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A passion for collecting and a knack for creativity have won a Warkworth woman a national award and praise from a well-known gardening guru.
Jan Harris won the Best Creative Garden Design category in the second annual garden competition organised recently for residents of 36 Summerset retirement villages throughout New Zealand.
Her creative use of space and innovative ways of incorporating an eclectic range of items and plants in her villa garden caught the eye of competition judge Tony Murrell, an Auckland landscape designer who appears regularly on TV and radio gardening shows.
He said Jan’s considered use of textural elements and creativity in her garden was inspiring.
“The verticality and carefully layered parts certainly make you want to explore to see more, and more there is!” he commented. “Her appropriate use of materials has transformed her garden into a crafter’s dream. I could have done with some of her ideas when I was working on TV1’s Mucking In.”
Jan won a $250 voucher for Mitre 10, some of which she’s already spent on a sizable deep pink flowering cherry tree for the front garden and a box of tomato plants.
“Not that I know where I’m going to put them,” she says, looking round her compact garden that is already overflowing with every type of plant.
“It’s a very small property, so you have to be creative, but I love creating and I love making things.
“I’m one of those people who can always see potential in certain things. I’m not a hoarder by any means, but I’ll keep things that I can imagine will one day come in handy.”
Her artistic touches include re-purposing weathered fence posts and chains, making screens and pathways with bamboo, and using piping to train wisteria, roses and other climbers.
Shrubs, trees, perennials and succulents rub shoulders with fruit, vegies, annuals and herbs right around the villa, which sits on a corner block bordered by a public walkway and grassed area. There are little surprises everywhere, from a fig tree being espaliered up a wall to a wicker basket bursting with air plants and candles, a worm farm, and plenty of sheltered seating spots.
“I’ve lived in Warkworth for nearly 50 years, most recently in Southgate Road, and I’ve been here in Summerset for two years,” Jan, a former exhibition organiser, says.
“I love the sharing with gardening friends, the plants and cuttings, and I love being creative. There were only four categories in the awards, so it was a lovely surprise to win, especially as it was for best creative design.”
