After a stop for some petrol and meat pies, we arrived at Ayrlies, Bev McConnell’s garden in Whitford, southeast of Auckland. Unfortunately Bev was not at the garden as she was with family for the holidays. Her head gardener, Morag met us and set us on our way. We had the entire garden to ourselves. At first the garden was a subtle landscape garden, complete with pools, falls and bridges leading you down into a valley, still with no home in sight.
As we reached the lower portion of the property with views to the northwest, the paths beckoned us on. Under the canopy of huge California redwoods, we began to emerge, following paths that meandered gently upward through increasingly intricate and colorful beds.
The shear amount of plants was astounding, the high light and cool temperature here keeps the blooms lasting a very long time. This mix of climate and light yields combinations of blooms that we wouldn’t usually see back at home. The paths wound seemingly without reason or intent, yet as we walked them we were drawn to a meadow area, just to the rear of the house.
The plantings around the house were lush by our standards; Bromeliads, succulents and other things that make us go oooh.
To one side of the house is the pool, again lushly planted. A very good example of how the landscape, or garden can tie sometimes two disparate elements together.
Leaving the house by the main drive, one is taken across a great lawn, crowned by a high terrace with a bench, accessed by a set of Lutyens inspired steps, to yield yet one more view down into the valley in which Ayrlies is nestled.
1 comment:
Ayrlies is one of the finest gardens on the planet-great combination of design and plantsmanship. Bev McConnell, the owner, is a genius.
Andrew Bunting, Scott Arboretum
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