A LANDSCAPE WOVEN THROUGH CONNECTION
Whiria means to weave. Created for the Auckland Home Show, the garden brings different cultures and stories together into one space of belonging including te ao Māori celebrating the different ways we live, our languages and cultural practices, and the things we share in common.
Inspired by Jill Rice’s Matariki reflections, Whiria was led by Jill and developed in collaboration with Mere Ward and Milly Ruru, exploring how cultural connection can be expressed through garden design.
Visitors are welcomed into the garden through music before following a whāriki, or woven mat, of stone and planting in a poutama pattern, a pathway of connection leading into the central whare space.
Throughout the garden, each element carries meaning. Water flows from a boulder representing a mauri stone and source of life, while woven hessian panels represent different cultures coming together. Spaces for children to explore, play and connect with nature reflect the experiences we share across cultures.
At its heart, Whiria is about weaving our stories together in respectful balance, creating a place of connection, belonging and shared experience.
PROJECT TEAM
LEAD DESIGNER AND MULTI AWARD WINNER
Jill Rice - Get Outside
Collaborating Designers
Milly Mae & Mere Ward
Construction
Location
THE STORY WITHIN
A place to explore, play & belong
A waiata of beautiful music by bicultural duo ‘Aro’ welcomes guests as they enter the garden.
From here, a whāriki, or woven mat, of stone and planting in a poutama pattern draws people towards the central whare space, where children can mix potions at the carved slab table and touch the water flowing from the boulder , representing a mauri stone and source of life.
The garden celebrates the connections we share through nature and our children. Young visitors can dig in the sandpit, crawl through the ponga tunnel, experience the misty pond and step through the forest experiences that evoke memories of beaches, bush and playgrounds.
An orchard and vegetable patch connect us back to nature and the shared experience of growing our own kai.
Woven together in respectful balance, these stories create a place of wholeness and belonging a garden centred around harmony, connection and the generations who will grow within it.
