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The traditional twitchers’, or bird watchers’, hut is a nod to England too. It’s been made by training hornbeam up a structure and the pitched roof is now about to close over. “It’s a living hut,” enthuses Bruce, just as a tui dips down on to a nearby flax bush to prove the point of such a fancy.
Nearby, another fairly recent addition is an area featuring acers and spring-flowering rhododendrons, camellias and cherries. It’s a mark of the Spooners’ determination to see things through to fruition as initially all the plants sulked because of the high water table. Major drainage work followed, the beds were built up and the area’s now well on the way to delighting spring visitors with a showy display.
Mincher is open to the public by appointment (email minchergarden@xtra.co.nz) and Angela and Bruce love taking people round the garden, sharing stories about its creation and enjoying it afresh through visitors’ reactions.
More land at the back of the property was purchased a few years ago. “We removed half a house and a pile of rubbish,” says Bruce. The area is backed by a curtain of bush, and new plantings of natives such as kahikatea, kowhai and kauri extend the bush line out into the garden.
“It’s lovely to feel, as all the plants gradually gain some height, that you’re walking through something rather than past something,” observes Angela. This is her favourite garden vantage point – looking past ponga and nikau fronds down to the stream.
The historic Lost Gardens of Heligan, near Mevagissey in Cornwall, inspired the rustic path closer to the house and a hedged patch of tranquillity known as the Drogo Room is a nod to the croquet lawn at Castle Drogo in Devon, designed by architect and landscape designer Sir Edward Lutyens.
“When we visited Castle Drogo, I just loved the effect of a wall of greenery created by the enclosing hedge,” says Angela. The “quiet room” at Mincher initially featured cypress hedges but they have been replaced with totara.
Angela and Bruce constantly chat about future plans for their already impressive garden. Since NZ House & Garden visited, two more major projects have been completed: a massive loggia in the north-west part of the garden and a steel dome porch at the entrance to the Drogo Room. Enthusiasm is a must for those involved in caring for Mincher, says Angela. “You have to be passionate about the place to work here.”
Story: Sarah Beresford
Photographs: Sally Tagg
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