The garden of Rosemary Bell |
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‘Hidcote’ lavender, agave and rosemary give a Mediterranean feel to this part of the garden.
When Rosemary bell married Hawke’s Bay farmer Denis Bell and went to live at Roundaway Station, near Pourerere Beach, she became accustomed to spending long days alone. After she had packed his lunch and kissed him goodbye, Denis was usually gone for hours.
Resourceful Rosemary soon filled the time attending to their young family of four children and pouring her considerable energy into the garden. “Back then we weren’t out having morning coffee sessions. We just got on with our lives.” Those 30 years of devotion have produced the Roundaway garden, with its magnificent views towards the coast.
It hasn’t been easy, but Rosemary has taken the testing climate (hot, dry summers and wet winters) and reliance on tank water in her stride as part of country life. “We have one 5000-gallon tank and it has to go round our house, our son Richard’s house, the single men’s quarters, the animal troughs and the garden. When it runs out, it takes about three or four days to fill up. Consequently the garden has taken a long time to establish and I’ve lost many plants along the way.”
Add to that the clay soils, keen easterly sea breezes and westerlies from the other quarter and you get the idea that it takes gritty determination to make any progress. On the plus side, Roundaway’s close proximity to the coast has created a frost-free zone where plants such as puka and agave thrive.
One of Rosemary’s first tasks was to dig paths and build steps. “I became very handy with the ready-mix cement.” Every year the Roundaway farm fencer, Peter Walker, allocated time to help her tackle new ground and build pergolas and seats.
“I would love to have had one of those mini diggers,” says Rosemary. “I could have done so much more not digging everything by hand.”
Rosemary describes hers as a year-round garden, despite the water limitations, though she has often been mystified by what survives and what doesn’t. Grevilleas, various succulents and rosemary failed to thrive but rhododendrons ‘Elegans’, ‘Cameo’ and ‘Avalanche’ grew well.
Possums waged war on the roses at first, making them difficult to cultivate, but they came on well as the pests were culled.
Dry-climate-loving plants such as proteas, leucadendrons and leucospermums have proved to be hardy allies as they didn’t whimper and give up the ghost at the first sign of drought.
The London plane trees planted along the driveway struggled initially. “They were nearly blown away but, as more shelter grew alongside and they broke through the clay pan, they started to flourish.”
Fifteen years ago, Rosemary started to plant on the eastern slope in front of their house in a bid to escape the hilltop tempest.
“I was so relieved to find plants flourished here. Part of the reason could be the pampas grass, which had broken down to create a fabulous mulch. I planted weeping cherries, magnolias, frangipani, pin and scarlet oaks, Prunus ‘Awanui’, lavender, hostas and the fragrant star jasmine, Trachelospermum jasminoides, which I’ve grown both as a ground cover and over the pergolas.”
Along a network of meandering paths that reveal surprises at each turn, sculptures, pots and ornaments have been thoughtfully placed, with benches on which to sit, relax and contemplate the rural outlook.
Every year a truckload of compost arrives from town to be spread around the garden. Rosemary used to make frequent trips to the nearby stables to gather loads of straw and horse manure but, she says, “A lot of plants were lost because they got covered up with straw.”
She may not have appreciated it at the time, but Rosemary now credits a work ethic drummed in early for her versatility and persistence. “We grew up on a farm and my mother used to make us push the hoe around the flower beds and rake the drive.” Advice from her sister, landscape designer Christabel Handley, has also “lifted my garden to another level”.
Rosemary’s passion for floral art has been another major influence. “Since joining a local floral art group, my ideas have changed. I couldn’t keep going to town to buy what I needed, or pinching it off other people, so I started to grow things like Astelia ‘Silver Spear’, ornamental hybrid flaxes and camellias for colour and texture,” she says.
“If I could start again I’d base my ideas on the design elements I’ve learned, such as good use of space and sweeping curves.”
Rosemary was able to give free rein to her love of floral arrangements at daughter Maryanne’s wedding last summer which – naturally – took place in their garden.
Roundaway has also become a welcome oasis for Denis at the end of a long day’s work. “It’s always a pleasure to come home to this pleasant environment that Rosemary’s created,” he says.
For her part, Rosemary is adamant that supportive husbands are a necessity. “I’ve been lucky Denis has allowed me to go out and buy what I want, within reason.”
Plans are now afoot for a newly purchased property near Waipawa. The move won’t take place for another few years but already this constant gardener is enthusiastically marking out her new garden. The outlook is definitely rosy – it’s on town water supply.
Click on the "photo gallery" link at top right for more images from this story, including web exclusive photos.
Story: Vivienne Haldane
Photographs: Café Studio Noir
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