Garden Bush Experience

 

2013 saw the completion of my bush walk which now circles the house.

I bought the property in 1970 and took far too seriously from the previous owner a landscape gardener ( possibly the first landscape gardener in the province) that it was a 'wilderness garden'. As I was busy working as a school adviser the idea appealed.


A' batch' in the bush - recently painted

I had originally seen the property in 1969 but was unable to put together the money to acquire it. I decided instead to travel to England to visit some creative child-centred schools I had read about.

One reason why I want put up this post is to share the garden with a very good friend I met in 1969 and who I have kept in touch with.



Decks reach out into the garden

The property, once part of farmland close to the city of New Plymouth, was bought by Mrs V C Davies ( Duncan and Davies were a well known plant nursery based in the city). Mrs Davies added to the original coastal forest almost every native tree you can think of including several kauri.  In 1954' D and Ds' landscape gardener bought the land and built a small house  with a walking track down from the road. Later the house was added to and a drive established. The new owner then planted a wide range of introduced plants and established some tracks.

After removing some very large introduced trees and a out of control hydrangea hedge, planting smaller natives and spreading shade loving plants like hostas, plus bridges and duck-walks , the garden is now ( more or less) tamed.



Native shrubs replace hydrangea hedge.

New small natives  at drive entrance

Leaving civilisation

Entrance to bush walk
 

Latest walkway - through swamp




Looking up to the deck - kauri trees.

Bridge to lower walk



walkway  through parataniwha

Fern  walk along stream

Bridge across stream



Back to the house.

Latest walk through hostas



 

Wilderness now tamed.