Uniformity dominates NZ garden design

Uniformity has been dominating garden design in New Zealand, says Ellerslie International Flower Show mentor and The Road to Ellerslie – in the Garden City television presenter Dan Rutherford.

“Our gardens have been reflecting our mono-culture of purchasing off-the-rack magazine-type garden solutions; many gardens are bland. We have been leaving no room for the wild,” he laments.

“Gardens have not been reflecting the personalities of those who live in the house.”

Dan says this is partly attributed to the way new subdivisions are formatted. “In new subdivisions, you see the house and then the fence; it is a real boxed-in environment.

“Confining a space can make it feel safe and secure, however it also constrains how we live and think. Living in a garden dominated by fences can make it hard to think outside the square. Most people start by planting along the boundary, to disguise the paling fences surrounding their property, but many struggle to come up with creative gardening solutions beyond that.

“All gardens, whether big or small, need a wild element. That’s a good place to start. Next, make sure you can’t see all your garden at once. That way there’s an element of surprise, some mystery,” he says.

Dan, his wife and two children live in Cashmere, Christchurch, enjoying an acre of bush-clad hillside garden which he says “has a magical sense of place”.

He first began tending his garden as a 15-year-old on school detention, buying the home in his early 20s. The property offers the North Canterbury farmer’s son a sense of space within the city confines and from his veranda there are views which stretch at least 180 degrees across the city to the mountains.

What Dan does find heartening today is the new move by homeowners away from generic gardens, to more personal and practical gardens. “I think the tide is turning. We are seeing the return of the vegetable garden and fruit trees.

“Nothing beats venturing into the garden to pick salad leaves, cut fresh herbs or pick a lemon or lime for the gin. People are beginning to value having real food in their garden and this will have a flow on for their children.

“I’m excited that people are starting to think about how to make their garden an integral part of their home. Having food, flowers and medicinal herbs growing outside is a constant excuse to get out into the garden and enjoy sharing it.”

Dan is excited about the Ellerslie International Flower Show coming to Christchurch: “It is our chance to showcase to the world our gardens, our culture and who we are as a city”.

As one of the two mentors for the Show, Dan says he is enjoying being able to help others prepare designs for the Show. “For me an exhibition garden at Ellerslie is about being able to ‘break all the rules’.

“The real trick is realising that although you are creating a garden that has to look perfect from day one, it only has to look that good for a week.”

He likens the Ellerslie International Flower Show to watching a movie – the gardens are full of action and drama– “people go for the experience”.

“You get to experience what you normally wouldn’t in your life and take from it what you can to enhance your own life.”

He says the Ellerslie International Flower Show is going to be packed with Exhibition Gardens, in similar fenced environments to people’s homes, with a huge variety of design solutions and ideas for them to take home and try out.

“Ellerslie will present a wealth of ideas to stimulate and inspire visitors to the Show to create gardens which will hopefully reflect their own personality and lifestyle.”

The Road to Ellerslie – in the Garden City screens on TV1 on Saturdays at 9.30am until 21 March 2009. This week the Show visits Grehan Lea in Akaroa, we meet Auckland designer Trina Tully, and learn how to grow roses and improve soil health.

Ellerslie International Flower Show is New Zealand’s premier week-long Garden Party in Christchurch’s North Hagley Park from 11 to 15 March. The Show celebrates Christchurch’s Garden City heritage and the best of national and international garden design. The 2009 Show will feature almost 80 horticultural exhibits, including 28 exhibition gardens, with loads of fresh and exciting ideas for every garden. Check out the website for further information www.ellerslieflowershow.co.nz