Mosaic Magic New Zealand Style

Jan 20, 2026 | By Karen Chapman | Uncategorized | art,  artist,  combinations,  New Zealand,  Travel | 4 Comments
Just when you think you've seen it all….you discover the magical  Giant's House, perched high on a hill in Akaroa, so-named by a small child who declared that the imposing home must belong to a giant since it was so big. Yet the size of the home is modest compared to the imagination of its artist creator Josie Martin. Our fun-loving tour group was able to meet Josie and visit her home and garden during our recent tour to New Zealand.

The house was the first bank managers house in Akaroa, built in 1880. While the area immediately surrounding the home is flat, the remainder of the garden is terraced over many levels

Initially recognized as a painter specializing in abstract art, Josie turned to sculpture in 1993. This medium provided opportunities to infuse her colorful ideas into whimsical mosaic creations that delight and excite in equal measure.

Swimmers were bound to catch my eye! The central area was a mini paddling pool.

There were so many layers of detail in every element. The longer one looked, the more one saw

Just when you think you've seen everything, you round another corner to be surprised yet again.

This is a garden where you could write a new story for every scene. Here we have Eve tempting Adam perhaps – but he has a watermelon on his head…and yet the snake is writhing between them.

Even the water fountain was an elaborate mosaic!

Yet this garden was so much more than just an art installation. Each vignette was carefully detailed and perfectly integrated with the colors of the surrounding flowers and foliage.

Mosaic figures juggle balls giving form to an undulating wall, but notice the repetition of yellow and red in the poppies growing at the base of that wall and the yellow flowers above. Both serve to frame and enhance the scene as does the carefully clipped low hedge

The Blues….one happy face, one 'blue' face, the color repeated with flowers and mosaic details

  Many of the pieces invited interaction – and my tour guests could be heard laughing with child-like glee as they posed for photographs with the larger-than-life sculptures.

And yes our lovely Sue really is an angel 🙂 but who is that sitting next to her? Any why is a wolf peering over his shoulder?

Waiting for the chef to get lunch ready

This scene anchored the main garden and was truly outstanding. The details on the piano, the bench, the band and even the wall which featured a mosaic musical stave – incredible. And our lovely Kathy was the perfect guest to complete the scene.

  What did we learn? Not to take ourselves or our gardens too seriously! Enjoy life, embrace color and live in the moment.

One of my favorite pieces – you could almost hear this cat blowing a raspberry !

I carefully select each garden on every tour, balancing styles, sizes, concepts and even the owners personalities at times! My aim is to stretch our imagination, broaden our understanding and be open to new discoveries  and while I know this garden wasn't everyone's favorite, it was certainly one we would all remember.

Join me!

I have lots of exciting tours lined up for the future  – come and join the adventure.

Subscribe to Receive Blog Posts

Gardening inspiration delivered right to your inbox from Le Jardinet

Deer-Resistant Edibles (usually)

Apr 15 2025

deer,  design,  edible | 5 Comments

I had an email this week from a lady who had purchased the plans for my Critter-Resistant Vegetable Garden, but realized that it wouldn't be installed in time to protect this seasons fruit and vegetables. That got me thinking as like some other gardeners, I have incorporated a few deer-resistant edibles such as rhubarb into…
Read More →

Front Gardens Re-Imagined

Apr 1 2025

design,  edible,  Focal points,  foliage,  patios | 7 Comments

My mum was a keen gardener and her colorful front garden was filled with fragrant roses, peonies, iris and much more. The neighbors all knew it as "The bungalow with the green roof and pretty garden". It was also a friendly garden – a place where mum would stop to chat as folks walked past.…
Read More →

Early Spring Favorites for Hummingbirds (that deer & rabbits ignore)

Mar 18 2025

container design,  cut flowers,  deer,  drought tolerant,  foliage,  hummingbirds,  rabbits,  shrubs,  spring | 2 Comments

When selecting flowers to attract hummingbirds to your garden, it's easy to focus on summer blooms such as fuchsia and salvia, yet there are so many early spring perennials and shrubs that can entice them. What's more, this list of my personal favorites is also drought tolerant (once established), deer-resistant and even rabbit-resistant! Even if…
Read More →

Garden Triage for March

Mar 4 2025

conifers,  container design,  deciduous trees,  deer,  foliage,  grasses,  perennials,  shrubs,  spring,  trees | 6 Comments

We finally saw blue skies in Seattle this week, so of course I rushed into the garden knowing there was a long 'to do' list to tackle. However, the reality is that I can't manage to work outside for a full day anymore, I need a tea break every two hours and after four hours…
Read More →

A visit to St. Fagans, South Wales

Feb 18 2025

event,  Travel

When scouting for interesting destinations for my tour guests, I often seek out lesser-known gems that offer unique insights into local history and culture in addition to great gardens. I was struggling for a way to enrich our visit to South Wales that would offer our guests a greater appreciation for the nations past, their…
Read More →

Garden Shows: What to Look For & Ticket Giveaway!

Feb 4 2025

combinations,  container design,  deer,  design,  England,  event,  foliage,  spring,  Travel,  winter | 38 Comments

It's snowing outside and skies are grey, which means I'm likely to do two things: Go swimming in Puget Sound (yes, seriously), and Plan a visit to a garden show (equally seriously). If you're reading this garden blog I'm going to make the assumption that you may be more interested in the latter so let's…
Read More →

New Deer-Resistant Shrubs to Tempt you (But Not the Deer)

Jan 21 2025

climbers,  container design,  cut flowers,  deer,  design,  drought tolerant,  fall,  First Editions,  foliage,  fragrance,  Proven Winners,  shrubs,  spring,  wildlife

Deer-challenged gardeners have a somewhat reduced plant palette to choose from since the aim is to select plants that the deer will leave alone. Sadly, that means avoiding roses, hydrangeas, mock orange and camellia to name but a few. The good news is that there are still plenty of outstanding shrubs that are not only…
Read More →

10 NEW Deer-Resistant Perennials for 2025

Jan 7 2025

birds,  deer,  design,  drought tolerant,  foliage,  perennials,  Proven Winners | 1 Comment

With seed catalogs arriving daily, gardeners are in full planning and dreaming mode. As much as I enjoy growing a few things from seed it's also really exciting to be able to purchase fully grown plants and of course I want to see what is both new and deer-resistant. Proven Winners always comes up with…
Read More →

Happy Holidays

8 Comments

Until next year xx
Read More →

Lawn-less in Seattle!

Dec 9 2024

birds,  combinations,  conifers,  deciduous trees,  design,  Focal points,  foliage,  grasses,  Nature,  path,  patios,  perennials,  shrubs,  trees | 3 Comments

One project often leads to another. In this instance, the construction of a workshop meant re-grading and re-thinking the back garden of a lovely  home in Sammamish, WA, a popular residential neighborhoood in the Greater Seattle area. In its favor this garden was a good size, had some interesting elevation changes and several mature trees…
Read More →

Welcome to My Garden Adventures

SE6A7058

I'm a serious plant-aholic. In other words I'm usually covered in a layer or two of soil, I drive everywhere with a large tarp for impromptu plant purchases and I'm truly passionate about sharing the joys of gardening.

Buy My Books Here!

a-logo-amazon
A1mqTzUr9bL._SL1500_
Shop Now
A1Q17hIXwTL._SL1500_
Shop Now
91M8zsA8EJL._SL1500_
Shop Now

Container Gardening Course

Enter KCHAPMAN20 to get 20% off

Architecture, interior design, and more ∨

Use the help of top home decorators to select matching bedside tables and a new lamp shade for your own bedroom design.
Collect and share photos of bathroom tile, bathroom vanities, shower curtains and bathroom mirrors to create your perfect home decorating style.

TV Interview

Search

Tags

annuals art artist bark berries birds books bulbs Christmas climbers combinations conifers container design cut flowers deciduous trees deer design drought tolerant edible England event fall First Editions Focal points foliage fountains fragrance grasses groundcover indoor plants Monrovia Nature path patios perennials Proven Winners seeds shrubs spring succulents Travel trees water gardens wildlife winter

Archives