A popular feature of the 14th biennial Bay of Plenty Garden and Art Festival is undoubtedly the garden and art trail.

Attendees can choose a one-day festival pass to explore the Palmers Bethlehem-sponsored trail on any single day from November 14-17 or opt for a multi-day pass to enjoy all the festival activities throughout the entire four-day event.

This year’s trail features over 60 gardens, spread across 79 garden and art stops. The art studio trail returns, showcasing even more talented artists alongside the main trail.

Visitors can easily navigate the garden and art trail leaving from the festival hub on the Tauranga waterfront via the Mount Classics bus shuttle service.

All participating private gardens will be open to the public during the festival encompassing a broad area in the Western Bay of Plenty, including Tauranga, Mount Maunganui, Papamoa, Te Puke and for the first time, Pukehina and Pongakawa.

The gardens on display vary widely, from sprawling rural landscapes to compact urban spaces, featuring both edibles and ornamental plants. Festival-goers will enjoy a mix of beloved returning gardens and many newcomers, with nearly half of the gardens either newly included or absent from the last festival.

There’s something for everyone, with highlights such as a maple walk, hornbeam hedging, a kowhai grove, and a redwood forest. Attendees can also look forward to a flower and food farm, a charming cottage garden, a subtropical retreat, community gardens, seaside plots, and chef’s garden; many brimming with colourful blooms.

Be ready for herbaceous borders, wildflowers, perennials, rose gardens, native and exotic planting, and vegetable plots. Some have embraced geographical or period themes too, such as the Japanese and Italian Renaissance gardens.

There are gardens with specific details to look out for, such as those with a waterfall, a winery, and one with a century-old oak tree.

Many gardens have enchanting names such as Tui Hideaway, The Owlery, Redwood Acres, and one that delivers on its Piwakawaka Paradise name, thanks to its freshwater wetland in Te Puna.

History buffs will be pleased to know the heritage gardens of The Elms and Brain Watkins House Museum will be open for the festival.

Attendees can enjoy a primary school garden focused on composting, worm farms, butterflies, and edible plants.

Artists will be present at various locations, including Rob McGregor and Meg Gaddum at the Chloe Wright Family Garden in Ōmokoroa, and artist Paula Knight at her seaside garden in Papamoa.