Soaking in Wonderful Gardens – Part Two

Soaking in Wonderful Gardens – Part Two

I’ve saved the exciting bits of the >New Zealand Garden Trust< Conference down in Blenheim until last.  Telling you all about the gardens.  I hinted at them on my social media, but you don’t get much of a word count there and certainly a limited number of photos you can post there.  I took a squillion photos (well over 400 over the four days) and admittedly a few were accidental shots of my shoes, and others were to remind me of things, but for the most part I just wanted to capture the beauty around me and take it home.  And even then, now that I’m home there are things I wish I’d taken photos of, but they’ll just have to live on in my memory. 

So, join me on this vicarious tour of some absolutely sensational gardens:

The first garden belonged to the truly wonderful Wendy Palmer who is also the Chair of the NZGT and has done such a wonderful job looking after all the official things and looking after her own stunning garden at >Welton House<.  I’ve been to Wendy’s garden before, and to be honest this time I was a little overwhelmed with the rain and being in a room full of so many iconic gardeners that I didn’t venture far into the garden.  Had it been the last garden, I would have well and truly overcome my nerves and fear of getting excessively soggy and would have embraced the situation. But I’ll be back there in November and will take extra photos to make up for it!

The rest of the gardens were all new to me and I put my brave on and explored each one thoroughly and chatted freely and easily with my fellow garden visitors.

The first full day was particularly inspiring to me all of the gardens we visited were as close to ocean waves as I am – if not closer.  It was great to see what was possible after a lifetime of love lavished on a harsh coastal environment driven by passion and tenacious hard work.

First up was >Winterhome Garden< with its stunning formal garden rooms perched right on the coast and fringed on the sea front with plants I recognised as determined survivors in my neck of the woods.  The layout was of French inspiration with formal lines and rooms creating vistas in every direction while being in embraced in the comfort of a small well-manicured spaces. With a heavy schedule we reluctantly left this garden and headed off to lunch.

Winterhome Garden – this garden had everything including more than its fair share of clipped hedges and exuberant planting, which where done so well!

Winterhome Garden – They may have rung the bell more than once to summon us back to the bus, but there was just too much to see!

Winterhome Garden – I was enamoured with the brickwork. I love how the old bricks create a casual formality, the beautiful gate is the icing on the cake.

Winterhome Garden – a common theme of many of these inspiring gardens is rustic native planting done well in a formal situation. And I love it!

Winterhome Garden – the autumn colours were just fabulous, although a sign of just how stressed the poor trees are.

Winterhome Garden – Ideally you should probably be looking through the hole from the other side to see the garden, but let’s just stop for a moment and appreciate the beauty of the brickwork.

Feeding 120 or so ravenous gardeners is no mean feat, however a wonderful location was secured at the beachside hotspot The Store and our food was expertly prepared by a well-known local chef and the whole thing was sponsored by the fabulous team at >Botanica<  It was probably one of the fanciest lunches I’ve ever had!  Out of the corner of my eye, out the window I saw a sign pointing to a vegetable garden.  I wasn’t sure if it was one of those mock signs for artistic effect, but I ventured off into the misty rains and found the most incredible garden within a stone’s throw from the rocky shore, holding the remnants of what looks to have been a very productive growing season.  So, while not technically a garden stop, I was able to make it one.

The Store – I wasn’t sure if this was real or not but curiosity got the better of me.

The Store – I love the use of stone and gabions for the raised bed edges.

The Store – this is so close to the ocean the vegetables shouldn’t need seasoning in the kitchen!

The next garden wasn’t on the schedule but was a planned surprise.  One of my most favourite gardens to visit is the amazing >Barewood<.  Not only is it a wonderful garden but the visionary creator of this place of beauty, Carolyn Ferraby is so lovely and welcoming.  We were so blessed to take one last look at this fabulous garden before it goes on the market this week, with a glass of bubbles in hand to celebrate a lifetime of love and achievement for one last time.  Ordinarily I visit this garden in the spring, so it was such a delight to see it wearing its autumnal finery.  What a huge privilege I’ll never forget. 

Barewood – Hosting a cloud of pink spring blooms or the shades of autumn with bright red berries the Hawthorn walk is so lovely.

Barewood – Even when swapping the white racemes for autumnal colours The wisteria wrapping the veranda is stunning.

Barewood – Being rain sodden didn’t detract a single drop of beauty in the borders.

Barewood – one of the many places to sit and linger in the garden.

Barewood – After only seeing the potager garden ready to burst forth with potential is it nice to see it at the other end of the season.

Barewood – I can only imagine how much more wonderful this scene will be when the willow joins the autumnal display.

Once we were back on the official schedule it was off to see another incredibly creative coastal garden. >Paripuma<  also took a formal approach, although quite different from Winterhome.  Native plants were used to create a sweeping vista from the house down to the ocean reminiscent of the grand gardens of Europe with canals or promenades that lead far off into the distance.  The native plantings provide such a lush and vibrant green backdrop and allowed for secret garden rooms to meander out of sight leading to the beach, ponds and streams, hidden edible and grandchildren gardens and places to sit to enjoy the beauty but out of the elements on a windswept day.  This garden was such a wonderful inspiration using local plants as its backbone.

Paripuma – the vista is majestic.

Paripuma – I found myself drawn to the coastal vegetable gardens, that have flourished, despite being so close to the sea.

Paripuma

Paripuma – the beach at the bottom of the garden!

Paripuma – there were many inviting side walks leading you off from the main promenade

Paripuma – the cauldren forms an eye catching punctuation mark. The Poor Knights Lilies would have been amazing in full bloom.

The next day begun with a couple of smaller gardens that more than truly compensated for their size.

The first garden at >Moritaki<  is an absolute wonder.  Like Paripuma, native plants are the stars in this garden, but here they have been adapted to Japanese style garden, which was designed by an actual Japanese Landscape Designer – Hiro Yoshida who once was a home stay student with the mother of the lovely garden owner – Andrea.  It is amazing how wonderfully our plants can make the various garden styles work in a way that looks astonishing and works so well.

Moritaki – the stone says ‘In memory of those who inspire’ which are such lovely words to hold dear in a garden.

Moritaki – with all the rain I was surprised the dry river bed wasn’t full of water!

Moritaki – Even with a stunningly designed garden there was still a place for a beautiful and functional edible patch.

Moritaki – The bridge invites you to meander slowly and carefully across to the other side.

Moritaki – There was a splash of fun in the midst to the peacefulness of the garden.

Moritaki – Native plants seem perfectly placed in this unique planting style.

Continuing on with the small gardens >Whitney Garden< was also a long-term labour of love.  It was a delightful historic cottage garden set around a lovely Tudor style house and a wonderful example of this style.  What I loved the most about this garden was the understated whimsy.  It can be so easy fill a garden with bits and bobs that can become cluttered and overcrowded with kitsch.  But done well, it surprises and delights and in this garden, when you look beyond the magnificent beauty of the plants and keep your eyes peeled you will find small secrets hidden away. 

Whitney Garden – I loved the whimsy of the Daffodil Day flowers made and fundraised by the kids in the school across the road positioned beside the new season emerging daffodil leaves. It made me smile.

Whitney Garden – limbing up shrubs can reveal an amazing multi-stem natural artwork.

Whitney Garden – What a perfect place to sit and take in the garden.

Whitney Garden – This has to be one of the best and most practical fruit cages I’d seen in an long time.

Whitney Garden – the zinnia were still in full flush and looking magnificent.

Whitney Garden – I adored this sweet wee kitten tucked into the wall where it could easily go unnoticed!

As we approach lunch, I find I’m wittering away, but I couldn’t possibly skimp on words any more than I have already so I’m going to leave you hanging for a part three.  There are even more gardens that I need to sing the praises of with a wild literary abandon… so stay tuned for the last leg of our garden touring adventures.

Come again soon – it was only a weekend, but gosh did we pack in a lot!

Sarah the Gardener  : o)

NB:  Clicking on each image will reveal the full size version and clicking on the i will expand the description.