There’s an art to using stone successfully in the garden.
David White
Whether vegetable, foliage or floral, wild or tame, gardens are prone to the whims of fashion, with each decade leaving behind its hallmark plant or combination. Certain plants are so linked to a particular gardening period, they’d make a great pop quiz for garden clubs. For example:
1. Which decade was Nandina domestica clumped proudly amid bark nuggets? Clue: this garden favourite with rainbow-red leaves was often boldly combined with the lime-toned leaf and pink flowers of Coleonema “Sunset Gold”?
2. Name the developer who combines the grey Kaiaua pebble with Yucca elephantipes?
3. Through which period of New Zealand gardening history were garden beds restricted to a maximum of 400mm around the border of a house edge or garden path? Clue: bedding begonias were popularly displayed throughout this period until the mildew got them. Can anyone offer pictorial evidence that they’ve followed all the fads?
Although certain common plants bear the brunt of garden snobbery, their eventual drop from favour is often because they are tried and true plants that any novice gardener can grow with ease. A well-designed garden, approached with a genuine interest in plants and consideration of the site’s characteristics, will stand the test of time in the same way good architecture endures.
Creating a garden that lasts also requires careful selection of the hard materials. We need to consider how a material will age in the environment. Unlike a new sports car, the most enduring materials in the landscape are those that weather freely. Nothing dates quicker than stainless steel that is still shining a decade later, whereas stone covered with moss and lichen signifies endurance. Not only does stone stand up against fashion, but it can also be cut or crafted to create a range of impressions, from the timeless stone walls of Mt Eden to crisp contemporary paved surfaces. Left in its natural form, it can create the foundation for a wild informal garden that looks as though nature has had a say in its design.
David White
The main cost of stone is in moving it, so the closer you are to the source, the more affordable the material and, usually, the more appropriate it is for your site, as it gives a sense of locality that relates to its natural geology. The more you shift it or cut it for shape, the higher the cost.
In its natural form, stone is an affordable way to create a rolling bank that beats the harsh lines of retaining walls, as well as expensive foundation that you don’t even see.
For small retaining walls or low walls, dry stack (laying a stone wall without mortar) is a satisfying though laborious craft that, for the patient handyman, will create an inexpensive feature. Add mortar and the cost begins to climb. Remember, though, that a well-built stone wall will still be there in a hundred years and doesn’t need chemical treatments to see it through. The colours are directly from nature’s palette, so will settle comfortably into a landscape.
Of course, the grey pebble gardens of the 90s are the perfect example of how even stone can be cheapened with poor application. Generally, the best way to endure fashion is to have your own original style that marries nicely with the special chic of Mother Nature.
David White
Stone varies across the country but the cost of freighting it means it tends to remain distinct to its region. In Whangarei, for example, Paradise Quarry’s stone features amazing layered rocks that were once part of the ocean floor and contain fragments of shell and ancient coral. An area of the property is preserved in a trust to ensure these natural limestone forms are protected forever.
Just out of Matamata in the Waikato is the quarry for Hinuera stone, which is naturally a milky-cream colour but which turns rust-red on firing. It is easily cut so can be used to create garden features, such as sculpture or seating, but is equally suitable for paving and formal stone work. I have used the large boulders in landscaping and have been pleased with the results. As the creamy stone weathers, lime-green moss forms through the pits of its surface.
The further south you go, the better the stone gets. I think most would agree that the South Island has the pick of the bunch. Oamaru stone is creamier than Hinuera stone, and their alpine schists vary from speckled and sparkling-sugar whites to dazzled dapple greys.
The pebbles, too, are a point of envy. Northern gardeners have little more than various grades of grey, lime chip or creamy pumice to choose from, whereas southerners have access to pebbles that are like jewels in comparison, with true whites and mottled greens throughout the mixes. I suppose this is unsurprising given this is the home of the finest pounamu. A good range can be sourced from Weststone.
Flecks of colour in stone should be used with discrimination because in the wrong context they can suggest an artificial appearance. Just as with jewels, less is more. The vitality of the colour is revealed beneath water and it is here its real qualities can be exploited in a design.
David White
When working with even the plainest stone, restraint is still important. As a starting point, only one type should be used throughout a garden, even if the stone is used for different applications, such as paving or walls, or left in its natural form. Other varieties of rock should be added cautiously, as it is possible for rock to clash with rock, and badly! It is less likely that a rock would clash with a plant.
A few boulders scattered through a garden can add marvellous depth overall, but the ongoing popularity of stone has to be that it sits with so many different garden styles, whether they include an ambling path through flowerbeds, boulders in a subtropical jungle, or honed basalt paving in a modern courtyard.
As for the pub quiz answers: 1. Late 70s-80s. Fans of Nandina domestica will be pleased to know a new plummy variety, aptly called “Plum passion”, has just been released and I’m picking a comeback. 2. If we knew his name, he’d also be fixing up the leaky homes that go hand in hand with this popular look. 3. By the 40s, this tradition was well-established and it wasn’t until the liberation of husbands in the 70s that a greater area of lawn was allowed to be turned to garden, leaving man time for other weekend joys (such as weeding the ever-expanding garden).