Stablehouse Design

13/10/2026

Two gardens. Too good to miss.

On Labour Day the gates are opening on two gardens recognized by the New Zealand Gardens Trust as ‘gardens of national significance’.

They are both in the Wairarapa, both five minutes from Masterton, both on Morris Road. At number 21 is the Red Sheds Garden, a precocious pocket of brilliance designed by Lyn Eglinton, the doyen of garden design who for over four decades has been creating sublime and much-admired garden spaces throughout New Zealand.

Down the driveway at number 39 you will fall under the spell of Stablehouse Garden, also originally designed by Lyn Eglinton but now on a journey of enhancement under the creative stewardship of her daughter, Sarah Delmonte. Stablehouse is structural planting at its finest. There are elegant allées of pleached limes, clouds of buxus, a phalanx of marching pin oaks, towering walls of beech hedging…this is a compositional garden artfully designed to be revelled in during all four seasons. And for one day only they are both open to the public.

Come and wander your way through the paths, aisles and garden ‘rooms’. There is no more relaxing way to spend the day. Both Sarah and Lyn will be there, a cup of tea as well, possibly even a pikelet.

Entrance to each garden is $20, kids are free, so is the dog. Eftpos is available at Stablehouse, cash only at the Red Sheds, Lyn and technology are not friends. Gates are open at 10am before closing again at 3pm.

30/09/2026

This election message is authorized by Stablehouse Nursery.

Only six weeks to go before you crouch behind the cardboard voting booth and have your say about which plants will rule your garden this summer.

Perhaps it’s easier to first decide what plants won’t be appearing on the Stablehouse hustings – these include anything resembling a hanging basket or flax. A notable exception? The Titoki. As long as you avoid planting techniques employed by Council contracters. Oh dear.

That leaves us with a caucus of magnificent frontrunners to choose from like Ms Annabelle-Hydrangea, Sir Graeme Blandy, Dame Maggie Nolia, Ms Michelia Gracipes and the increasingly popular Ms Hellie Bore. Come and meet the candidates along with a host of other stella candidates and Garden Party Manager, Sarah. So much talent to choose from, so much to learn. So many trees, shrubs, peonies, hydrangeas, buxus, citrus, grasses…

Stablehouse Nursery, first driveway on your left after turning onto Morris Road, Te Ore Ore, Masterton. 10am – 3pm, on Thursdays. It that doesn’t work, just give Sarah a bell on 021 511223.

29/09/2026

…that Stablehouse has accommodation, aptly called The Garden Shed? No? It’s rather beautiful and ridiculously relaxing. If you would like more details just message us.

22/09/2026

Sharing the love with New Zealand Gardens Trust...

22/09/2026

Keep calm and plant more flowers.

Vibrant signs of summer coming, delicate textures, some dainty others unabashed floosies, a disco of colour, a bed of mood enhancing sirens…hydrangeas, peonies, hellebores, roses, magnolias, iris, dahlias…get ready, get planting, get yourself to Stablehouse Nursery. Open every Thursday at 21a Morris Road, Te Ore Ore, Masterton, the first driveway on your left after turning onto Morris.
Come wander and chat flowers, trees, shrubs, hedges, citrus, grasses, ivies…with Sarah from 10-3ish.

18/09/2026

Sun’s aflame, heading north to 20°C… but it’s snowing!

16/09/2026

Monday’s gardener is fair of face, Tuesday’s gardener is full of grace, Wednesday’s gardener is full of woe, Thursday’s gardener knows where to go…

Stablehouse Nursery. Open every Thursday 10-3ish - the first driveway on your left after turning onto Morris Rd in
Te Ore Ore, Masterton. A wondrous world of wonderful trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses, hydrangeas, citrus, ivies, buxus, hedge plants and gardening chat aplenty. Stablehouse Nursery, if we haven’t got it – we’ll find it. See you Thursday, or next Thursday, or the Thursday after that…

10/09/2026

Pyrus, the blushing bride.

Landscape design and nursery

07/09/2026

The Wisdom of the Hedge

They are the living architecture of living spaces. A dynamic and evolving boundary that breathes life into a landscape. Goodness me…that all sounds very Gardens Illustrated, doesn’t it? Truth is, we simply love hedges - towering, living walls of gorgeousness. They build the many ‘rooms’ in our own garden, creating expectation and even a tad of mystery as you drift from one garden gathering to another.

Enouncing a favourite hedge would be to create family friction so a palette of the preferred is easier to talk about and in both Stablehouse and Red Sheds Gardens this incudes stalwarts Beech, Bay and Michelia. There are others of course that we recommend - Camelia, Hornbeam, Acer, Prunus, Tilia Cordata…and others that we don’t, Griselina, Corokia, Red Robin… any mention of these will see you escorted off the property.

Beech hedges are dominant at Stablehouse. They are majestic. Smooth oval leaves of rich bronze smelted in Autumn then continuing to glow throughout winter before being dismissed by fresh green spring growth.

The Bay (Laurus Nobilis) hedge is the garden’s bodyguard; deeply protective, robust, dense and highly tolerant of coastal conditions, dry summers and frosts. Without the bastion of its surrounding Bay hedge our vegetable garden would whimper, weep, then probably curl up and die.

The Michelia displays at the Red Sheds Garden are attracting a ridiculous amount of attention after just two years in the growing. Even small aircraft are starting to circle them. The variety Lyn has planed is ‘Inspiration’. Others include Gracipes, Paton Pink, Fairy Cream, Lemon Scent and Church Mouse, they’re all gifted children. It’s a stunning evergreen hedge, a year-round beauty. The blooms, from late winter to spring bring to mind a Paris perfumery yet as elegant as it presents, Michelia is tough and resilient as well.

Stablehouse Nursery is open every Thursday, 10 – 3ish. Come and talk hedges with Sarah, or about anything else ‘gardeny’. We’re at 21a Morris Road, the first driveway on your left after turning onto Morris. And if Thursdays doesn’t work just call her on 021 511223 and make another time and day. Happy Hedges!

23/06/2026

Naked trees looking for a good home.

They’re shivering a little in the early mornings, as you would when your clothes have fallen off and the temperatures are single digits. But what doesn’t freeze you makes you stronger and our stocks of specimen trees, shrubs, buxus, hydrangeas, Angel Wings, citrus and grasses are particularly robust and ready to snuggle into a hole in your garden which right now is especially easy to dig.

Come and take a winter wander, there’s a lot to look at and prices are on the skinny side. Stablehouse Nursery. Open every Thursday from 10 to 3ish. First driveway on the left after turning onto Morris Road, Te Ore Ore, just a minute or three outside of Masterton.