Gillian Vine gets a sneak preview before a garden tour.
Moving from Brisbane to Dunedin nine years ago was an entirely new gardening experience for Cheryl Willis and her husband, Stephen.
"Brisbane is completely non-seasonal and tropical," Cheryl says.
"My first spring here was, like, ‘This is not spring; it’s like winter’."
Initially, they rented the Upper Junction house they now own and - as she says - tenants do not have the same incentive to change a garden or even look after it as well as owners do.
Thus it was not until they bought the property that they began extensively revamping the overgrown garden.
"I’d say that just over three-quarters of the entire garden we’ve gradually redone over the eight years since we bought the property," Cheryl says.
Renting had given her "a few ideas" and with a young child, getting rid of a massive pond was a priority, along with getting rid of large trees that completely blocked their views of Otago Harbour. Overgrown hebes that blocked light were replaced with a lawn that draws the eye to the harbour and its changing moods.
"You simply could not see the northeast view ... you had to bush bash your way through" from the house, as more than half the garden was inaccessible. Now nearly all the garden can be accessed and enjoyed.
Below the lawn, on the harbour side, a Covid-19 lockdown project was digging a large area of bank, then planting native grasses and adding paths to make the area more attractive while blending into the landscape. The family’s dogs, Tucker and Australian shepherd Banjo, love this area, constantly checking for rabbits.
Elsewhere, clearing revealed gems, including a lovely acer, successfully moved to a more suitable spot.
Despite the neglect, the garden had obviously been carefully planted at some point, as there are some good trees (among them a fine southern rata) and an abundance of rhododendrons.
"The rhododendrons flower in succession and I like them because they’re green all year," she says.
Unfortunately, the rabbits that abound in the area love Chatham Island forget-me-nots, too, nibbling self-sown seedlings and young leaves. They also have caused so much damage to her roses that Cheryl is thinking of taking them out.
Her favourite season runs from late February to autumn, when she considers the garden at its peak with perennials and hydrangeas at their best.
Adjusting her tropical gardening knowledge to the Dunedin weather took a lot of learning, experimenting, more learning and some mistakes. A hedge of michaelia has been disappointing - "I should have planted ‘Fairy White’ instead of ‘Fairy Blush"’ - and a line of agapanthus is "another planting regret; they’re monsters".
Cheryl is appreciative of her husband’s skills in the hard-landscaping areas of building walls, steps and paths.
The current work in progress is clearing and replanting the steep bank below the road, where taking out old overgrown trees was a massive job. That resulted in a delighted response from neighbours, who now can see the harbour.
Modest about her prowess, Cheryl says: "It’s far from perfect, but it is our sanctuary and happy place."
