Westland

One garden is enough for most people, but Chris and Tony Woodward manage two of their own, along with lawn and bach care for holiday homes.

Sue Francis meets the couple growing cottage gardens in Moana.

Their first plot here in Moana, on the shores of Lake Brunner, was a terraced garden beside a 1911 house that once boarded tourists and mill workers.

In contrast to the mostly native-planted gardens in the area, Chris opted for

a cottage garden style full of colour and texture, from nasturtiums and aquilegias to towering lilies in the background.

She adores roses, but has found that they struggle in this wet climate. “I like the old plants. Many of them we have relocated from my Mum’s home in Ruru.”

Dahlias and gladioli flourish beside the cottage, soaking in the sun; Shasta dailies (Leucanthemum x superbum) tumble around the hydrangeas; and creamy white Himalayan lilies grow exuberantly near the cheerful helichrysums and snapdragons bordering the paths. Fuchsias and clematis cleverly camouflage fences and dim corners; and a Japanese anemone makes the perfect screen in front of the water tank for the cottage.

The climate is benign on the day of our visit, but when you look across the lake to a recent enormous slip, you’re reminded of the power of nature here, with occasional deluges that strip trees and rocks from the mountainsides. Rainfall here is more than 3000mm. In winter there are regular frosts and in the afternoons the wind comes up over the lake, but generally, Chris says, it’s a terrific climate for growing plants. “Sometimes we get snow in the winter, but only a dusting,” she says.

Chris loves the cottage style, with all the colours and varieties. “When I’m deadheading, I keep the seeds and see what will come through.”

The dense plantings not only create impact, but also help to suppress weeds. “My main challenge is liverwort and moss. I just fork it off.”

Chris doesn’t use much spray, preferring to hand-weed and to plant closely. The soil is potting mix and compost.

The couple made their newer garden around a house they built in 2011.

The properties are back to back, with a gentle transition across gravel dotted with masses of pots and up steps through a gate and buxus hedge.

This garden is more formal in style and incorporates plants that complement the modern lines of the house.

The street frontage is landscaped with sculptural elements of standard feijoas and the glorious ‘Lace Lady’ robinia.

Chris explains that the robinia rewards with colour and texture through all the seasons. In winter it loses its leaves to reveal gorgeous crinkly stems.

“They catch the dewdrops of rain and frost, and they sparkle. In spring, the new leaf is bright green and in autumn the leaves are yellow.”

She’s opted for underplanting of whipcord hebe as well as the roses ‘Tequila Sunrise‘ and the soft yellow and fragrant-flowered ‘Pilgrim’. Pink and white dianthus are also in the palette here.

Two of Chris’ favourite plants are the hardy perennial lewisia for its contrasting mix of pastel and vibrant coloured flowers, and the brightly flowered jockey’s cap lily (Tigridia pavonia), a member of the iris family with characteristic strappy foliage.

The hard landscaping of the driveway is balanced by pots of brightly flowered portulaca thriving in full sun beside the front door.

Chris and Tony grow most of their veges in two glasshouses, one on each property.

Capsicums, tomatoes and basil thrive. Chris has two tamarillos – one indoors and one out – and hopes they’ll bear fruit.

“Last year, the growing season was particularly cold and wet, so the veges were a challenge, but outside, the standard feijoa trees fruited like mad.”

Citrus is more challenging to grow. They have a lime and a lemon growing beside the ‘Blackberry Nip’ rose and a raised bed of rhubarb, courgettes and a fig tree.

Chris has grown ‘Black Boy’ peaches from their stones, and ko¯ whai trees from seeds harvested from the tree in her garden.

“You find what you like, plant it, and see if it grows!” ✤