Are NZ gardens too samey?

Not long back from a garden festival in the North Island. Saw some great gardens created by some amazing gardeners but came away puzzled. I had seen the same exotic plants, same plantings, same designs over and over. To the point I got fed up and sent myself off to sit in an arboretum for some quiet time. So why? Other people seem perfectly happy with the way things are done and perfectly content in their gardens. But not me…

I’m not criticising people’s aesthetic or sense of pride and purpose. Who am I to judge others? However I take it as a challenge to design gardens that are a bit different. Gardens that make clients go “I never would have thought of that.”

Recently designed installed a garden in Wellington where we knocked out an oppressive mixed hedge and replaced it with six Granny Smith apple trees and an alyssum, Iberis and acaena under-storey. Six apple trees??? One of the clients loves pruning fruit trees, the other loves stewing and preserving with a group of friends. So they can handle the volume with overflow to the local Foodbank if required.

I suppose it’s natural to follow the lead of others but growing your knowledge of plants and how they work in guilds (a group of plant ‘friends’ who work well together) and different conditions can really help create a garden that is that little bit different. A little bit more ‘you’.