The idea was to grow a cottage garden in keeping with the 1900s house, but that intention has blossomed and diverged over the past couple of decades.
Twenty-two years after buying an overgrown property in the Christchurch suburb of Heathcote, Anthea Wilson’s dream of establishing an English garden with native trees down the end has been fulfilled – and then some. The garden, which she shares with her partner Geoff Moore, has evolved into a series of spaces, each with its own character and charm.
The original vision
The front garden of the 1900s cottage remains faithful to the original vision. South-facing and formal, its central concrete path is flanked by low, tightly clipped teucrium hedges. A pair of standard camellias commands one end. At the other end, two Grecian-style urns are planted with red geraniums in summer and cheerful polyanthus in winter. Along the veranda, the seasonal emphasis also changes with billowing hydrangea blooms giving way to the hefty lime-green euphorbia bracts in winter.
This rather English restraint lasts only until the drive, where thick pillars of San Pedro cacti squeeze into a narrow strip by the fence. Anthea has Catholic tastes and knows what she likes when she sees it.
“I saw a wall of cacti in an antique shop and garden centre in Springston once and thought I’d like that,” she says. “But it wasn’t till we bought this place that I knew I had the perfect spot for them.”
The huge fragrant blooms that appear every summer were an unexpected bonus. “It’s an amazing sight,” she says. And an insect magnet: “You should see the bees that come in the evening,” adds Geoff.
Where the story began
It was a cycling trip to Central Otago that inspired the transformation of a previously dull area around the washing line. After falling in love with the region’s old cottage gardens, Anthea returned home full of ideas. Now, hanging out the washing is a treat with stepping stones threading through the drifts of wildflowers, bunting fluttering above.
The sun-soaked back veranda has another vibe altogether with its large and eclectic collection of pots and plants, from weathered concrete troughs crammed with succulents, to old kettles spouting petunias and ferns erupting from Grecian heads. Added during house extensions and framed by a banksia rose at one end and powder-blue plumbago at the other, it quickly became a favourite place to sit.
Sitting here, looking across the garden, Geoff muses on their labours. “Anthea is the designer,” he says, “although we do talk about other things together.” She is also the one with the most knowledge of perennials, which run alongside the back lawn.
“When I first started the garden, my sister was working for a nursery so I got a lot of plants from her. And I’ve always liked perennials,” says Anthea. She has a pragmatic approach to growing them. “It’s really what survives. I have had masses of different perennials over the years, but some just don’t come back, others take over. I’m hopeless at remembering names.”
But names hardly matter, not least through spring and summer when the border glows with flowers. Roses, magnolias and dogwoods rise above richly coloured salvias, fiery euphorbias and spires of phlomis. Purple wallflowers spill across the lawn and star jasmine blankets the fence.
Considered design
Three-quarters of the way down the section, a swooping pittosporum hedge divides the garden in two. “We put in the hedge pretty much straight away,” says Geoff. With it came the notion of a tunnel leading to a secret garden.
The transition through the hedge from the perennial borders and neat topiary balls is dramatic. The woodland comes as a surprise. Tī kōuka (cabbage tree), ponga, lancewoods, five fingers and other trees create a canopy beneath which ferns and grasses flourish. Prominent on the margins are the glossy leaves of the tractor seat plant and the Himalayan giant lilies, which can grow up to three metres high. One of the tree ferns has been divided into four and replanted.
“We started with lots of native trees and over the years have cut many out,” says Geoff. “They took so much sun, ours and our neighbours’, and we need sun for growing our vegetables.”
A moment for the veges
Several potager beds occupy the reclaimed ground, supplying the couple with potatoes, sweet corn, broad beans, salad greens, courgettes and tomatoes. In keeping with the rest of the garden, they’re almost as ornamental as they are productive. Corralled inside a fence, the first bed has an almost Mediterranean air with its pretty collection of marigolds, sweetpeas and culinary herbs. A smaller set of raised beds is enclosed by old ornate wrought-iron fencing.
The catalyst for this edible quadrant was an old shed the pair spotted at a demolition yard and had moved onto the property. Renovated and with new windows and a veranda, it sits prettily in its own cottage-style garden, with roses and standardised bay trees – Anthea is a whizz with the shears. In the unruly beds, foxgloves, tiny geraniums and culinary herbs mingle and nasturtiums scramble. In the height of summer they reach right up the hedge.
When asked if she would change anything, Anthea has a surprising response. With scarcely a pause, she says, “If I was starting over, I would do it differently. For a start, I’d have the vegetable garden where the lawn is; it’s the sunniest part of the garden.”
“And,” says Geoff, “I’d put the garage and drive on the other side of the house and have a garden on the sunny west side where the drive currently is.”
Garden takeaways
Think seriously where you plant trees. When they grow they create shade – not great if you’re planning a veggie garden. If you’ve always wanted a secret garden, plant the hedge as soon as you can. Transform areas like the clothesline into spaces you want to linger with interesting planting. Hold onto those dreams of having a special plant (such as Anthea’s penchant for San Pedro cacti). You will eventually find the right spot for them.
Read next:
- Your guide to creating beautiful floral displays
- The perfect hedge for every garden
- The art of the coastal garden: Beauty shaped by wind, waves and salt
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