Tickets are still available for the Bay of Plenty Garden & Art Festival, which opens today and runs until Sunday November 20.

The festival not only promotes the unique lifestyle of the Bay of Plenty, but is fast becoming New Zealand's premier garden and art event.

The excited team at the helm of the festival are passionate about gardens, art and promoting the beautiful Bay of Plenty.

The 2022 festival, with Bayleys as the principal festival partner, offers a garden and art trail, supported by a spectacular festival hub at Tauranga Racecourse.

One of the 74 gardens on show during the Bay of Plenty Garden and Art Festival. Photo: John Borren.

Spanning from Katikati to beyond Te Puke, the stunning Garden & Art Trail, sponsored by Palmers Bethlehem, provides an opportunity for four days to visit the private domains and gardens of participating gardeners and view their creativity.

Festival-goers come from around the Bay of Plenty and across New Zealand to the festival.

'My now 85-year-old grandmother use to travel from Taranaki where she was president of the New Plymouth Floral Art Society every two years with fellow members/friends to explore what we have,” says Craigs Investment Partners Tauranga & Hamilton area manager Hayley Nelson.

'It really is quite the date in people's diaries. I'm looking forward to it.”

Murray Clode, taking a quick rest break on Wednesday while setting up display areas at Bloom in the Bay at Tauranga Racecourse. Photo: Rosalie Liddle Crawford.

The hub of the festival at Tauranga Racecourse – Bloom in the Bay, sponsored by Craigs Investment Partners – will feature porcelain and floral art, live music, sculptures, Polynesian wall art, pottery, jewellery, woodcraft, garden art, carving, murals, glass art, cake decorating, millinery, food and trade stalls, a kids' area, demonstrations, talks, sustainable and wearable art, workshops and photography.

For those keen to get their tickets as fast as possible, they are available online with Eventfinda, and also in-store at Palmers Bethlehem, i-site Tauranga, Décor Gardenworld, Pacifica Home and Garden Store, Te Puke Florists and Katch Katikati – Katikati Information Centre.

Rosa with Cook Island Tivaevae art on display at Bloom in the Bay. Photo: Rosalie Liddle Crawford.

As well as this, people can also participate in the festival's popular three-course Long Lunch with host and former ‘NZ House & Garden' magazine editor Lynda Hallinan who will be joined by NZ's ‘bug man' Ruud Kleinpaste.

The Weekend Sun Emerging Artist finalists and winner will also have their work on display at Bloom in the Bay.

What's New in 2022? Plenty!

The 2022 festival, with Bayleys as the principal festival partner, and Palmers Bethlehem sponsors of the Garden & Art Trail, offers 74 garden and art stops.

Of these, 20 are art studio stops and 30 per cent of the gardens are new to the festival. At the art stops, artists can be seen working from their own studios.

This year there are more artists than ever before, so much so, that the Art Studio trail has been created within the main trail.

All of the artists will also have a taste of their work on display in the main dedicated Festival Gallery at Bloom in the Bay.

Porcelain art on display at Bloom in the Bay at Tauranga Racecourse. Photo: Rosalie Liddle Crawford.

Getting around the garden and art trail is made easy with the assistance of Mount Classics providing a bus shuttle service.

This year the festival hub, Bloom in the Bay at Tauranga Racecourse, is launching the inaugural Bloom Plaza – a new area bursting with garden-related trade stalls.

Products people want for their gardens including barbecues will be available to browse and buy. It's a mini tradeshow – within a festival hub – within a festival that spans the Bay of Plenty.

Sponsored by Craigs Investment Partners, Bloom in the Bay will also be featuring a small village of tiny homes and cabins provided by Freedom Cabins NZ.

Wander around outside and then inside at Bloom in the Bay, browsing the much-loved galleries, competitions, speaker and workshop series.

And then relax back and enjoy the music and delicious food.

Legacy Gardens

Each year the Bay of Plenty Garden & Art Festival organisers like to install permanent legacy gardens that people can visit after the festival is over.

Six were created in 2018 at Tauranga Historic Village, including a hanging tree garden.

In 2020, three new gardens were put in place at Tauranga Racecourse, and again in 2022 another three will be installed at the racecourse venue.

'Over a period of years, these Legacy Gardens may eventually develop into a 360-day trail,” says festival director Marc Anderson.

This year, as well as gardens created by Tony Dawson at the Bloom in the Bay location, the festival is shining a spotlight on the Brain Watkins House garden, which dates back to the early-1880s.

The plan is to return it to some degree of its former glory as an acknowledgement back to the community from the festival gardeners.

Brain Watkins House. Photo: Rosalie Liddle Crawford.

'On behalf of our gardeners, we have donated some money to Brain Watkins House. Tauranga landscape architect Nicola Vague from Zones Landscaping is creating a design that will be ready for the festival,” says Marc.

'The garden will be upgraded to be in keeping with the original style.”

Four days of garden and art heaven

With new artists and gardens to explore, the four days will be packed with vibrancy and delightful moments.

Take a friend, go as a group and discover the secret wonderlands people have developed on their properties.

Cath Earwaker and Ross Neilson are opening their garden to festival goers. Photo: John Borren.

Thanks to the wonderful gardeners and brilliant artists, the festival is bringing us a garden trail to savour, with many captivating experiences along the way.

The Bay of Plenty Garden & Art Festival is on November 17-20. A One-Day Pass only costs $40 and a Multi-day Festival Pass is $65, and both packs include a festival pass, directory and map. Visit: www.gardenandartfestival.co.nz for ticket sales and more information.