A Lake Hāwea Garden

A very special garden is evolving on the plains adjacent to Lake Hāwea. Below Xanthe discusses the journey of garden creation, from the initial relationship, the first site visits, the first workings of the bony soil, to the iterations and growth which are transforming this site into a home.

THE HOUSE THAT IS THE GARDEN

By Xanthe White

A farmhouse built simply to house, but not so much to home, sat on a long stretch of beaten earth, rattled with rabbit holes and ferrets in the valley between Hawea and Albert Town. Approaching for the first time, the landscape beyond shimmered, reflecting the sky. The drive in blew up thick clouds of dust announcing the arrival of the visitors.

As we look out across the plain, watching rabbits zig zag in the summer haze, we talk about a garden, about a kōwhai forest restored, about fields of flowers. This is not a new idea for clients Ru and Hamish who have worked with me on two gardens before. When my children were still in nappies we worked together on site with Hamish driving the digger and us moving large rocks blasted from the earth into mounding contouring earth to create soft informal rooms of green. We then, started the garden before the house went up. The idea that the garden could have as much importance as a house to the sense of place was proven. This garden was in rich volcanic soil with Auckland’s generous rainfall.

Here we stood watching the haze of the summer’s heat rise off the dry grass. The site’s flatness offered little in the way of spatial cues but the inspiration for me lay in knowing that the hard work needed was understood.

The first site visits began alongside chainsaws tasked with finding long lost views, overgrown by casual planting. Plans were drawn, discussed, marked out, edited. Rocks arrived, plans changed, shifted, simplified. Rabbits were greeted by the local pest control. A strong young woman with a shotgun, dogs and a ferret on a lead. Pest proof fences constructed and fortified and the interior was regularly patrolled.

The first planting was hard. A pasture is not far from a desert. The sun beats the soil’s surface. It takes plants surviving to begin to alter this environment. Thousands of plants arrived each one placed and distributed to a plan, then shifted and blended, edited and planted.

A bore provided water through the first summer, but its abundance offered more to the weeds than to the young plants, who spend their first year concentrated on their roots. There are many who might have walked away at this point. The horizon seems endless. But then, as this season passes, another layer of plants are woven in to outwit the weeds.

As the second summer comes the place begins to reveal itself. A second network of informal paths is created through the broad gardens. The formal paths create vista and the stepping stones create a childlike weave hidden in the midst.

The project begins to expand with driveways realigned and hill like mounds and swales formed to shelter the garden. The beautiful old shed promises us a new project, some water to reflect the sky introduced, a circle of tī kōuka formed. Already the garden has made the house a home. The story will continue.