360 SPECTACULAR: A COASTAL HAVEN
Simon O’Connor, Aaron Wood and Helen Harvey explore Coast Haven, one of Taranaki’s most spectacular gardens. We invite you to tag along.
Claire Baker doesn’t paint pictures on a canvas. Her artwork is her garden.
‘‘I call it a type of art. I treat my garden as an art form.’’
People ask her how she does it and she tells them she can visualise where things should go and what the colours would look like.
‘‘I prefer brighter colours.’’ From the front, the property Baker shares with husband Paddy looks like a picture. The house, which is more than 100 years old, is the perfect backdrop. Add in the circular driveway and stonework and the scene is set.
In the centre of the driveway Baker has irises, and silver spear flax, which a lot of people don’t like, she says.
People always ask her why it’s there - but the answer is simple. She likes it.
Walking to the right of the house, past a colourful bath that is always a popular seat with visitors, a narrow path winds through greenery and some ‘surprises’, Baker says.
The brightly coloured clivias will probably be gone by the time the Powerco Taranaki Garden Spectacular rolls around, but alstroemerias will be in flower, as will the bromeliads.
‘‘The aristeas will be out in flower with big blue spires, they’ll be pretty. Acanthus mollis - that shoots up. I’ve got a yellow and a green one.’’
There are things in flower at different times of the year, she says. So, it never gets boring.
‘‘By the festival I’m expecting there to be a lot more colour, which is good. That’s how I like it and that’s how I planned it.’’
This is the second year Baker has shown her garden in the festival, after a break of 20 years. ’’My garden was different then more cottagy.’’
In the weeks leading up to the garden festival Baker is out working on her artwork three or four days a week, weather permitting.
‘‘Probably four hours a day two in the morning and two in the afternoon - until my back gets numb or it’s wine o’clock. I get out there and lose all sense of time. Then I start fading and think what is the time? I come in and think ‘oh it’s afternoon tea time not lunchtime’.’’
Along the side of the house the path winds around to the back where the vista is quite ‘‘cottagy.’’
‘‘I’ve put in more flowers. I had mostly day lilies in there and flaxes. But I thought that’s a bit boring. Now I’ve got heaps of stuff in there - lupins, echiums, poppies, felicias ... so there’s a lot of colour.’’
When the Bakers moved into their house 37 years ago the garden consisted of a timber fence, a monkey puzzle tree and a small norfolk pine.
The house sits across the road from the sea, so is quite exposed.
Baker planted a few trees, including pohutakawa, to create some shelter, she says.
‘‘I had to learn what I could
Claire Baker is out working on her artwork three or four days a week. ‘‘Probably four hours a day - two in the morning and two in the afternoon - until my back gets numb or it’s wine o’clock. I get out there and lose all sense of time. Then I start fading and think what is the time? I come in and think ‘oh it’s afternoon tea time not lunchtime’.’’
plant. At first it was mostly silver leafed plants, flaxes, and anything with a shiny leaf is good. But once you’ve got your shelter in you can give other things a go. It gets really hot and dry here too, but I’ve got pretty good soil, sandy loam soil. Things do grow.’’
The path from the back goes along the side of the house through a tropical garden.
Come round a bit further and there are federation daisies, chatham island forget-me-not’s ‘‘they will be beautiful’’ -and knipofias.
There are lots of twists and turns and little paths going to the side. Rugosa roses, miniature hydrangeas and small day lilies give blasts of colour and a ‘‘window’’ in between the trees provides an ever changing sea view.
A driftwood Christmas tree made by Baker’s grandchildren blends beautifully into the garden.
Another path leads to a tropical area the grandchildren call the secret garden and from there the trail leads to the street. Across the road, right by the sea, Baker has created a beautiful spot with gazania, arctotis and osteospermum. And there is a seat to sit and relax and enjoy the view.
The sea comes through and takes out her garden, she says.
‘‘The salt gets it and it dies away, but then it comes back.’’