Oderings Garden Centre sits at 57 Brookvale Road, Havelock North, in the Hastings district, and is part of the Oderings chain of garden centres, a well-known name to New Zealand gardeners; its website, oderings.co.nz, carries more information.
A good garden centre does more than sell plants; it stocks what actually grows in local conditions, and in Hawke's Bay that means plants that can take hot, dry summers and the odd winter frost. Knowledgeable staff can help with soil, position and watering before you buy, saving a season of trial and error. Timing matters too: bare-root fruit trees arrive in winter and go quickly in orchard country like this. When choosing, look for compact, healthy growth rather than a plant in full flower, which has often outgrown its pot.
For Havelock North gardeners, an Oderings branch on Brookvale Road makes a handy first stop for a season's planting.