Hadleigh

When Shirley and Jon Warring moved to rural Matangi, near Hamilton, the 2 hectare property was very short on plants. There was a solitary palm tree at the front entrance, a few fledgling magnolias, a string of boundary shelter trees, and the rest was a blank landscape. Shirley envisaged a woodland garden with some informal areas, “nothing too fussy”, and she wanted generous swathes of lawn, prompting Jon to buy a super-duper ride-on mower.

They made it up as they went along: “There was no grand design,” says Shirley. “It was small steps.” The first design idea came from visitors who had a large rural garden near Te Awamutu. They suggested a tree-lined avenue leading from the north-facing house. So Shirley and Jon planted an avenue of cherry trees, all failed. They were quickly replaced by 12 maples (Acer x Freemanii ' Jeffers Red’), six on each side. These responded beautifully, and the broad avenue now anchors the sweeping 1hectare garden, ending in an eye-catching square feature planted with camellias, daphne, and buxus hedging . Jon and Shirley’s outdoor dining is per

fectly positioned under a pergola to enjoy the full pleasure of their rapidly maturing maples. The pergola is striking, covered in Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus tricuspidata ‘Beverley Brook’). There is a circular feature to the east and a four-pergola feature to the west. All three have massive signature urns. Jon and Shirley built and planted each feature. There has been similar teamwork in developing a pond and surrounding informal garden, and landscaping the lap pool they installed. The pool is flanked by standard lime trees and sculptural pompom trees (Juniperus chinensis ‘Kaizuka’), which provide a touch of whimsy on the wall at the rear of the pool.

Jon a professional engineer, Shirley a qualitative researcher, both retired when they came to the Waikato and reinvented themselves as gardeners. Shirley and Jon had never developed a garden before. However, they were tempted by the challenge as they sought to recover from the trauma of losing their previous Christchurch home 'Hadleigh' which was irreparably destroyed in the 2011 earthquake. Designed by Voysey in England, it was built in the Arts and Crafts style, with a Heritage New Zealand Category 1 listing, and large mature garden, a significant property.

Nowadays, you enter the Waikato 'Hadleigh' through steel gates salvaged from the Christchurch 'Hadleigh' then wind your way up a tree lined driveway to the homestead, their healing place.

The garden is 1 hectare. Allow around 2 hours for your visit.