Is a certain amount of shagginess 'cool' in a garden? Cool meaning - 'hot' - of course, and 'hot' meaning popular. All I know is that the naturalistic look is 'in'. And naturalistic means a certain amount of shagginess. Probably not acceptable, if you are a neat and tidy gardener though - it depends on what you value most about your garden. Clipped edges and hedges or a sense of abundance spilling over ? I am not such a neat and tidy gardener that I need my garden borders to be regimented in neat rows, or to be sharply trimmed. And yet, even though I do like abundance to the point of chaos, I also like a little bit of shape, so that you can tell that the garden actually is a garden. Farmers would throw their hands up in horror at the thought of growing Muehlenbeckia complexa as a decorative plant, because even though it is a native, it's all too common in the countryside, as a nasty twiner which invades fences, gates and anything else it can find to smother. It also sends robust runners under the ground which pop up everywhere. As well as being super shaggy above ground! So like it or not, I simply do have to clip and contain this most invasive of plants OFTEN!! As for Santolina, it's at it's best when unclipped and billowing about. But when not clipped, it becomes woody, leggy and out of shape. Like it or not, it appears I do have to do a certain amount of clipping even just to keep the abundant tumbling look I prefer! Because if I didn't, I probably wouldn't have a garden at all, but an unruly wilderness. I wouldn't really like to see M. complexa smothering everything, as there would be no colour or shape left in the garden. Or would I like to see soft feathery Santolina growing into a tangled woody mess. So it seems that gardeners are often pulled in a myriad of different directions - if you clip the garden too much it will become too formal and and rigid and not billow about enough. If you don't clip it enough, it will become out of control and you feel you won't be able to manage it
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Isn't this what everyone associates with spring in Christchurch? The Vision of our Early Settlers The thing which Christchurch does so well is spring. Daffodils fluttering and dancing in the breeze, the froth of pale pink blossom around Hagley Park, was all a part of the vision of our forefathers. We have them to thank for their vision and foresight. Imagine how it must have felt 170 years ago, landing on this vast bare and swampy plain covered with mostly tough flax and tussock. After months of sailing over rough seas to an unknown land on the other side of the world they found nothing like the 'green and pleasant land' they had left behind. Make any wonder they dreamt of transforming this alien land into something resembling home. A vision which was achieved with much blood sweat and tears - the vision on which we pride ourselves and enjoy today. And perhaps all too often take for granted. The historical significance of this vision of an english woodland makes Hagley Park sacrosanct and therefore most important that it should be kept intact by later generations. Political Expediency All the more reason to regard it as a political act of vandalism when almost a third of this historic woodland was ordered to be demolished by insensitive and soulless politicians after the Christchurch earthquakes. In the interests of expediency, part of this historic woodland was demolished, along with much of the rest of our city under special powers brought in after the earthquakes. They cared not for the vision of their forefathers or for the sadness and grief so many of it's citizens who were suffering after the trauma of the earthquakes. They took it upon themselves to violate the woodland thus adding to the grief by cutting down many of the treasured 150 year old oaks, beeches and other deciduous trees, without consulting us - the people of Christchurch and Canterbury to whom this woodland belongs. To them, it was the cheapest and easiest way to erect much needed hospital buildings, no matter that it encroached on the woodland of sacrosanct Hagley Park. The need for a new hospital building is not disputed - but cutting down part of this historic woodland to accomodate it, when there was other land available certainly is! It goes to show what little regard and understanding these politicians had for the history of Christchurch, for nature, and for the sadness many citizens would feel by the destruction of such a loved part of their heritage. This is the sort of thing which happens in China under a totalitarian government. Are we much better here? Notice the contrast in the 2 images shown above illustrating the hospital building as a real intrusion into the Daffodil Woodland.
It's the work of unscrupulous politicians who took advantage of their special powers while people were still traumatised after the earthquakes. Pulling a swifty over their people, they rushed it through secretly with no consultation when they knew they could get away with it. The first I knew of it was when I happened to be walking in the park on a day that chainsaws were at work and was horrified to see such a huge chunk of woodland being destroyed. None of the workmen wanted to talk about it and I just burst into tears at the wanton vandalism of this beautiful place, in the midst of such trauma and damage from ongoing aftershocks. But this wasn't nature causing the mayhem - it was man! The result of this wanton destruction is a huge loss of a part of our uninterrupted woodland to be replaced by a truncated view, rudely interrupted by an ugly hospital building which destroys the serenity of the green woodland of Hagley Park. Which other city in New Zealand has a natural haven like this within walking distance - another world where nature dominates, away from the hustle and bustle of the city which is so cherished and valued by it's citizens. It should never have been compromised in this way. And it was all so indecently rushed! POSTSCRIPT Soon after the sad day I witnessed the destruction of the woodland, my son was rushed into hospital seriously ill. So I was at the hospital everyday visiting him, at the same time witnessing the excavations for the new hospital where the woodland had been demolished. All day every day 24/7 there was vast amounts of water being pumped out of the excavated site, and gushing into the Avon river. It seemed there was a 'lake' under the site where the woodland had been. How could they build on top of all that water!! Sure enough, 9 years later this new hospital is still not being fully used due to instability of the building!! It's also about a forest of thorny twigs and bare skeletal branches in mid-winter. And here at Beverley Park Heritage Rose Garden in winter, it is also about a luxuriant carpet of Hellebores beneath the thorny twiginess. A forest of thorny twigs and branches does need to be sorted, and mid-winter when the bushes are bare is the best time to do it. Rose pruning time! And the Friends of Beverley Park Heritage Rose Garden are just the team to do that. A loose group of garden lovers formed from our local Englefield community as well as rose lovers from further afield, we make up a formidable team. From the end of July through till the end of August, it is amazing the way the days brighten. The light changes from winter dimness to brighter and lighter, and there is a sense of hope - that life is returning After a week of sunny days, the bright blue of Muscari (Grape Hyacinths) and white Snowflakes began to appear beneath the bare roses in the border facing outward to the park. The roses had not yet started to leaf up, but that didn't stop the Grape Hyacinths and Snowflakes making an appearance. Typically spring - just as everything started to flower responding to spring warmth, the weather plummeted again, and winter returned with snow on the mountains and frosts but - no matter - spring bulbs keep flowering despite the fickle weather. And by September the Yoshino cherrys at the entrance to the Rose Garden are flowering. Now we truly know that spring is here!! Two Yoshino Cherry trees either side of the pathway mark the entrance to garden, and there are also 2 more planted in the lawn at the front of the garden which frame the rose garden. Soft pink, light and dainty with single flowered blossoms, they are reminiscent of bridal veils, and many think that these are the most beautiful of all the cherry blossoms. This is the same variety which is planted around Hagley Park, and they are native to Japan - hence the name - Yoshino Cherry. The botanical name, Prunus yedoensis, is not quite so romantic. The pruned roses can hardly compete with the delicate beauty of the Yoshino Cherry which surrounds them in spring, however even they are softened by new seasons leaf growth, starting to burst forth. And still the Hellebores keep giving, looking fresh. They flower nonstop from the end of June through to September. We love them! And even the early Snowflakes, now more green than white, are still persisting. And here is a photo of the fruits of our labours from last year, in mid-December 2019 - a view of Beverley Park Heritage Rose Garden in full bloom. A symphony in pink - the reward we were waiting for, and a taste of what we have to look forward to for this year as well in December 2020 Above varieties 'Gertrude Jekyll' - english rose - climbing up through the metal rose supports. 'Ballerina' - hybrid musk - bushy rose with single pink flowers in clusters in the middle ground . Rosa glauca 'Carmenetta' - species - a great arching bush in the foreground with single pink species blooms nestled amongst it's attractive glaucus foliage Note - If you would like to become one of our volunteers and learn about heritage roses while helping in the garden, you would be very welcome. We would be pleased to hear from you!! Contacts Robyn Kilty ph. 03 9651281 m. 022 1039802. - email - robynkilty@gmail.com Henrietta Hall m. 027 4512315 - email - henrietta@hhall.co.nz The last vestiges of jewel-like colour in early June, before finally disappearing after days of frosts then rain. Such is the power of Pasternaks writing, as he equates the coming of winter with the pathos of a child mourning his mothers death. His words touch me, so that when I too, see those last clinging leaves and hear them tapping on my bedroom window at night, I remember Yuri's despair. Even in the southern hemisphere a world away from Russia's cruel winters, I still feel a sense of loss for the season past. Knowing that that particular season is lost in time and will never come back - a death in it's own right. We in New Zealand can never know the bleak drama of a Russian winter, as our whole land is not blanketed in snow and ice for months on end, as above. We might have frost on the ground and cold damp foggy mornings, but apart from alpine areas, the change from autumn to winter is never so dramatic and cruel here. Russia's taiga (extensive indigenous forests) covers 45% of it's huge landmass and a big percentage of this is coniferous forest with it's spiky needle foliage . New Zealand is not part of a great continent as is Russia, but small maritime islands in the southern hemisphere and we too have our evergreen indigenous forest, but it couldn't be more different! Instead of spiky green needles, our evergreens can be soft and lush, such as soft and graceful tree-ferns, evergreen beech forest, cordylines and nikaus, so winter here is never such a dramatic picture. With our favourable natural climate and geography, we are also host to many exotic plants which were brought here during 19th century settlement. So even in midwinter some areas can almost look sub-tropical. We don't know how lucky we are!! Nothing is as magical as the Maple Border of the Christchurch Botanic Gardens in Autumn. These 2 photos of the Maple Border at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens were taken towards the end of April when the brilliance of autumn colour was at it's best. And before the crimsons, magenta and violet colours of the Hydrangeas faded. Notice how the vertical solid structures of the grey tree trunks and branches contrast so well with the airy crimsons and golden greens of the maple foliage as they turn colour. And how this in turn enhances the green underplanting. We have enjoyed an especially long and colourful autumn this year, and even now, at the end of May going into June when we are only 3 weeks away from the shortest day, the colour is still there allbeit thinner and more subdued By the end of May when these photos were taken, we can see how the foliage has thinned out, leaving the shapes and structures of the tree trunks to show up more starkly with wider views of the sky between. The richness of magenta and violet hydrangeas has faded to muted pinks and browns as early frosts have bleached the colour from them. Even though we think the change is a gradual one, we can see here that the turn of the seasons is quite dramatic. In another month it will be even more dramatic when there will be nothing but the greys and browns of bare deciduous trees silhouetted against the pink haze of frosty skies.
The maples in this border are varying cultivars of the Acer palmatum which is native to Japan. It makes one yearn to see the colourful hillsides of Japan in autumn. Although I am perfectly happy with this little slice of japanese woodland we have right here in Christchurch. When I went out this morning to tidy up my messy garden, I looked hard and thought - it's actually not messy at all! It's simply what happens in May, so instead of cutting back and tidying as I had planned, I grabbed my camera and started taking photos. You can see the results below. This change of heart was in part, inspired after I had watched the film - 'Five Seasons: the Gardens of Piet Oudolf'. Piet Oudolf is an influential Dutch garden designer, plant nursery man and author. He is a leading figure of the "New Perennial" movement and designs plant compositions using bold drifts of herbaceous perennials and grasses which are chosen at least as much for their structure as for their flower colour. He designed the planting for the famous High Line Garden in New York as well as many other well known gardens in North America, Northern Europe and Britain. One of his most acclaimed gardens in Britain is the Hauser and Wirth garden in Somerset called Oudolf Fields. He believes in appreciating the long lived beauty of a plant, lasting well beyond its flowering period into its reproductive seedhead phase and beyond into decay. We so often think of colour in autumn, and it's true - the fiery crimsons, golds and oranges of autumn foliage are a sight to behold. But so are the browns and bleached out beige's of dried seedheads and decay. It is in these understated dried plant skeletons that we can now easily see the structures and shape, and as Piet Oudolf says that, too, is to be appreciated. But we can't have a story about autumn without colour so here goes! The above colour is in my face, a footstep away in my own small garden, well within my bubble! But beyond is the wider bubble! I can walk to the city if I choose, and what autumn treats there are to discover on the way. And all within my bubble! Also within my bubble is the Red Zone and the wide open spaces this offers alongside the Avon river and environs. So yesterday for my daily walk, I turned east instead of west into more beautiful tree lined river landscapes flaunting their autumn colours and the further east I went, the more the vistas opened out into ever widening empty landscapes. Yet within these open landscapes, there are rectangular lines of shrubs and trees delineating the gardens which had once been there and the sadly bare central spaces within these boundaries where peoples homes had been before they were demolished. It's an eerie sight and an eerie feeling as you can almost hear the ghostly sounds of absent people - the voices of children playing, lawns being mown, cars pulling into driveways and neighbours calling to each other as they went about their daily business. Where there had been active and thriving communities, there is now nothing except ghostly rectangular outlines of shrubs which once enclosed someones home. The further east I walked the more the old earthquaked road narrowed and became more rutted, and the wide open spaces of before began to close in again with more mature trees. I realised I was coming to something special and sure enough planter boxes appeared along the track and pots with flowers spilling out of them, and there were signs and steps up to a sheltered garden raised slightly above the road. It was the entrance to the Richmond Community Garden. I'm fortunate in my bubble, as there are many places within walking distance, and those pictured above are just some of them.
A LOCAL LOCKDOWN WANDER How to amuse yourself during Covid 19? We get the message loud and clear - STAY AT HOME - So what does home have to offer? Lots - if you have a garden, and even more if you have a park in your neighbourhood! I am lucky enough to have a Heritage Rose Garden in my local park - Beverley Park Heritage Rose Garden. And not only that - I have the Red Zone too, and the recently redesigned Avon Loop walkway, all within walking distance - so I am spoilt by choice. It's the Beverley Park Heritage Rose Garden which I visit most as it is just around the corner from me and is so beautiful. Another bonus - I always meet walkers or neighbours strolling through the garden and sometimes I arrange to meet a neighbour or friend there for a catchup chat - from a distance you understand. And why not? It is the most divine sweet smelling place for a catchup tucked away in it's sunny corner of Beverley Park. I have met both Henrietta and Katrina there, both local rose enthusiasts and volunteers who help look after the garden. Katrina was on her daily run, and Henrietta and I chewed the fat, and dreamed up all sorts of ideas for the garden, post lockdown. The garden is looking surprisingly handsome in spite of so little rain and very little TLC, as of course nobody is allowed to maintain the garden at the moment, so the nettles are looking very luscious right now! Much to the delight of Katrina, who is on the lookout for nettles on her daily run to make soup so she ended up foraging in the garden, which was a great help in eliminating some of the the weeds at the same time! LOOKING AT A FEW OF THE HERITAGE ROSE VARIETIES AT |
These are my treasured weeds!
Bronze Fennel - Foeniculum vulgare purpureum
Red Orach - Atriplex hortensis rubra
Verbena boniarensis
Queen Annes Lace - Anthriscus sylvestris
Nasturtiums
Nicotiana sylvestris
With these 'weeds' in my garden I look forward to late summer when they have grown tall finding their way up to the light between the perennials in the most fetching way. This, when they are at their best either flowering or setting seed.
So it is all a very sensuous business, and isn't that what gardening is all about - the senses? Sight , sound, smell and touch! Today, after a most welcome shower of rain overnight - the first for 2 months - these 'weeds' are leaning even more heavily over the path because they are bowed down with raindrops which means getting down to the shed is a very damp business today. A lovely cooling wet sensation after the dry heat of the last few weeks.
Then by December, I sigh sadly as I watch roses drop their petals in summer heat. Now in January when rose bushes have become colourless and lack-lustre, I wonder if I can muster up the enthusiasm to dead-head, feed and water them in the hopes that they will come to life again before the summer is over.
THE LAST ROSE ..........
SUMMER FLOWERS
Flowers, flowers, flowers - of all sorts and colours. From elegant lilies to the bluest of blue Delphiniums. Bright magenta Lychnis, to bright orange Nasturtiums, purple Verbena boniarensis and virginal white Queen Anne's Lace. Kniphofia or Red Hot Pokers (although mine are orange), bronze/orange Helenium, to the weed Orach, and the weed - bronze Fennel. I've included the weeds but haven't even mentioned Dahlias yet! | | Dahlias are coming back into fashion they say! And yes - I do believe that's true, but only because in recent years some hard work has been done by breeders to simplify the flower and introduce more interesting foliage. Amongst the forefront of this exciting new breeding programme has been New Zealander, Dr. Keith Hammett. See below examples of Hammett Dahlias which I grow in my garden. |
While the images of these two Dahlia varieties below may look similar they are in reality quite different.
I find it pays to be selective when choosing Dahlias for your garden as you can so easily end up with a mish-mash of different forms and colours, so I choose the colours and forms which blend with my garden. For instance I like just the 2 varieties pictured above for my front garden as oranges and scarlets are dominant in the front garden and I like the single forms in this situation as they suit the mini-prairie style which I have planted with grasses and simple flowers. While in my back garden the prevailing colours are crimson, magenta and Burgundy, so the 2 Dahlias there are also in those colours.
GRASSES
Grasses are really a whole other story which I should keep for another time, another place, however I will just say that I would not be without them in my garden, as they add a dimension to my plantings which I find most satisfying, and which I hope the images below show. More about these later.
Amongst the grasses in the back garden there is a Dahlia in a completely different form - the cactus dahlia - and this was chosen for it's dark velvety crimson, and is called appropriately 'Nuits d'Etes'. There is also another dahlia in this garden not pictured here and it is pale pink and single with bronze foliage and definitely bred by Dr. Keith Hammett - ''Mystic Dreamer''.
As with other Community Gardens we work with volunteer support, and there is plenty of camaraderie and friendship amongst our helpers as we work towards our common goal - to create something uplifting and beautiful for the wider community.
There are at least 3 Community Gardens in the Linwood area including Smith Street Community Garden, Fitzgerald Avenue Community Garden, and the Linwood Avenue Community Garden, and perhaps others I haven't heard about. But as well as our Community Gardens we have something extra and very important in our area - The Linwood Village Clean-up Day. This is held in September every year where volunteers and residents from the community hold a çlean-up day in and around the village - tidying up, weeding, and clearing away accumulated rubbish from some of the empty sites where buildings have been demolished post-earthquake. The Clean-up Day is initiated by the people in our community as even though Linwood is seen as a low socio-economic area and has it's problems, it is rich in community spirit. It is here that the people themselves have the will to do what they can to improve a sad part of Christchurch which has been neglected and forgotten about by the authorities.
The most imaginative and creative of projects was initiated by the Inner City East group on a vacant site where buildings had been demolished. With the help of Greening the Rubble they, built this idiosyncratic and picturesque little streetscape on a shoestring, consisting of quaint little buildings, planter boxes and little picket fences painted orange, purple and yellow dotted amongst gardens and gravel pathways. These funky little buildings are the Tiny Shops which house a bookshop, a secondhand clothes shop, a bike repair shop and a cafe where you can sit outside, at tables and chairs surrounded by the garden and enjoy a great coffee when the sun shines. A gathering place for the whole community, it was here that people also gathered on Clean-up Day to weed the garden, do running repairs, weed the gravel pathways and plant shrubs flowers, and veggie plants which had been donated to the project.
AuthorI AM A GARDENER, GARDEN WRITER AND ARTIST. AFTER SEVERAL YEARS WRITING REGULARLY AS A COLUMNIST I HAVE MISSED WRITING ABOUT MY GARDEN, OTHER GARDENS AND GARDENS IN GENERAL FOR THE GARDEN PAGES OF THE PRESS SO HAVE RESOLVED TO SET UP MY OWN BLOG AND WEBSITE. |
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