YOUR GARDEN AND MINE

New Zealand Listener, Volume 2, Issue 51, 14 June 1940, Page 41

YOUR GARDEN AND MINE

By

Ann Earncliff

Brown

(No. 34)

HETHER you are about to lay out a new garden or remodel an old one, it is important to have a definite place, so that the whole effect harmonises with the house it surrounds, Also, as far as possible, the interesting features should be spread over the section. Naturally, since gardens express the individuality of those who plan and develop them, no hard and fast rules for planning should be laid down. However, there are broad lines that should be followed whether the garden and the financial means to furnish it are large or small. The fundamental rule is that natural features should be used as far as possible to enhance the formal layout, Where grounds have gentle, undulating slopes, it is easier to attain good effects, and planting should be arranged to accentuate rises and hollows. In general it is wise to avoid extensive shifting of earth, as this is a costly task. However, where resources permit, interest can be added to large but entirely level grounds by excavations, the building up of rock gardens, or dry stone walls that may be planted with suitable alpines, Recently I was much interested in a garden scheme which used a sunken lawn and a dry stone wall to give interest to a long, flat, rectangular area. The spoil from the sunken lawn was a in forming the bank or sloping wall,

The lawn was very carefully planned with adequate drainage so that it did not become waterlogged. As abundant slabs of stone were easily procurable, the low retaining walls round the lawn were built of layers of these wherein pockets of soil were left. Rock plants, mainly of the type that "curtain" nicely — Anbretia Arabis and some of the finer ice plants-with patches of tiny alpines were set in these pockets. Large slabs of the same rock were set in a kind of crazy paving on the slope of the bank. As the windows of the living-room commanded a view of the sunken lawn, it had been arranged that there should be plenty of colour lasting over a long period on the rather unusual rock garden. Hosts of Iris, which helped to bind the soil, were set all over the place. By careful selection, Iris can supply colour throughout the year. The Japanese Iris were placed where any surplus drainage would give them the moisture they desire. Tiny white "Bride" Iris and the deep purple Stylosis flourished higher up. Dianthus Delthoides, seeking only a dry crevice, bloomed hardily for a long period. Veronicas, Rock Tulips, Hardy Candy Tufts, Alyssum, Anemones, cushions of Violas and countless other rock plants made this a most delightful boundary to what could easily have been a monotonous level stretch, Later I hope to tell of simpler effects to be obtained by colour schemes in plantings that may still be made.