Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
18 Sep 2025
Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 1 day
Feedback
33
Email verified
Badges (3)
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Details
Description
I am a teacher of permaculture, organic horticulture and biodynamics. I've turned a one acre property from a rose garden into a permaculture garden and food forest. I run courses from the property. Vegetarians and meat eaters welcome. I don't cater for any other diets such as vegan, dairy free, wheat free, fruitarians etc.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Art Projects
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
General Maintenance
Interests
Sustainability
Writing
Plant care
History
Books
Outdoor activities
Nature
Mountain
Hiking
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
I teach organic horticulture, permaculture and biodynamics and travellers are welcome to attend classes for free when they stay. None of the tasks that need doing need experience as I will be working alongside you and you can learn anything from gardening, to building structures and plastering and landscaping. Preference is given to people who are genuinely interested in gardening/organics/permaculture/ biodynamics - no tyre kickers please.....
Help
I have a one acre permaculture property in New Plymouth and need help with gardening - mulching, composting, harvesting, pruning etc. Hard landscaping such as wall building, path making and various other structures around the garden. Designing signs, murals, mosaics, structure painting.
Languages spoken
Welsh: Fluent
English: Fluent
Accommodation
Own room in a separate 2-bed flat - this is usually a queen bed.
What else ...
Climbing Mount Taranaki, doing any of the walks around Taranaki including the Pouakai track, coastal walkway and Te Henui. Lots of swimming, surfing, outdoor pursuits. Art gallery, Len Lye Centre, Puke Ariki, Paritutu, back beach. There is a regular bus service downtown from just outside the house.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
Very good internet connection - fibre and office space
Space for parking camper vans
Can house small and medium sized vans
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
My animals / pets
Host ref number: 637741751183
Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
+11
Feedback (18)
14 Oct 2025
Left by host for Workawayer (Ashleigh)
It was lovely to host Ashleigh - she was easy to work with and happy to help out with projects around the garden. She dealt with the recalcitrant puppy I was dog sitting and it was a pleasure to have her around.
(Excellent
)
5 Aug 2025
Left by Workawayer (Ashleigh) for host
I had the best stay with Dee! She was really knowledgeable about gardening and I learnt a lot. All the food was amazing and lots of it from the garden. She's a very kind host to stay with, and was even nice enough to drive me up to Mt. Taranaki so I could do a hike!
14 Oct 2025
Left by host for Workawayer (Pavel & Daniela)
It was so good to host Daniela and Pavel. They are 'can do' people who are happy to muck in with any kind of work. Both are very hard working and they helped transform the garden over the 3 weeks they spent here. Some of the work was pretty hard and demanding and we worked in the rain but they were positive and still enthusiastic to get going the… read more
(Excellent
)
3 Oct 2025
Left by Workawayer (Pavel & Daniela) for host
If you're interested in permaculture, this is your place!
Dee's garden is a piece of art – a truly unique place with even a small section of natural reserve. Years and years of hard work, and you'll have the opportunity to be part of it.
Yes, we worked hard. We built a wall from old tires, which meant plenty of shoveling, soil digging, area… read more
Dee's garden is a piece of art – a truly unique place with even a small section of natural reserve. Years and years of hard work, and you'll have the opportunity to be part of it.
Yes, we worked hard. We built a wall from old tires, which meant plenty of shoveling, soil digging, area… read more
6 Jul 2024
Left by host for Workawayer (Daniel & Alyssa)
It was great hosting Danny and Alyssa - they are very hands-on 'can do' people. They helped build an amazing boardwalk through my bush block over the 2 weeks they were here. Always happy to get into the daily work, adapting to the challenges of the job and coming up with solutions. They carried some pretty heavy timber walkway down the garden… read more
(Excellent
)
2 Jul 2024
Left by Workawayer (Daniel & Alyssa) for host
Dee was an amazing host! She is such a generous and kind person to be around. She was very knowledgeable and resourceful in all sorts of things and we learned a lot from her. The work we did was fun and engaging. Never felt burnt out or bored doing it. We actually looked forward to doing more the next day and was fun to finish the project! The… read more
Photos
Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
+11
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(4.9)
Communication:
(4.9)
14 Oct 2025
Left by host for Workawayer (Ashleigh)
It was lovely to host Ashleigh - she was easy to work with and happy to help out with projects around the garden. She dealt with the recalcitrant puppy I was dog sitting and it was a pleasure to have her around.
(Excellent)
5 Aug 2025
Left by Workawayer (Ashleigh) for host
I had the best stay with Dee! She was really knowledgeable about gardening and I learnt a lot. All the food was amazing and lots of it from the garden. She's a very kind host to stay with, and was even nice enough to drive me up to Mt. Taranaki so I could do a hike!
14 Oct 2025
Left by host for Workawayer (Pavel & Daniela)
It was so good to host Daniela and Pavel. They are 'can do' people who are happy to muck in with any kind of work. Both are very hard working and they helped transform the garden over the 3 weeks they spent here. Some of the work was pretty hard and demanding and we worked in the rain but they were positive and still enthusiastic to get going the… read more
(Excellent)
3 Oct 2025
Left by Workawayer (Pavel & Daniela) for host
If you're interested in permaculture, this is your place!
Dee's garden is a piece of art – a truly unique place with even a small section of natural reserve. Years and years of hard work, and you'll have the opportunity to be part of it.
Yes, we worked hard. We built a wall from old tires, which meant plenty of shoveling, soil digging, area… read more
Dee's garden is a piece of art – a truly unique place with even a small section of natural reserve. Years and years of hard work, and you'll have the opportunity to be part of it.
Yes, we worked hard. We built a wall from old tires, which meant plenty of shoveling, soil digging, area… read more
6 Jul 2024
Left by host for Workawayer (Daniel & Alyssa)
It was great hosting Danny and Alyssa - they are very hands-on 'can do' people. They helped build an amazing boardwalk through my bush block over the 2 weeks they were here. Always happy to get into the daily work, adapting to the challenges of the job and coming up with solutions. They carried some pretty heavy timber walkway down the garden… read more
(Excellent)
2 Jul 2024
Left by Workawayer (Daniel & Alyssa) for host
Dee was an amazing host! She is such a generous and kind person to be around. She was very knowledgeable and resourceful in all sorts of things and we learned a lot from her. The work we did was fun and engaging. Never felt burnt out or bored doing it. We actually looked forward to doing more the next day and was fun to finish the project! The… read more
14 Oct 2023
Left by Workawayer (Hannah) for host
i just finished a week with Dee and had the most lovely time learning from her and helping on her property. I could not have asked for a better place to have my first workaway experience! She has so much knowledge to share and I got to help with lots of garden preparation for the upcoming garden festival. The work was not excessively strenuous and… read more
22 Jan 2020
Left by Workawayer (Sara & Jane) for host
Dee is such a wonderful host. She is kind, caring, humorous person. Even though we've just stayed a week, she brought us to a light festival which was refreshing.
We just fell in love with her garden, forest and the house. We even want to move to New Plymouth! Dee let us use her bikes so we could look around the city. The city has plenty of things… read more
We just fell in love with her garden, forest and the house. We even want to move to New Plymouth! Dee let us use her bikes so we could look around the city. The city has plenty of things… read more
7 Nov 2019
Left by Workawayer (Charly) for host
The experience in the farm was really cool! Dee is an easy living person, energic, honest, helpful, friendly, buzy (teaching, work in the garden, house working, wainting for the plumber...) and obviously so much more. She have a lot of knowledge in what she is doing, the garden will speak for that! I enjoyed my stay and the work. About the work,… read more
16 Sep 2019
Left by host for Workawayer (Lester)
Lester threw himself into work as soon as he arrived, and was a very enthusiastic and rapid learner. We did many projects around the place, especially in the garden and he showed a lot of common sense and practical skills. He's also a great cook - thanks Lester!
(Excellent)
10 Jul 2019
Left by Workawayer (Lester) for host
My short stay with Dee was full of learning which i'm eternally grateful for. Being able to assist with turning her suburban garden into a food forest was very inspiring and makes seem permaculture seem so much less daunting. There was always a good variety of work (creating compost, establishing wire fences, laying carpet outdoors) and we started… read more
11 Jun 2019
Left by host for Workawayer (Blandine & Mike)
Blandine and Mike were excellent volunteers. They really threw themselves into the work here, and were happy to take on a number of jobs around the garden. They are 'can do' people who able to work on their own once shown a task. They are hard workers who like to get the job done. They are easy to have around in the house and very helpful, and got… read more
(Excellent)
10 Jun 2019
Left by Workawayer (Blandine & Mike) for host
Dee is a good host full of energy, trying to keep up with her all day is not easy ! She has many projects for her garden and we enjoyed helping her with some of them. We learnt a lot about permaculture. She is very inspirational and working with her gave us many ideas for our project of having our own garden in the future.
The work was different… read more
The work was different… read more
23 May 2019
Left by host for Workawayer (Kirsten)
Kirsten volunteered with me for 4 weeks and fit right in with family and friends. She's practical, adaptable and willing to muck in and do anything that needs doing. It was great to have someone who is a good gardener and who understand the soil. We did lots of cement garden bed building and lasagne layer gardening as well as general planting,… read more
(Excellent)
23 Apr 2019
Left by host for Workawayer (Jean-François & Emilie)
Jean-Francois and Emilie were fantastic workaway volunteers. Happy to muck in and get on with whatever needed doing. We did a lot of inside DIY work which needed a lot of team work and they worked very well as part of the team. They also worked in the garden with some planting and propagation work as well as starting a new herb spiral which is now… read more
(Excellent)
24 Feb 2019
Left by Workawayer (Jean-François & Emilie) for host
It was really great to stay one week at Dee's place! She is quite an energetic person, always working in her garden or in the house! We did various work like building stuff (putting plasterboard on the ceiling,...), we also worked in the garden (compost, put new plant, little bit of cementing,...). We also attend one of her lesson. It was very… read more
23 Apr 2019
Left by host for Workawayer (Oller Padró)
Mar was a fantastic workaway volunteer. She fit right into the family here and got on with all my friends. She is confident, independent and goes that extra mile to get things done well. We did a range of things while she was here from gardening, to diy to painting and propagation and she was a very quick learner and able to see the next step in a… read more
(Excellent)
12 Mar 2019
Left by Workawayer (Oller Padró) for host
My stay at Dee's home was wonderful!
I really enjoyed my time at her permaculture paradise garden learning a lot from her. I didn't know much about gardening and she was always very patient and happy to teach me. Such an enriching and encouraging experience!
She is a very enthusiastic, hardworking, wise and independent woman. Also such an… read more
I really enjoyed my time at her permaculture paradise garden learning a lot from her. I didn't know much about gardening and she was always very patient and happy to teach me. Such an enriching and encouraging experience!
She is a very enthusiastic, hardworking, wise and independent woman. Also such an… read more
12 Jan 2019
Left by host for Workawayer (Alice & Maxime)
Alice and Maxime were excellent volunteers who helped out during the Garden festival. They learnt very quickly and were able to answer people's questions on permaculture and had the patience to keep repeating everything 30 times a day. They also stayed after the festival to help build some garden beds and paint some wood for espalier walls. They… read more
(Excellent)
12 Nov 2018
Left by Workawayer (Alice & Maxime) for host
We stayed 2 weeks at Dee's place, and we had the oportunity to do many varied things including : building beds for the plants, painting job, volunteering for the open garden festival... We learned so much about gardening the permaculture way. Her food forest is gorgeous and produces the tastiest strawberries and the best comfrey (the Russian one… read more
12 Jan 2019
Left by host for Workawayer (Diego)
Diego was a good worker on the many and varied projects he did while here - from barrowing and stacking wood, pulling down old structures, to cementing new walls and water blasting.
(Excellent)
11 Dec 2018
Left by Workawayer (Diego) for host
I have been 10 days in Dee´s house, with Rocket (cat) and Bella (dog) and was really good. You can learn about the permaculture and different kind of jobs, like cementing, new tools, etc. The food was really good and enough.
I think 5 hours of work is too much, 4 hours would be fine because sometimes are a bit heavy the jobs. But is okay, just my… read more
I think 5 hours of work is too much, 4 hours would be fine because sometimes are a bit heavy the jobs. But is okay, just my… read more
12 Jan 2019
Left by host for Workawayer (Miroslav)
Well what can I say.... I've hosted volunteers and woofers for 15 years and Miro was right up there in the top 10! He's really practical, fit and has loads of energy. It was great that he had a lot of landscaping experience, as I could just show him what to do and he would do it.... I don't trust many people to do cementing and he is the only… read more
(Excellent)
24 Dec 2018
Left by Workawayer (Miroslav) for host
Dee is an amazingly hard working lady who really loves her garden and everythings that goes with it. In my time with her she was little bit reseved at the biginning but once I started to ask about permaculture, organic gardenig and showed genuine interest she opened up and poured all her knowledge on to me. I have learned so much in two weeks in… read more
12 Jan 2019
Left by host for Workawayer (Kim)
It was great hosting Kim - he's a 'can do' person and threw himself into all of the work that I had going on. Lots of learning on the job but he's practical, and quickly grasped some new stuff as well as getting on with stuff he had done before. Great work ethic and interesting conversations and discussions. He fit right in with my friends as well… read more
(Excellent)
23 Dec 2018
Left by Workawayer (Kim) for host
It was a rewarding and inspiring experience working in Dee’s permaculture garden and helping out with renovations on her property. The work was interesting and varied and a great learning experience overall. I stayed at Dee’s for a little over two weeks and did various jobs like constructing new garden beds, planting vegetables, tending the… read more
16 Sep 2018
Left by Workawayer (Chloé) for host
I stayed two weeks at Dee's place and it was two awsome ones. The garden is amazing and the gardener even more! I learnt a lot during my stay and Dee was always keen on answering my questions. I helped mulching, building a tires wall and a stone wall, planting/potting plants... The work is rewarding and the hours always respected.
The bedroom and… read more
The bedroom and… read more
31 Oct 2017
Left by Workawayer (Remi & Alice) for host
Dee is the perfect host. We enjoyed a lot our time there, and we did various and interesting jobs. We learnt many things about organic farming. Other than that, we also had many time and opportunities to discover the area. Thanks a lot for those enriching weeks at your place!!
21 Oct 2017
Left by host for Workawayer (Remi & Alice)
Remi and Alice are fantastic workaway workers. They are hard working, practical people with lots of common sense. They really got into a lot of strenuous projects on the property, and I had some great projects completed while they were here. They both have good English and can cook great meals with ingredients straight out of the garden. Thanks to… read more
(Excellent)
21 Oct 2017
Left by host for Workawayer (Melina)
It was great hosting Melina. She is practical, willing to much in to any work. She has lots of common sense and quickly moves onto the next project. She got on well with the other woofers and took over the cooking whenever I was away. She is also the baker of very good cakes! I would recommend Melina to any workaway host.
(Excellent)
17 Oct 2017
Left by Workawayer (Melina) for host
Dee is such a nice person, really friendly and open-minded. She recommended me many places around New Plymouth wich were worth it to do ! Her place is really nice, the garden is such a nice place with this forest in the back where you can walk. The food is really fresh, really good. Concerning the work, it was a real pleasure to help and learn… read more
2 Mar 2017
Left by host for Workawayer (Ilarion)
Larry was a hard worker, enjoyed the New Plymouth scene (certainly the beach scene), and he even got to climb Taranaki. Larry worked here for a week and really mucked in with all the stuff going on. Lots to do and and plenty of physical work from barrowing sand and pavers to designing and building a tool rack, weed eating and wood stacking. … read more
(Excellent)
28 Feb 2017
Left by Workawayer (Ilarion) for host
Dee is amazing host, very honest and organized. Working very hard everyday, so she expect woofers to do the same. But it totaly worth it. Great accomodation, tasty meals, interesting company. Also New Plymouth is nice city with amazing ocean and if You have guts climb MT Taranaki, very rewarding. Very enjoyed that stay!
