Ruth Ahern has knobbly knees - and she loves them. Her "knees" are at the base of a swamp cypress (Taxodium distichum var. distichum), one of many large trees in her 1ha Waikouaiti garden.
Back in the 1870s, Ruth's house was a dame school, a private school run from her home by a Mrs Fraser. New Zealand's 1878 Education Act, which provided free, compulsory primary education, marked the end of the dame schools but the name lives on in Waikouaiti as Dame St.
The property was later owned by Alexander Thomson (1846-1904), of soft-drink fame, and used as a crib. Two of his sons, William and John, were talented botanists and Ruth believes many of the mature trees on her property were planted by the Thomson brothers.
Fifteen years ago, when Ruth and her partner, Kevin Gallagher, were looking for a place where they could indulge their passion for trees, they looked at a tangle of creepers through which the top of a walnut tree could be seen and decided this was for them.
As they cleared creepers and weeds, other trees emerged - a massive hawthorn, Hoheria, lancewood, pink and white-flowered horse chestnuts, apples and plums and several species of redwood.
"When we came here, there was a row of Lombardy poplars 70 feet [21.5m] high in the gully," Ruth says.
Some were diseased, so they were all taken out, giving a better vista from the house of the ground sloping down from Dame St, then up towards Geelong St.
The old apple trees could not be saved and were replaced with other fruit trees, including a nectarine and a quince.
She loves quinces - "I'm into plant families" - and her pride and joy is a rare Chinese quince (Pseudocydonia sinensis), which she believes is the only one in the South Island.
"I came across it [in a plant catalogue] and thought 'I've got to have one of those'." The huge fruit, like that of the common quince (Cydonia oblonga) and japonica (Chaenomeles japonica), makes excellent jelly, which Ruth and her daughter make and sell at the Seacliff market.
Quinces were followed by witch-hazels and fothergillas, members of the Hamamelidaceae family.
"Then I found out that Liquidambar belonged to the same family and I had to have it, too," Ruth says.
One of the advantages of the Liquidambar is that it holds its brilliant crimson leaves through winter and into spring "when they are pushed off by new leaves".
Smaller trees and shrubs include the wedding-cake tree (Cornus capitata), grown just outside Ruth's bedroom window so she can enjoy it throughout the seasons; a twisted hazel (Corylus avellana Contorta), whose branches are a winter delight and spring catkins enchanting; a medlar, and several unusual maples and magnolias.
Beds of spring bulbs and hellebores edge the garden, but it is the number and variety of trees that will wow visitors tomorrow.
• SEE IT
Ruth Ahern's garden is one of six open to the public between 11am and 4.30pm tomorrow as a Waikouaiti Presbyterian parish fundraiser. At the Ahern garden, there will be a display of spinning and weaving, as well as plants and preserves for sale.
Tickets are available on the day at the Waikouaiti Presbyterian parish hall, Kildare St, Waikouaiti, or phone (03) 465-7897 or (03) 465-8344. There will be plant, cake and craft stalls at the hall. Devonshire tea in Waikouaiti and tea or coffee at Karitane are included in the $10 ticket price.
