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SELF-SUFFICIENCY ON WAIHEKE - Lush, productive, and hidden in a secret valley.

In this Waiheke paradise, talented and skilful partners in grime have created an edible garden to feed body and spirit.

STORY: CAROL BUCKNELL PHOTOS: SALLY TAGG

The garden is a place where those who love to nurture and those who love to build can combine their creative talents in harmonious collusion. It’s certainly the case with Gerda Gorger and Kim Whitaker in their bountiful Waiheke garden. “Gerda does all the planting, and me the building,” Kim says succinctly. This clear demarcation of skills has served them well in the seven years they’ve lived and gardened together, although some projects blur those lines somewhat. The intricately built insect hotel in the vege garden, for instance, is down to Gerda’s construction talents, and the espaliered apples and pear trees along the fenceline are actually Kim’s work.

Their property is down a tree-lined road, tucked away in one of many of Waiheke’s hidden valleys. As you approach the house you’re greeted by flowers, bees and butterflies. Then the smell of freshly baked breads hits your nostrils. Gerda, it turns out, is an accomplished baker who bakes all the family’s bread. Today, for an al fresco breakfast on the verandah, its sourdough and fruit loaf along with an impressive array of preserves – plum, tropical apricot, marmalade. “If you grow the stuff you have to use it,” says Gerda in her forthright fashion.

When Kim bought the century old house about 15 years ago, it had a garden of sorts. “Most of it was overgrown with weeds,” he recalls. “I fished out three old galvanised water tanks from amongst them. There were a few trees here: an elm, some old plums, three kōwhai that are probably nearly as old as the house, a grapefruit and a liquidambar.”

After clearing the jasmine and other weeds, Kim began planting more fruit trees and the couple now has more than 40 varieties in the garden including four to five plums, dozens of citrus, pears, apples, bananas, feijoas, guavas, quince, grapes, peaches and the tropical apricot (Doryalis) that Gerda uses for her preserves.

Also known as Sri Lankan gooseberry, the tree was grown from a seedling. “It’s very fast-growing but the fruit is extremely tart to eat straight from the tree. However it makes incredible jams and cocktails,” he enthuses. “And we get two big crops a year, one in spring and one in autumn, plus a few all year around.”

English-born Kim’s also planted a ‘Seville’ orange tree in the orchard as the traditional British method requires this bitter Spanish variety.

The orchard area lies south behind the house on ground that once sloped steeply downwards and is now reasonably level thanks to Kim’s ingenious ha-ha retaining wall built with the help of three friends.

Levelling of the section makes a huge difference for gardeners on this very hilly island, says Gerda. “I have had other gardens on Waiheke and this one is definitely the easiest because it’s almost flat.”

The orchard area lies south behind the house on ground that once sloped steeply downwards and is now reasonably level thanks to Kim Whitaker’s ingenious ha-ha retaining wall built with the help of three friends.

The main entrance to the house is on the northern side of the property. Here a garage workshop building forms an L-shape with the house creating a sheltered space with a flat lawn. The covered veranda runs along one side of the house and is regularly used for outdoor meals and entertaining. “The veranda is ideal when the wind is southerly,” she says. “We have a deck on the other side of the house that we use when it’s northerly. The lovely thing about this property is that you can be out of the wind virtually all the time.”

Gerda wanted a European cottage garden look here. “We are both European after all. Kim is English and I am German. I grew up in a small Bavarian farming village.”

She has certainly achieved her aim as the atmosphere is romantic and colourful, albeit with a Kiwi twist. Hollyhocks, wisteria, sweet peas, roses, lavatera, rengarenga and pelargonium fill the beds beneath the three old kōwhai, a regular lunch stop for 20 or more tūī during the spring blooming season. Flowering annuals spill out of pots grouped along the verandah while purple and white irises rise stately out of a water filled container at one end.

Gerda propagated the hollyhocks from seedpods from the Howick Historic Museum. “Now I just chuck the seedpods about in the garden. They love full sun and are quite happy to self-start anywhere, even in the gravel.”

Both she and Kim are big fans of fragrant plants and in this part of the garden are many scented roses as well as a Murraya paniculata hedge and subtropical Stephanotis floribunda vine. The latter seems to be unaware of its tricky reputation and blooms magnificently here in late summer, its creamy trumpet shaped flowers emitting a scent that is to die for. “The whole garden is full of scent all year round,” remarks Kim. “When you walk through the citrus orchard, it’s just fantastic.”

Gerda admits to having no overall plan with her planting. “I am not organised. I do think a little bit about colour but it doesn’t always turn out how I planned. If something starts growing, I let it grow. Rigid gardens are hard work because you have to constantly keep them that way.”

And of course, a tightly controlled garden means you can’t add new plants that friends give you, or are unwanted. Gerda points to the rengarenga, their frothy white flower panicles filled with bees. “Kim found those on the side of the road. The council guys were digging them out.”

Propagating from seed is her favourite method of creating more plants, with seed catalogues her bedtime reading. “Kim built me a seed box so I can start things early. I just love it. You can try out things without it being too expensive. For instance, my vegetable garden is not that good with some carrots, even though I’ve tried several types. I love trialling different things, probably another reason why I have so much in the garden.”

Hollyhocks, wisteria, sweet peas, roses, lavatera, rengarenga and pelargonium fill the beds beneath the three old kōwhai, a regular lunch stop for 20 or more tūī during the spring blooming season.

At the eastern end of house is the extensive vege garden consisting of six raised beds with a handsome old water pump at is centre. This is also Kim’s handiwork as is the picturesque Bavarian-style potting shed that he built from recycled materials to honour Gerda’s German heritage. His daughter Cassie contributed by painting a beautiful sign. A pergola structure over the vege beds allows them to be covered with shade cloth during summer.

During the warmer months water can be scarce on the island but not here. Although the water pump is purely decorative, Kim restored another one on the property and installed a gravity fed system so water from the bore below can be directed to the vege garden.

Although the soil is mainly clay, the couple are serious composters and over the last six years have improved the fertility of the entire garden. They run both cold and hot composts, and produce around six cubic metres a year. “We take green waste from one of local vege shops and gather seagrass, seaweed and horse manure,” Gerda adds.

They’ve slowed down a little with their composting, partly because of the increased soil fertility and partly because they now have five chickens rescued from the chicken farm. “We put forest floor bark mulch in their run, then take it out and add it to the compost,” Kim explains.

They estimate they grow 50 to 60 per cent of their own veges, including silverbeet, potatoes, beetroot, cauliflower, lettuces and courgettes. Herbs are abundant too with basil, parsley, sage, bergamot, feverfew and tansy alongside the veges. “It’s all Gerda’s work,” says Kim proudly. “I don’t have the patience to do all that planting. We only buy onions now really. In the winter we’re pretty self-sufficient.”

The lawns are his domain, mown with a beautifully restored hand mower, found (of course) on the side of the road. “I read online that people filling petrol-powered models spill 17 million gallons of fuel each year in the US,” says Kim. “The EPA estimate that adds up to more oil than what was dumped by the Exxon Valdez!”

He’s also learning beekeeping, with hives already set up in the garden.

Kim and Gerda are both passionate recyclers whether it’s plants, outdoor furniture, chickens or materials for garden structures. Point to an object and invariably it will have been found on the side of the road. Kim is closely involved with a local theatre group so of course discarded props find their way into the garden as decorative elements too.

The complementary nature of their skills and philosophies is evident everywhere you look. The pretty fabric-covered seats on the verandah are a good example: “Kim found them on the side of the road,” Gerda laughs. “I cover them each year in new fabric that comes from the local op shop. We should all recycle as much as we can; far too much usable stuff is thrown away.”

Kim Whitaker and Gerda Gorger are both passionate recyclers whether it’s plants, outdoor furniture, chickens or materials for garden structures. Point to an object and invariably it will have been found on the side of the road.

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en-nz

2022-01-01T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-01-01T08:00:00.0000000Z

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