LandsEndt is the iconic property of Annemarie Endt, built up with her recently deceased husband Dick. Lots of travel in South America enabled the Endts to find and import seeds and plants that would suit the climatic conditions of their property in West Auckland. Some of these have become common among tree croppers, but there are others waiting for you to find. Crops trialled include tree tomato (now called tamarillo), chinese gooseberry (now kiwifruit), babaco, macadamia, naranjilla, jaboticaba, taro, and others. There are not only unusual tree crops, but also a wide variety of palms and bamboos.
For more information about what you can see, read the book “the Subtropical Garden at Landsendt: a plant collector’s dream”.
Annemarie has just been awarded the 2019 RNZIH Award in Garden History for her writings detailing the pioneering of tree crops at Landsendt. Annemarie’s booklets help document the horticultural history and early use of these crops.
Nearby, the Goldsmiths Feijoa orchard is a good story of conversion from a traditional stone fruit orchard to a new crop. Starting in 2005 with a busy family life, the Goldsmiths have developed a thriving business growing about 10 tonnes of feijoas a year, half for export.