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THE HILLS ARE ALIVE

Seasonal colour changes and a steep site are taken in their stride by these Christchurch gardeners

The site may be steep but it didn’t deter these Canterbury gardeners.

THESE PAGES David and Brigit Blair’s hillside garden has been planted to create textured layers of colour and form; red and green maples (Acer palmatum dissectum varieties ‘Crimson Queen’ and ‘Viridis’) cascade over a carpet of dwarf lily turf (Ophiopogon japonicus) on the right while Pieris japonica ‘Flaming Silver’, with fresh pink leaf tips, grows beside scarlet rhododendron ‘Kaponga’ on the left.

Developing a garden on a hillside is fraught with challenges but also packed with possibilities. When David and Brigit Blair built in a new subdivision on the outskirts of Christchurch 40 years ago, their 1300m² section was a steep paddock with views across the plains to the Southern Alps. Birdsong has long replaced the bleats of sheep in the now populous suburb of Westmorland and the Blairs’ bare slope has been transformed into a lush tiered garden.

“From the beginning, we knew we had something special,” says David, who collaborated with architect Paddy Helmore to ensure a successful marriage of house and garden. Both spill down the section, multilevelled and following the contours of the land.

“Paddy’s clever design made it easy to visualise how the connections between the house and surrounding property could work. It presented a number of interesting opportunities as well as challenges.”

The resulting garden is a master class in how to make the most of tricky terrain, and it all starts with the hard landscaping. Here David, chief gardener and retired dentist, is in his element. “I went from micro to macro engineering, and I’m not hurting anyone,” he says.

He built grunty retaining walls, many from local volcanic rock, with steps, decks and pathways forming trails through the terraced beds. Having solved issues of access, water runoff and erosion, he turned his attention to planting.

The couple have always appreciated the power of things botanical. Brigit started freeze-drying roses and blending fruit and flower oils in the kitchen in a bid to find products to help two of their three children who were plagued by eczema. The resulting family business, Linden Leaves, is now an internationally recognised brand, and still keeps her busy.

A hillside garden has a head start when it comes to achieving the visual layering so important to the success of a garden, and has the bonus of being able to be viewed from above, below or within.

The Blairs set about creating a visual symphony of colour, form and texture that performs throughout the seasons and can be appreciated, quite literally, on many levels.

They’ve also managed to create a sheltered private garden

ABOVE Prostrate cotoneaster droops over a retaining wall, creating a hedge-like effect with bluebells, strappy rengarenga lilies and a variety of hydrangeas and rhododendrons behind and David’s new favourite tree, a red maple Acer palmatum ‘Fireglow’.

without losing the view. The original wide and windblown panorama has been replaced by dramatic snapshots of the mountains framed by tree trunks or viewed over a leafy canopy. “We’ve been careful where we put big trees to keep the view open,” says David.

Small trees with striking form and foliage have been favoured: the golden dogwood (Cornus sericea ‘Flaviramea’), burgundy Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’ and the layered wedding cake tree (Cornus controversa ‘Variegata’) to name a few. But maples, with their colourful canopies, feathery foliage and sculptural forms, are the lifeblood of the garden. Their fiery heads are particularly spectacular when seen from the house above. “The evening light is incredible. The foliage glows,” says Brigit.

Native flora underpins the garden and brings bellbirds, fantails and kererū. There's a giant puka, a pair of sizeable kauri, a large pōhutukawa and pittosporums native to Banks Peninsula. Subtropical plants also thrive on the near frost-free hillside, giving the pool and outdoor dining area more the feel of a Pacific resort than a Canterbury deck.

The path below meanders through richly planted layers until it reaches a boardwalk then a wrought iron gate that opens to a forest track and public reserve below.

“I like variety in a garden,” says David, who has chosen plants that celebrate the seasons. Coral rhododendrons, red camellias and pink cherry blossoms herald the promise of spring with their warm tones. It’s Brigit’s favourite time. “I love watching the garden coming to life again after a dormant winter,” she says.

By mid-summer, the garden has morphed into a palette of predominantly cool colours with blue and white lacecap hydrangeas in beds fringed with hostas, rengarenga lilies, mondo grass and dwarf agapanthus. The terraced lawn is small but immaculate. “I think a well-kept lawn sets off a garden,” says David.

A chop-and-drop approach to composting and an irrigation system on timers saves lugging hoses and carry-alls up the hill. “We used to have annuals and high-maintenance borders, but we were both busy and they were a lot of work,” says Brigit.

The garden, which won the Christchurch Beautifying Association’s Secret Garden Trophy in 2020, is the Blairs’ retreat: a place to relax, entertain friends, a playground for their grandchildren and an outlet for David’s creativity.

He describes his relationship with nature as one of yin and yang. “There are things that I try to do and things that happen. A garden is always a balance.”

‘There are things that I try to do and things that happen. A garden is always a balance’

TOP RIGHT Steps lead from the pool and lawn, fringed with 'Peter Pan' agapanthus, to the wilder garden below; the canopy, brightened by maple foliage and flowering rhododendrons, is a spectacular foreground to the wider landscape of plains and mountains which can be viewed from the house over a topped Himalayan cedar (Cedrus deodara) that started life as a family Christmas tree. CENTRE RIGHT Cantilevered decking at the southern end of the boardwalk adds another dimension to the garden, giving an eye-level view of sculptural Acer palmatum ‘Katsura’ trunks and other trees in the colourful and eclectic woodland which includes a copper beech, evergreen magnolia, Acer rubrum ‘Columnare’ and Pittosporum tenuifolium; a miniature maple Acer palmatum ‘Mikawa Yatsubusa’ grows in a pot beside a table used for occasional forest dining. RIGHT The terraced pool area is the most-used part of the property: “We entertain a lot and cook outside in summer. It’s completely sheltered and you can’t see another house from here,” says Brigit.

TOP The lime-green head of the dwarf weeping maple Acer palmatum dissectum ‘Viridis’ grows below vigorous white orange blossom (Choisya ternata) with cerise rhododendron ‘Alice’ throwing a splash of colour above and the textured trunk of a flowering cherry tree alongside wrought iron fencing adding structure to the soft layering. ABOVE Ironwork by Ironic Art echoes the flowing forms of the garden; the romantically named full moon maple

(Acer shirasawanum 'Aureum’) glows between a bushy lemonwood and camellia with the pretty mauve rhododendron ‘Mrs Charles Pearson’ in the foreground. RIGHT The striking horizontal form and creamy foliage of a wedding cake tree (Cornus controversa ‘Variegata’) emerges from a bed of perennials featuring lime-topped Euphorbia x martinii, white federation ‘Purity’ daisies and blue salvias; vireya rhododendron ‘Cherry Pie’ bushes and a densely planted native boundary provide shelter and a dark green backdrop.

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2022-06-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-06-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

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