A diminutive Wanaka cottage
My favourite space Pewter, plaster and an old set of skis set the style in a rustic goldminer’s cottage.
From the front doormat, Baz and Kate Hastings’ visitors can comfortably absorb a full house tour without craning their necks. Baz delights in offering first-time guests a guided commentary as they enter the couple’s historic, one-room Otago holiday home.
‘‘This is the grand entranceway,’’ he says, ‘‘on your right, the master bedroom. To your left, the front parlour.’’
Known as Galvin’s Cottage, the rammed earth dwelling was built around 1862 and originally inhabited by an Irish immigrant and his family.
When the Hastings initially visited the property, the day was miserable and foggy and the house was bitterly cold and reeked of mouse droppings. ‘‘How we had the courage to buy it I’ll never know, because you’d have to be mad,’’ Kate says. Out of kilter exterior walls had cracked and plaster was crumbling in places.
Waiheke architect friend Paul Mcintosh drew up plans to bring the bathroom indoors and added a small boot bay, but otherwise, the originally 26sq m domain has stood as-is for almost 160 years.
Heritage New Zealand saluted the Hastings’ desire to restore and sensitively renovate the building, providing sound advice on building materials and helping to enlist skilled craftsman.
The little cottage takes openplan living to the extreme - which only increases the cosy-factor: the so-called dining room is actually a built-in, two-person wooden table that separates the tiny living area from the diminutive lean-to kitchen.
Did you have a vision for this space?
Galvin’s Cottage is minuscule and the living area is really one end of what is pretty much a one-roomed house. We were governed by the position of the existing fireplace and everything else needed to fit in around that.
What are the key features of this space?
The Macrocarpa ceiling and flooring throughout were installed about 20 years ago by a previous owner.
The replastered walls are coated with a particular type of English lime wash mix, which Baz tracked down.
How would you describe your decorating style?
We wanted a rustic, mountainstyle look, with a cosy feel (a great contrast to our home on Waiheke Island, which is very much a beach cottage).
Furniture and decor are either old or rustic (or both) and colours are all natural tones with plenty of texture. Nothing white in sight!
How have you decorated this space?
We found a loose-covered sofa in a textured fabric which is almost like a sacking material, which was perfect, and with the addition of a few antique pewter pieces, an old pair of wooden skis, hessian light shades, textured-linen lamp shades on old soda syphon or wooden bases, it all came together.
We have a lovely collection of paintings inherited from my grandparents which are mainly rural/mountain landscapes and they sit perfectly.
Do you have a tip for other decorators?
Never skimp. In the long run we believe you are better off to do it once and do it right.
What do you like best about this space?
The cosiness. And it’s amazing how many people we’ve squeezed in here!
Make a handy coffee sack carrier bag
Cafes often give away coffee sacks free, or for a small donation, and they have all sorts of uses in the garden. The pictured carrier is just the right size to lay on the ground to catch pruning clippings and it works well as a boot liner too. To make a carrier, unpick the string from the side seams of a coffee sack. (Don’t throw away the string – it’s perfect garden twine.) Pick a sack that has a seam down one side and across the bottom so you end up with a square piece of hessian. Sow sturdy ribbon webbing (buy from Spotlight) around the sides to form carry loops at the corners and strengthen the edges. Sacks are also ideal for storing autumn leaves while they rot down. They are prettier than black garbage bags and come with their own ventilation. I tried growing potatoes in sacks but found they dried out too quickly. Instead I use sacks to disguise grow bags of potting mix and ugly plastic pots.
Divide primroses, polyanthus
The four Ps. Along with pansies, primulas, primroses and polyanthus are reliable for cheerful flowers through winter. There can be some confusion with the names, however, as polyanthus, primula and primrose are often used interchangeably. That’s understandable because primroses and polyanthus are both members of the primula genus which has around 400 species. The name primula comes from the Latin primus or first as they are among the first of the spring flowers. Primroses (Primula vulgaris) have clusters of flowers on erect stems arising from a rosette of basal leaves. Flowers can be single or grouped together as an umbel on a single stem. They are often yellow but have been bred in many other colours. Polyanthus, meaning many flowers, have larger clusters of flowers held above the leaves on sturdy stems. They are hybrids of the cowslip (Primula veris) and the common primrose (Primula vulgaris). Polyanthus have been extensively hybridised and come in a wide range of often multicoloured petals. There are also auriculas (Primula auricula), the subject of much interbreeding for display by Florists Societies during the 18th and 19th centuries. These perennials should not be confused with Primula malacoides, aka fairy primrose, which is a winter and spring flowering annual. The flowers look more delicate and the stems are much taller (to 30cm). When it comes to bedding plants, more is more! A generous patch looks better than a sparse sprinkle dotted about. Luckily it’s easy to bulk up your stock of plants. Over a season, primroses and polyanthus grow into clumps of easily divided plantlets called crowns. Dig up each plant, shake or wash off excess soil and tease the roots of each crown apart. Trim off any woody or dead bits and replant. Keep moist until they are established. Feed with dried blood or tomato fertiliser when buds start to form. It’s getting a bit late in the season but in warm areas there’s still time to start Primula malacoides, pansies and their mini relatives – violas –from seed in trays. Seedlings are also available in punnets or as potted colour from garden centres.
When to lift, move daffodils
Daffodils don’t need to be lifted and stored every year but if they look like they’re crowded, then it’s time to give them a bit more elbow room. Ideally, move them before they start to sprout as they will be easier to handle. Dig up the whole clump with a fork. Shake or rinse off excess soil. Daffodils with 1-2cm roots need to be gently teased apart. Refresh the soil with compost and bulb fertiliser and replant a few in the original spot. The rest can be given away or replanted elsewhere in the garden or in pots. The smallest baby bulbs are unlikely to flower this spring. I planted mine separately in a large shallow tub to grow on for a year before finding them a new home in my garden.
Rejuvenate your rhubarb
After four or five years, rhubarb clumps get crowded and form smaller leaves with thin stems. Clear away most of the leaves, then chop the clump into 2-3 pieces with several buds and as much root as possible. Bigger chunks will establish faster. The new plants are going to be in the same place for years so it’s worth giving them a good start with the rich nutrients they require. Dig a big hole and half fill with compost and fertiliser. Old books talk about using a 45cm layer of manure and handfuls of woodash. Neither of these are easy to come by in the city so I make do with compost plus half a bucket of sheep pellets and a handful of Nitrophoska. Let new plants grow for a year before picking from them.
Grow orchids outdoors
Cymbidiums might look fragile but they are easy to grow in the garden, either in pots or the ground. To get a good display, stake each stem. Plastic clips are available from garden centres. Each spike lasts for a couple of months. Feed with high nitrogen food in spring and early summer for fast growth. Change to a high potash food from summer to winter for flower formation. Watch out for snails! – Barbara Smith