There is something about Mary. She is bubbly, warm and easy to be around. My interactions with her are always so lovely; she makes everyone around her feel valued and loved. She’s a dream client and one of my greatest ambassadors. I first met Mary and her husband, Ian, around 15 years ago when they were midway through the construction of their new home beside the family farm. Mary and Ian were building their dream home and they were keen to plant a large country garden around it.
As a landscape designer, I often work with people who want a garden but are not necessarily gardeners themselves. So I was delighted to find that the couple were both passionate gardeners and were committed to creating a legacy garden for their family to enjoy.
The home is set out in a boomerang shape to make the most of the sunlight and views of the surrounding farmland. The challenge for me was to design the garden in such a way that the individual garden spaces related to the angles of the house. Doing this gave me the opportunity to introduce plenty of dramatic vistas and focal points.
In the centre of the boomerang was the entrance, outdoor dining and covered porch. This became the centrepiece of the design and I placed large central steps there and an avenue of trees on either side of the house to form an alley to the property. This central axis became the backbone of the garden and the other lines of the garden flared off from this point.
Ian and Mary are both passionate about native plants and were keen to have a mainly native garden. I enjoyed having the rare opportunity to create a larger, more formal garden using our beloved native plants.
The first avenue of trees that is visible from the stairs at the entrance features the mighty rimu. Rimu is a native conifer, which has beautiful weeping branches and can live for hundreds of years. The effect is one that will take decades to be fully realised but already, these trees have a certain majesty and grace to them.
In front of the home on the northern side, I planted a non-native avenue of deciduous trees. In winter, when the trees have lost their leaves, the house gets full winter sun streaming through the bare branches. I used a landscaper favourite, the Manchurian pear, as they don’t get too big and have autumn colour, spring blossoms and a lovely even growth. Claimed to be America’s favourite street tree, I first discovered them in California where they have been used extensively because of their resilience to drought and disease and their non-invasive root systems.
For the approach to the house, I set a line of four kauri trees. The kauri starts out life as a tall, dense cypress-like tree and then, in time, it becomes a very large, open-canopy tree. It is too large for most home gardens but it is perfect for a large country garden. The feeling is of four majestic sentinels, heralding your arrival as you enter the property.
The sunny side of the house is well connected to the garden. These individual garden spaces fan out from either side of the house at a thirty-degree angle. On one side are the utilities: a large kitchen garden, an orchard and a children’s playground. On the other side of the house is a formal fishpond and an oversized stairwell leading out to an expansive lawn with farmland beyond.
The flow of a space is so important to me when I design. I’m a believer in exaggerated lines and over-simplified routes to avoid any confusion. I like to make an area visually strong and easy to navigate. I make it my mission to set out a garden with clear pathways so you don’t get lost or miss anything when exploring.
I love to set trees out in grids and alleys, and create structure in a garden whenever possible. In Ian and Mary’s garden, I had more than enough formal elements. Especially given the fact that Ian and Mary are rather relaxed and informal people. I began softening this formality with a dusting of groves and soft mass plantings — adding colour, texture and form.
We used many native and exotic trees which I planted in groves of their own species. Kōwhai, tītoki, kahikatea, cabbage trees and a sprinkling of native nīkau palms in corners of the property.
Over a decade on, the effect of these plantings is quite the sight. Native cabbage trees with firework-like fronds are highlighted against the backdrop of the tītoki canopy. Everywhere you look, plant forms are thrown into contrast against a grove or alley of trees.
There is something I’ve always been acutely aware of when designing. Every tree has a shape with its own unique characteristics. Pairing like with like gives a soft and insipid effect. However, if you contrast forms, the effect is much stronger and more interesting to the eye. This provides an opportunity to hero a tree and its features. Diversity is key.
The jewel in the crown of this property is the outdoor lanai. It has a fireplace, pizza oven and dining area. A hub for hospitality, it has a view over the garden. When the fire is lit and Mary is serving her homemade treats, this is one of the most homely places on earth to be.
Keep up to date with Michael’s work on his Instagram page.
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