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Ribbonwood is a rambling, romantic beauty of a garden that pays homage to colour, texture, pattern and scent. Over 30 years, it has expanded and changed as its owners, Mark and Rosie Belton of Governors Bay, near Christchurch, have given life to their creative inspirations – and in the last five years the garden has also played a significant role in Rosie Belton’s recovery from serious injury.
A series of terraces cut into a sloping hillside, Ribbonwood is structured without being restricted, free without being untidy. “I’ve never been a really tidy person in the garden,“ says Rosie. “It used to worry me but now I appreciate that, for me, a garden is about colour, texture, scent and beauty. I don’t plan rigidly. I prefer to let things just happen – like a painting. I like the surprises that come with that. What has mattered to me is making a garden that brings me joy and that changes with the seasons.”
When Mark and Rosie first purchased their 0.4ha site, it was bare but for a single poplar tree. The first new tree they planted was a ribbonwood from their previous garden, for which the property is named. The terraces had been shaped by previous landowners and that determined their underlying garden structure.
“There is always a temptation to level things but we let it be and the garden has a more interesting layout as a result,” says Rosie.
Story: Adrienne Rewi
Photographs: Juliet Nicholas
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