Martin De Ruyter/Stuff
Mataga and De Sarro at the Victory Community Garden. When they first started, the space was unkempt and overgrown. So the couple rolled up their sleeves and got to work. After months of hard work, the gardens are orderly, lush and colourful. Vegetables grow alongside flowers, creating a “balance of beauty and goodness,” Mataga said. Rather than an allotment, where people tend a small plot to grow their own vegetables, the garden produce fills Victory Community s kai boxes, and will help feed the community at events like Matariki. The green-fingered couple have a long history of gardening.