under-planting. We have planted native ferns and companion natives under existing sub-tropical palms and other non-natives along a strip bordering our 30m drive. We are at the stage where some of the larger higher plants will be reduced, so the tree ferns we have planted, can blend into the canopy helping to feature the under-storey of ground ferns.
We welcome visitors to view and/or purchase our ferns.
Please phone, text or email first to make sure we are around.
A Bit Of History
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Barb and Wes each separately had contact with the fascinating world of ferns when young. Barb spent hours fossicking in the native bush on the family property at Oratia in Auckland's Waitakere ranges and was taught the names of trees, shrubs and ferns by a knowledgeable friend of her parents. In Year 11 Biology at school, Wes watched fern sperm swimming to fertilise a fern egg under the binocular microscope, courtesy of a remarkable Biology teacher.
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After we married, we bought Barb's family bach and 1.25 acres of lovely regenerating bush in Oratia, West Auckland. We both taught at Henderson High School and repainted and modified the "The Lodge" to make it comfortable for us and our first baby boy. There was still a long-drop loo and an inadequate bathroom area under the house. By the time number two was on the way, we knew "The Lodge" was deteriorating and we had to rebuild. It was hard to find finance in those days, but we managed and came up with plans for a pole house that suited the sloping site. The 13 poles were dropped into the pre-drilled holes by helicopter. The pilot was alone and flew around the existing trees, leaning out the door to work the winch with one hand while flying with the other. Remarkable. The 2 builders shinnied up the poles to release the strops.
"The Lodge" - Barb's old family bach
"The Lodge"
Scaffolding for helpers to run around to guide poles into the hole. One person shinned up the pole to remove strop from top. Splinters!
"The Lodge" - Barb's old family bach
There was a caveat on our property to remove the old house, so we had a demolition job to do - with Barb about to give birth and Wes building the kitchen units, the decks and applying gallons of polyurethane to the beams and timber ceiling and painting the walls as well as full time teaching. There was highly valued help from neighbours and work colleagues too.
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Once "The Lodge" was demolished, we used that area to build our first plastic house and shade house. We realised that ferns were the best item to grow in the bush. Not enough light for vegetables and fruit (though we did try!) We could source pretty much every known species of fern from our place - as tiny sporelings on clay banks and also propagating from spores. We discovered the local Oratia Native Plant Nursery, owned by Bev (a school colleague) and husband Geoff needed a constant supply of small locally sourced ferns. Suddenly we were up and operating and loved the result.
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Barb and the dog, Raffles, approve
Our 2 large pohutukawas flowered well most years.
Barb and the dog, Raffles, approve
Meanwhile at Henderson High, Wes realised Horticulture was being revived as a subject - largely stimulated by the huge upsurge in Kiwifruit production. He re-introduced School Certificate Horticulture and set about building a Horticulture area within the school - raised planting beds, a glasshouse rebuilt pane by pane after a donation from a friend of the school, automatic watering system etc. As a family we spent many weekends creating and maintaining the area. As a result, Wes was given an advisory role to help other schools develop their own Horticulture programmes. For several years he travelled regularly around Auckland and Northland schools between his teaching at Henderson High.
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In 1985 Wes received a year-long Teaching Fellowship at Lincoln University, so we sold all the current stocks of ferns, rented out the house and transported the family down south. We had the use of a University house on the campus and had a wonderful year down there. Barb was a regular relief teacher at Lincoln High. Wes did some advising in schools around the South Island and was able to enroll in a post-graduate Diploma in Horticulture. He really enjoyed the academic stimulus and doing laboratory research as part of the course - something he hadn't done since his Masterate in Biochemistry back when he met Barb. He was also the New Zealand Chief Examiner for School Certificate Horticulture that year, creating and testing the questions in 1984 and then organising the team of markers in 1985.
Starting the garden plots. Later we added a good sized glasshouse with automatic watering and misting.
You can see several greenhouses on the roof.
Starting the garden plots. Later we added a good sized glasshouse with automatic watering and misting.
Once we returned to Oratia we expanded our fern production and were busy with our teaching and growing teenagers. We discovered Celtic music whilst at Lincoln. It became our new hobby, which lead to the formation of Twisty Willow Celtic Band. Still performing today. www.twistywillow.co.nz ​
By 2006, Barb decided she would pursue her music and fern production and resigned from teaching. She became the fern specialist at Oratia Native Plant Nursery (ONPN) working three days in a very large fern area and loving it.
Through ONPN she was involved with running workshops for landscapers and horticultural designers, giving fern presentations to garden clubs and writing information material for the ONPN publicity. She enjoyed meeting other folk who were as fascinated with ferns as her! The other two days she spent teaching violin to adults at our newly built home studio.
One part of the extensive fernery that was Barb's responsibility.
Barb really enjoyed maintaining this area.
Main photo used to sell our property just before we moved permanently to Waipu.
One part of the extensive fernery that was Barb's responsibility.
Wes switched to Computer Studies teaching at Henderson High when the previous specialist left. This was at a time when computing in schools was rapidly expanding. He set up the first network at the school as well as teaching the subject.
He volunteered for redundancy in 2000 and used the money and time to expand our nursery, then took up a computing software specialist role for Edtech, visiting schools and helping them customize the software they used for recording student learning and printing reports. He was responsible for Northland schools and spent much time there and became aware of the special appeal of Northland.
For a couple of years, he was Manager of Oratia Native Plant Nursery working with Geoff the owner. It was a special time - meeting top botanists, horticulturists and landscapers, learning the ins and outs of running a large nursery and working with people who love plants.
In 2016 we moved into our new Waipu home, transferred our fern stock plants and started the much smaller boutique operation which this website is all about.