The 128-year-old homestead, about 20km past the Glenorchy township, was reopened as a guesthouse last year after a $900,000 restoration
Paradise House was originally designed and built as a retirement home for William Mason, New Zealand's first professionally trained architect and first mayor of Dunedin, in 1883.
Once the homestead restoration was complete the focus had turned to the gardens. However, there was little money left to be spent on landscaping and beautification of the surrounding grounds.
Enter Jean Britton, the Heritage Rose Society and the Wakatipu Garden Club.
Mrs Groshinski had contacted Mrs Britton, of Queenstown, to ask her advice on what to plant around the Paradise Homestead, so Mrs Britton and two other members of the Heritage Rose Society went for a drive to Paradise to see what could be planted where.
"Mandy and Daman are such a lovely couple ... It's easy to do things for them," Mrs Britton said.
"Mandy had written to me some time ago and said the homestead had been restored but there wasn't much money left for the garden.
"She's a gardener and wanted it to look nice. She asked for advice and I said we'd probably be quite happy to donate some roses.
"I was on my way home [from Paradise] and I said to the other two ladies that were with me ... 'I think we'll get the garden club, that can be something they can do for one meeting'."
Mrs Britton said the members of the Heritage Rose Society and Garden Club took no convincing and were asked to bring "one or two" plants each, but most members brought several plants with them.
On Monday 32 members arrived, "a huge busload ...
laden with heritage plants," Mrs Groshinski said.
"What they've done has saved us years worth of work.
"It's incredible.
"I was blown away. I was absolutely overwhelmed. It's wonderful."
At least 20 heritage roses were planted, along with "old-fashioned things" like delphiniums, foxgloves, lady's mantle, carnations, pansies, geums and daisies as opposed to "grasses and sculptural things", Mrs Britton said.
Work had been focused on a large garden outside the guest wing, with the plants hardy enough to withstand "the elements and the animals".
"It's going to be the most fantastic summer. We're going to have a garden," Mrs Groshinski said.
