GOING STRAIGHT
Starting a formal garden is all about “setting the bones” and determinig structure. It’s easier than it looks, says Lynne. The couple created the garden in parts over several years, but Lynne thinks planning out the layout of the garden rooms in one go might have been easier in the long run. “Some things don’t line up perfectly, and it bothers me.” A drone photo or a photo taken at height will give an idea of the space available and will make planning easier, she adds. Many of the rooms in Longfield are hedged with hornbeam. The statues are sourced from antique sales, New Zealand statue-makers and Trade Me. (“I’m always clicking ‘ Buy Now’ when Rob’s not looking.”) Rob has rearranged many things in the garden and even had to move an entire wall, which followed a creek bed. Lynne says it was crooked. He says never think a formal garden has to last forever. “Plants are hardy; if you move them, it probably won’t matter. If something annoys you, just get a digger in and shift it.”
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“I find formal gardens very soothing and satisfying with the clean lines, structure and the symmetry. I think they are easier to maintain than cottage gardens, which can get shabby at the end of the season.
“As long as you keep on top of the lawn, the bones of a formal garden are always there, even in winter when trees lose their leaves.”
Do not mistake Lynne for someone who doesn’t get her hands dirty. A visitor to her garden once made the mistake of jumping to this conclusion.
“Clearly you don’t do the gardening here with those nails,” she said, pointing at Lynne’s acrylic manicure. Lynne quipped (while holding up her hands), “Yes I do. See, look, I’ve lost two nails while weeding.” She’s never far from her pocket-sized tube of nail glue. Lynne and Rob do most of the work in the garden themselves with some help from their vineyard manager, who is also a passionate gardener.
“Lynne comes up with the garden ideas, and I usually say ‘no’,” says Rob.
Adds Lynne: “But I’m very determined, and I wear him down. So, eventually, it happens.”
And then (muttering under her breath), “I think to myself, ‘It looks amazing, but it could have looked amazing five years ago if you’d listened.”
Though the grand vision is Lynne’s, Rob is responsible for trimming the hedges. His wife is guilty of casting a critical glance or two over the straightness of his lines. “I must admit he has a good eye.” Rob might start using a laser to level the hedges in the future after picking up a few tips from landscape designer Paul Bangay while visiting his garden in Melbourne.
“You can slave away on a job all day on the farm, and you can hardly see what you’ve done. But in the garden, it’s easier to see what you’ve achieved,” he says.
Says Lynne: “I also find it very satisfying, and the garden is like a beacon. There’s always someone wanting to visit and take a look around.”