The Garden

by Athol McLaggan, Landscape Gardener

Athol is a regular visitor to Camphine and had this to say...

The garden at Camphinie is 4 000m2 in size and has a public road on the north and east boundaries and is beautifully connected to the surrounding pasture on the southern and western boundary. The property slopes steeply from the north to the south and when the house was built, a wide cutting was made from the entrance gate down to the house to ensure a car could drive down to the house from the road. The two resulting banks were clad with dry pack local stone, but will need to be restored as they have been badly affected by trees that have self seeded into the bank and slowly loosened the stone. It is therefore not a good idea to let children play on these banks as the rocks are not very stable.

The house sits towards the bottom third of the property and the renovation in 2007/08 resulted in a patio been built on the western side to take advantage of the spectacular view. In summer during very hot weather this patio can be hot and so the entrance area patio is totally wonderful to use on very hot afternoons. As you enter the property you drive down a track driveway with a bank on your left and a glimpse of the upper section of meadow garden. Originally the whole area on the left side of the drive was mown but the idea is to allow this to become a beautiful meadow and allow the native and endemic annuals, bulbs and perennials to establish themselves. Like all meadows this will need to be properly managed by not mowing until after the summer solstice so that seed can be set and dropped, ready for the next years show. To visit Camphinie in late Spring and early Summer (middle of May to the middle of June) sees the meadow at its absolute best. A narrow circular path is mown around the whole property to allow visitors to walk around the garden and identify plants, insects and birds. Towards the end of July the meadow will be mown and maintenance work of trees and shrubs can be carried out. The second bank has a very old boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) hedge growing on top of it. Buxus is native to the area and this hedge was very overgrown and cut back severely during the summer of 2008. The idea is to keep it as a soft informal hedge and act as a visual barrier to stop people from driving over the edge of the bank. Towards the top end of this bank is a beautiful Rosa rugosa which has violet coloured flowers.

 There are three groups of trees along the driveway.  At the top end there is a grouping of deciduous trees, a large solitary tree guards the middle area and a Cedar sits on top of the bank close to the house. Although this tree does drop sap in the summer and is not the prettiest of trees it was of great sentimental value to the Delsahut family, who were the previous owners, and who owned the house since its inception in or about c1860. It also provides a good place to take an afternoon nap, play some croquet or spread a blanket and read a book. If the tree is spitting sap it is not a good idea to park a car under it.

The back garden is also banked and three simple terraces have been created to allow people to sit, sleep and look at the view. The soil level in this area is extremely shallow and what soil there is very rocky and well drained. This part of the garden is also very exposed to the elements. It gets hot in summer and the very cold winters mean that only the toughest of plants will grow. Again the area has simply been allowed to be taken over by the local meadow plants and it is hoped that the endemic beech, oak and boxwood trees and shrubs will colonise these banks and make the banks look as if they are part of the local landscape. Take a walk through the valley forest to get an idea of how these trees will grow.

Roses, a vine and star jasmine have been planted around the patio to climb over the metal pergola and rosemary forms a loose hedge on the top side of the patio. A lovely beech tree (Fagus sylvatica) is the dominant tree against the boundary on the second terrace and creates welcome shade in the summer. The idea along the two boundaries that connect with the pastures is not to plant anything along these fences as part of the charm of the garden is the way it connects beautifully with its surroundings, any attempt to create a landscaped look would simply be inappropriate.  

The large retaining wall below the patio will be planted up with Boston Ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata) and a simple staircase will connect the top and middle terrace.

There is a garden file in the house and guests are welcome to make notes, add ideas, identify plants, insects and birds and keep a record of what is flowering each month. What is most important is to understand that the idea of the garden is to keep it as simple as possible with a very naturalistic feel. We hope you enjoy it. Athol May 2009