Working her way to Wainuiomata

For most of us tending a garden is a chore, but for the last 11 years, 94 year old Mavis Rushworth has been gardening acres of native bush clad hills between Wainuiomata and her residence in Wesleyhaven Village Naenae, turning gorse clad slopes into a maze of flower clad paths, and shady dells.

The undertaking would daunt most young able-bodied people, but from dawn to dusk, seven days a week, Mavis has worked hard at her self imposed task even though her sight was failing and she struggled to walk without the assistance of two walking sticks.

Despite poor eyesight that prevented her seeing the results of her handy-work or even the splendid views that she has created, Mavis knew all the plants by sight, feel and smell. “I don’t mind not being able to physically see the garden as I can still visualize it. For me that’s enough,” said Mavis.

On occasions Mavis had been known to lose track of time while gardeing much to the concern of her daughter who resorted to phoning in the evenings just to be make sure that her mother was down off the hill. Mavis’s daughter often joked that her mother will only rest, “when she reaches Wainuiomata.”

Over the years Mavis has cleared back the scrub and gorse that covered the foothills and has created a series of meandering paths and gardens that now run underneath a canopy of tall manuka trees.

“I’ve always been a keen gardener,’ smiled Mavis, “even when I was a toddler my mother said I was only happy when I was dirty.”

For several months Mavis was assisted by Bruce Burroughs who used to help her until he succumbed to cancer. As a result she has erected a sign naming one of the paths “The Bruce Walk’. Mavis recalls that like her, Bruce felt he was playing a small part in creating a slice of heaven, and he often used to look up from a hard days work and comment, “all this; and heaven to.”

Currently the garden that Mavis has created is quiet. No longer is Mavis found tending the hillside. Instead Mavis has taken the opportunity to leave Wesleyhaven village and join her daughter in a new family home in Tauranga. Parting with her garden was not easy, but the opportunity to be with her family and take a well earned break was an opportunity that could not be refused.

However, knowing Mavis, it won’t be long before she finds another garden and starts heading south, “gardening her way to Wainuiomata.”