Auckland private paradise
His is a garden that has seen various incarnations over two decades, and finally, Craig Steiner is ready to share his secluded and sheltered Auckland gem.
In this sheltered haven, it’s hard to remember you’re still in the city.
“I try to keep it pretty simple too. I’m busy and when I get home, I need calmness.”
Craig Steiner has been working on his sheltered and secluded garden in the central Auckland suburb of Mount Eden for a quarter of a century, and this year, the general public will finally have a chance to appreciate its captivating, thoughtful beauty. Over the years, Craig has laboured and planted, tended and pruned – using hard materials where necessary and appropriate – to create a contemplative reserve around the updated villa. The experienced landscaper grew up in Rotorua. He recalls that as a teenager, he was always in the garden “helping Mum”, and that ignited his passion for landscaping. He went on to help friends with their gardens on weekends, then gained enough confidence to “pester” local nurseries into giving him part-time jobs. Finally, he moved to Auckland for the bigger scope of professional opportunities available, and though he has been involved in the design and construction of many residential landscapes in New Zealand’s biggest city, he had never been tempted to share his private space – until now.
“Well, it was just so beautiful here last summer,” he recalls his change of heart with a smile as we stand on the main terrace on the uppermost deck of the garden, gazing down at the lawn below, “and I guess they caught me on a good day.”
“They” are the organisers of this year’s Auckland Garden Design Festival and though this is the first time his personal garden will feature in the festival, Craig’s company, Strass Landscape Developers, has been involved in the development of several gardens previously featured in the festival. And now that he has finally thrown his hat into the ring, he seems determined to embrace the experience with a large dose of positivity. “I think I’m also finally at a point where I’m less worried about what people will think of it.”
Craig explains that he has “hashed and rehashed” the garden numerous times over the years to fit the requirements of his growing family. His two sons with his wife Fiona Fox are fully grown now (trampoline begone!) and as the garden has aged over the years, Craig is rightfully proud of the way all the shrubs, hedges and trees have grown pretty much according to his vision for the space – with regular maintenance and help from his right hand Mark Oldham.
Everything that photosynthesises in this private paradise – except for a large t¯otara by the entrance gate and a similar-sized p¯uriri in the lawn garden – was planted by Craig. He had basically cleared the overgrowth, dealt to the poor clay soil, installed irrigation and started afresh.
“I wanted it to be right,” he says, making it sound simple and straightforward, but as every gardener who walks into this space will immediately intuit, much labour, time and love have gone into its creation. (Blessedly, Fiona has absolutely zero interest in gardening – though of course she loves the garden – and specified only where the washing line should be.)
“I try to keep it pretty simple too,” he adds. “I’m busy
The simplicity belies the careful and circumspect approach of a confident gardener who knows exactly how to extract value from each choice of placement and position.
and when I get home, I need calmness. I enjoy the complexity in the layers and textures, and the plant palette, but at the same time, I can leave it all, knowing they will look good and I don’t feel like I have to work at it here all the time.”
Yet, the simplicity belies the careful and circumspect approach of a confident gardener who knows exactly how to extract value from each choice of placement and position: on the gravel path beside the house, a slowgrowing, mid-sized Gleditsia triacanthos ‘Sun Burst’ sits behind a large, voluptuous black pot, poised to perfectly contrast the ebony gleam with its golden foliage; the picturesque camellia outside a window, assuredly pruned to look pretty without blocking the light; in the shade of the t¯otara at the entrance, the pair of Portuguese laurel ( Prunus lusitanica) sentries clipped to form an arch over the understated, stylised koru gate; the ‘Dublin Bay’ rose climber against the house; and you don’t even miss the small leaves of the Boston ivy ( Parthenocissus tricuspidata ‘Veitchii’) because you can’t help but notice how, on this cloudy day in early spring, their bare vines embrace the outdoor fireplace so artfully.
The main terrace is a study in Craig’s use of layers and soft structures. Here, visitors taking in the restful pond cannot help but admire the Pyracantha ‘Brilliant’ espaliered against a weatherboard wall. The scene is backed by a perimeter hedge of Waterhousia floribunda, and softly punctuated by Buxus sempervirens balls, Viburnum tinus ‘Eve Price’, super tough Rhaphiolepis ‘Cosmic White’ and Escallonia ‘Apple Blossom’.
On the opposite side of the pond, various understated pots and containers of herbs rest amidst the groundcover of Viola hederacea. Dwarf mondo grass ( Ophiopogon mondo ‘Nana’), and Lomandra ‘Verde’ (more planters) complete the picture.
From here, the interplay of layers and structures flow naturally down towards the main lawn garden where citrus (‘Meyer’ lemon and bearss lime) and conifers ( Podocarpus henkelii standards) as well as a large collection of evergreens, perennials, climbers, assorted bromeliads and shrubs ( Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’ and masses of clivias) provide neverending interest.
Here, as well, low mounding Gardenia jasminoides ‘Veitchii’, camellias, junipers, feijoas on the boundary, a ‘Fuyu’ persimmon, a Calycanthus ‘Hartlage Wine’, several New Zealand native species and more mondo grass varieties live together in perfect harmony.
The Portuguese laurel ( Prunus lusitanica) archway near the entrance gate opens up to this area too – the expansive lawn proves a pleasant surprise and experience as one emerges to it from the relative shelter and shade over the narrow gate with its distinctively original stylised koru design.
“Being confident in manipulating and forming a plant is important. Too many people are afraid to do that.”
With so much to take in, the temptation is to pause at every step, to imbibe the tiny details and admire the view each particular angle presents.
The loose order of underplanted colour and dappled light seems wonderfully inviting – and you wish you could stand here all day admiring how the shapes of the leaves or the forms of sculptures and plants cleverly play off each other to create such an arresting tableau. For example, Craig has taken full advantage of the columnar habit of large-flowered and fragrant Magnolia grandiflora ‘Blanchard’, further trimming and pruning the trio to more fully express this nature, in order to soften the corner of the lawn. “I’ve manipulated them over nine years,” he says.
“Being confident in manipulating and forming a plant is important. Too many people are afraid to do that. They think the garden has to look good all the time, but sometimes, gardens have to look bad when they’re freshly pruned or trimmed or shaped. Yes, you’ll see holes in the hedge and ends of branches on a shrub, but it’s important to do what’s necessary for the longevity of the garden.”
Next to the herb garden, a stepping stone path leads to the gravel pathway on the other side of house. The path guides the visitor to tightly clipped Eugenia ‘Red Eye’ columns and the gleditsia behind the ebony pot, again providing structural contrast to the softer forms of Ligularia reniformis, mondo grasses, assorted hellebores and camellias as well as lily-of-the-valley bush ( Pieris japonica) and the fragrant climber, star jasmine ( Trachelospermum jasminoides).
With so much to take in, the temptation is to pause at every step, to imbibe the tiny details and admire the view each particular angle presents. Indeed, what Craig enjoys most about the flow he has created is the “view shafts and glimpses of something around the corner” he gets from any particular spot in the garden.
It helps, perhaps, that he is blessed with the ability to see the future – well, of sorts. When working on any garden, the creative side of him imagines the day – and the view – when a seedling has matured to its full size or when a shrub has filled out. “I could always see the end result in my mind,” he explains.
In this garden particularly, his vision also included Paradise stone from the Portland boutique quarry near Whangarei, basalt rock walls, Kwila decking and blue stone steps. Space was dug out for the 9000-litre detention tank under the deck (to store stormwater runoff for slow release into the public system) to keep it hidden from view.
And despite his stated aversion to too much after-work “work”, Craig eschews the notion of a low-maintenance garden. “We use those words too freely. I think that in order to enjoy the benefits of your garden, you need to look after it.”
Of course, he thinks of it as “tweaking and improving” – and apparently that is the precise opposite of work. ✤
How to visit: Craig Steiner’s garden is open to the public during the Auckland Garden Design Festival on November 16 and 17. For more information about featured gardens and tickets, visit gardendesignfest.co.nz.