NZ Gardener editor Jo McCarroll let prospects and future residents of Ryman’s yet to be built Rolleston village know there is plenty of pleasure to be had in a smaller garden if they are looking to downsize into a retirement village home.
Attendees of Jo’s recent talk, at Te Ara Ātea Library, in Rolleston, heard plenty of tips and tricks about gardening in small spaces and how to keep outdoor spaces cohesive and attractive as you downsize.
One good rule is that, in a small space, a gardener needs to focus on making everything -- plants, hard landscaping and more -- do ‘double duty’, she told the group.
For example, you might provide a plant that provides both privacy and as well shade. Or if you are looking for a hedging plant, look for one that also supports pollinators, such as bees. “Everything should do two things – that’s your plants, and your hard landscaping. So your seating should be storage and if you’re capping a raised bed, make it at a height you can sit on so it becomes seating,” Jo says.
“That just means everything is working pretty hard for you.”
The audience picked up on the advice, but also proved knowledgeable themselves, Jo says.
Last year Ryman announced plans for a new $205 million village in the fast-growing town, located to the south of Christchurch. Jo says it was pleasing to see a good turnout of locals for the event including a local garden club group. “I was very pleased to meet lots of people who were obviously very keen and knowledgeable gardeners,” she says.
“So, there were lots of questions... which is not surprising as it’s a region with a lot of amazing gardens.”
The new village, adjacent to Rolleston’s Faringdon development will one day be home to more than 280 residents. The 9.5-hectare site is on Goulds Road will service the growing retirement population to the south of Christchurch and mid-Canterbury.
Jo, who has edited New Zealand's most popular gardening magazine for nearly 15 years, often speaks publicly about her gardening. She says her own garden in the Auckland suburb of Mt Albert is "a work in progress!", but it does provide her much pleasure as well as an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables.
She told the Rolleston audience that indoor plants can really bring a room and home to life, and are a great way to bring the outdoors in when you have smaller garden spaces. “I think it’s always good to have plants in your homes. Plus if you pick up some of the colours from the plants inside, even some of the plant choices, and repeat them in your garden, it can really help your inside space flow into your outside space. It blurs the boundaries of where the edges are which can help small spaces seem bigger.”
Jo says she had plenty of early inspiration as a gardener, particularly from her mother and grandmothers. “I’m lucky enough to be from Christchurch, so it was great to be in Rolleston and was back here in my turangawaewae. My Mum is a great gardener and my grandmothers were both great gardeners, so it’s very much in the blood.
“When I was a kid in Christchurch we had fantastic roses. It’s a wonderful climate for roses with a good cold winter. We had an incredible peach tree which I remember climbing and falling out of on numerous occasions,” she says.
One of her grandmothers farmed in Central Otago, and Jo remembers that she grew a ‘Peace’ rose -- yellow with a pink edge to the petals. The 'Peace' rose was released in 1945 and christened to commemorate the end of World War II. “So, I definitely grew up in a family that was very keen on gardens and plants,” Jo says.
“I doubt whether, even now, I know more than my mother and grandmother did.”
Ryman’s Rolleston village will offer townhouses and serviced apartments along with a care centre offering resthome, hospital and dementia care.
