Ashburton, New Zealand
On the outskirts of Ashburton there is a garden that has deservedly won an Award of Garden Excellence from the Canterbury Horticultural Society. It has also been featured in many publications and on television. The scale of the garden is impressive, and the standard of care humbling.
Full of surprises and inspiration, the garden combines formal and informal elements. A collection of unusual and beautiful trees underpins the planting, but flowers are well represented in rhododendrons, spring blossom, roses and masses of perennials. A striking garden, and certainly one that keen gardeners and beginners should visit.
Nurseryman Alan Trott developed the garden from scratch, moving to the then bare site of three hectares (seven acres) when his previous garden became too small to house his growing collection of trees and rhododendrons. Planned as initially as woodland garden, today the garden offers much more than rhododendrons and trees, although these are well represented and include many very special plantings.
The garden is sheltered from the fierce winds that sweep across the Canterbury plains and the visitor feels as if they are in a world of their own, in a tranquil oasis far away from the traffic on State Highway One that is only a few minutes drive away.
Woodland Garden
Planted with many unusual trees, shrubs and perennials, and literally hundreds of rhododendrons, the woodland garden is built around a series of gently curving woodland walks and large expanses of immaculate lawn that create pools of green. Alan Trott's greatest enthusiasm is for trees and he has amasses a considerable collection here, all planted in the conditions they enjoy and to be seen to best advantage. Every vista, every turn brings you another striking specimen tree, planted to catch the eye with it form, bark and foliage.
The garden is magical year round - as wonderful in full autumn colour as it is when the blossom and rhododendrons bloom in spring, and summer brings a cool green with the leaves shimmer in the breeze. In winter it is the silhouettes of deciduous trees and outlines of conifers that catch the eye.
In a corner of the woodland garden a dovecote stands sentinel over the pond, which is speared with water lilies. The movement and sound of the white doves brings another element into the garden.
Stream and Bog Garden
Quite in contrast with the woodland garden, and reached from it through an archway of trees, lie the stream garden and the bog garden. Absolutely enormous hostas, gunnera and a range of moisture loving plants are to be found here, some lining the stream which runs along the northern boundary of the property and others massed in the 'bog' next to it. A wooden walkway gives closer access to these plants.
If you had ever thought this style of gardening would be messy and unkempt, then Alan can prove you wrong. Lush foliage contrasts in texture, form and colour are a delight and an inspiration.
A belvedere at the entrance to the bog garden gives a view across the garden, and from here you can clearly see yet another aspect of this fascinating garden- the formal garden.
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The dovecote framed by specimen trees
The scale of the garden is immense
The woodland garden in early summer
Splashes of colour enliven the woodland garden
The Bog Garden
The Stream Garden
Detail makes the Formal Garden | |
