The Gardens @ Owen River Lodge

At Owen River Lodge we are fortunate to have over 4 acres of gardens. This includes two vegetable gardens, ornamental gardens, New Zealand native restorative gardens and a large flower cutting garden.

We garden to organic principles so you can rest assured that if you bite into a freshly picked apple it is pesticide free and you can bury your nose into your bouquet of flowers and drink in the fresh perfume knowing you are not breathing in any nasty chemicals.

Knowing the providence of your fresh produce is gaining in importance across the world and particularly here in New Zealand. Gone are the days of not knowing where your food is grown and how many carbon miles it has traveled to arrive, having been cold stored for months, out of season, over packaged, fumigated and certainly not fresh.

At Owen River Lodge we pride ourselves on serving you the freshest food and as often as possible straight from our vegetable garden.
At various times of the season, we are able to grow spinach, silver beet, a huge variety of lettuces, beans, spring onions/scallions, watercress, cherry tomatoes, snow peas, broccoli, carrots, beetroot, zucchini, artichokes, rhubarb, asparagus, raspberries, New Zealand cranberries, blueberries, grapes, red & black currants, apples and potatoes.

Our herb gardens provide us with all of our microgreens and garlic and some of our own basil, onions, coriander, parsley, sage, thyme, mint, chives, fennel and rosemary and edible flowers. In this way, we can ensure there’s something on your plate, every night, direct from the garden.

The providence of our flowers is also important to us. We pride ourselves on our blooms being fresh, seasonal, pesticide free and not over packaged and stored… in fact there are no carbon miles for our blooms… they are grown on site in our extensive cutting garden!

We harvest our blooms, usually the morning of your arrival and arrange using sustainable floristry principles, ensuring you have fresh, often scented blooms to enjoy during your stay. Some of the flowers that flourish at Owen River Lodge include anemones, ranunculi, tulips, bluebells, nigella, paeonies, dahlias, zinnias, cosmos, asters and delphiniums.

Throughout the property many New Zealand native species have been planted to help restore the waterway area and to complement the ornamental gardens around the lodge and cottages. These native species provide important food sources and habitat for native birds. When the flax is in flower, you will see many Tui’s drinking their nectar, Kereru enjoying the Kowhai flowers and seeds and Weka’s scurrying through the grasses. The New Zealand falcon and Australasian harrier can often be seen soaring around the river willows and grazing paddock.

Our guests are encouraged to wonder through our gardens and enjoy the fresh scents and panoramic vistas. There is garden furniture throughout the property for you to take your time to sit and enjoy. If you would like to learn more about the gardens or particularly sustainable floristry and perhaps make yourself a fresh hand tied bouquet or floral crown, please let us know and we will book you a session with Kylie, our multi-talented farmer florist.

Contact us

Feb 15 2021

My husband was looking for a place to go to stay for a few days that provided him with a great place to fish but would suit myself (who doesn’t fish). He spotted Owen River… Read more

Helen & Brian New Zealand : TripAdvisor

Jan 15 2022

New Zealand’s TVONE visited Owen River Lodge to discuss the increase in women taking up fly fishing You can watch the story here : Read more

Jessica Roden, 1News Reporter

Awards & acknowledgements

Owen River Lodge NZ: “Fly fishing at its very best”

Ph: +64 3 523 9075 Address: Owen Valley East Road, Murchison, Nelson, South Island, New Zealand

Email: fish@elevenangling.com