Erle of his domain
Erle Dale is one of life’s go-getters. Since coming to live at Wyndham and districts rest home in Southland six years ago, and with the help of Margaret McKelvie and other local volunteers, the former school principal has turned an unprepossessing corner into a vegetable and herb patch sufficient to keep the residents in homegrown produce for much of the year. Any surplus is sold out on the road, which has funded half of a new tunnel house.
And the 87-year-old is showing no sign of slowing down: as we speak, he’s writing away to a supplier about a heat pad, and plotting to fund a new potting shed and solar-powered fountain.
‘‘When I came here they gave me three raised beds and I grew lots of herbs and a few veges. I had a plan for three different gardens around the section but the powers that be were a bit nervous about the cost,’’ he says.
‘‘So Margaret and I drew some diagrams, put a proposition to the board, and they gave us the worst corner!
‘‘But we’ve turned it into something really worthwhile.’’
They grow the usual staples: carrots, parsnips, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, and ‘Agria’ and ‘Red King’ potatoes (‘‘but they’re going out of fashion’’).
Lots of gooseberries, black and red currants, and he’s recently started propagating cranberry.
Fruit trees – including espaliered apples, pears and quinces – come courtesy of Riverton gardening guru Robert Guyton, propagated from old orchards in the area.
‘‘I’d like to think our garden has put the home on the map. It’s a lovely place and I think it’s the best in Southland, if not the whole of New Zealand,’’ he laughs.
So where does his interest stem from?
‘‘When I was still at high school my father developed heart problems so I took over the family vege garden.
‘‘I’ve always been interested in herbs, and when I lived in Invercargill I grew about 100 different herbs. Things grow well here, we’re not exactly the South Pole! You’ve just got to be careful and watch the frost-tender ones, like pumpkins.’’
This former teacher became the first patron of Southland Boys’ High School, having served many years on the board including seven years as chairman.
He taught in Southland schools for most of his career and his last two positions before retiring in 1988 were as principal at Edendale and then Makarewa schools. He also served as secretary, treasurer and president of the Southland branch of the New Zealand Educational Institute
Given that background it’s little wonder he appreciates that
gardening is a lifelong education.
‘‘I’m an avid reader but I like the fact gardening is therapeutic, you’re using your hands.
‘‘I’ve found the more I learn, the more I realise the less I know. I get onto a species like sunflowers and find there are about 700 varieties of the darn things!’’
A bad fall in his 80s, followed by a back operation, has put a dampener on his physical abilities, but he still gets about with the help of an upright stroller and motorised scooter.
‘‘Margaret is a terrific worker. She does the heavy work but I can still do the weeding and propagating. I’ve put rails in tunnel house to pull myself along and a swivel seat on castors.
‘‘It’s amazing what you can do if you put your mind to it.’’
For her part, Margaret calls Erle ‘‘my mentor, boss and supervisor’’
‘‘We work as a team in the flower and vege gardens. We’ve been working together for three years and started with nothing, so raised all the money and put the call out for donations of plants and materials.’’
The tunnel house is Erle’s domain. He raises the veges from seed and created his own watering system.
Annette Sinclair manages the 23-bed, community-owned facility. The former maternity hospital is now run as a charitable trust for the benefit of locals.
‘‘It was going to be closed down but the community took action and bought it. It’s been very well supported by friends of the home, who provide baking and entertainment, and local businesses.’’
The rest home’s van is sponsored by a vet, and a local horse trainer regularly drops off manure for the compost bins.
So what role does the garden play in the residents’ life?
‘‘It’s just amazing,’’ says
When I came here they gave me three raised beds and I grew lots of herbs and a few veges. I had a plan for three different gardens around the section but the powers that be were a bit nervous about the cost.
Erle Dale, 87
Annette, who has known Erle since the days she worked as a school dental nurse.
‘‘The produce is a massive financial support for the home. Any vegetables go straight to the kitchen, tomatoes are preserved or frozen by staff, as are boxes of fruit donated from locals or Central Otago. It’s therapeutic for families and staff too. It gives them a place to relax, or even just to look at and admire.
‘‘For the ones like Erle, all that planning keeps the mind going. This isn’t a home to be sitting and waiting; this is a home to live in.’’