Dad’s legacy becomes a living landscape gift
When Elizabeth Mazey moved to Nelson from Christchurch she wanted her new home to have a view and she resigned herself to putting up with the practically bare clay hillside that came with it.
She and husband Pete Mazey’s new home in the suburb Enner Glynn has expansive views of Tasman Bay but the grounds were far from being a feature.
Gardening, which Elizabeth had loved at her previous home, a renovated 1922 Christchurch villa, became a dreaded chore. ‘‘[It] was no longer a favourite pastime but sheer hard labour. Pete and I had always loved gardening but not on the soil this has.’’
It wasn’t until Elizabeth’s father died suddenly, and she came into some money, that she could tackle the section that was bringing her down. ‘‘His legacy became a living gift,’’ she says.
The plan for a Roman garden evolved from Elizabeth’s lifelong fascination with early Roman architecture and civilisation. ‘‘My garden was to feature pillars, statues, water urns, mosaic tables with black wrought iron chairs, paved edges and in-filled with Tasman gold pebbles.’’ She used a simplified design with lots of repeat patterns.
She says it is ‘‘more controlled’’ and has less colour than her old garden but she believes multiple rows of the same plant ‘‘looks better than a lot of little things’’ in a large space.
She and Pete took out ‘‘big beautiful rhododendrons’’ and got started.
Planting includes camellia hedges, topiary feijoas and lemons, iceberg standard roses, grosso lavender, buxus, wedding day trees, sculptural cyprus and bay laurels. Tractor seat plants (Ligularia reniformis) are dotted here and there, and a blueberry hedge is underplanted with strawberries. At its end is a rented beehive, which returns them 10kg of honey a year and which the grandchildren love seeing processed.
One of the few natives in the garden is a pohutukawa.
Elizabeth, a Medlab courier driver, and Pete, a truck driver, spend about two full days a week working on the garden, and have recently hired someone to help with pruning.
‘‘Pete does the lawn and the heavy work. We both hold the ladders and use the trimmers,’’ Elizabeth says.
Some days in the garden, her step counter tells her she has taken 24,000 steps, the equivalent of about 19km.
She says her dad ‘‘would have been amazed and thrilled with the outcome’’.
‘‘I believe he knew his gift would be wisely used and bring joy to many. His garden has been a saviour to me and many who have stopped a while.’’
Elizabeth says the garden is still evolving. Yet to be added are a final retaining wall along the back boundary (with a hedge of bay laurel above), a stone pathway at the highest point of the garden, with a seat or other feature.
The couple say they have created a garden that is reasonably low maintenance. ‘‘Annual spreading of compost forest floor makes life easy,’’ Elizabeth says. ‘‘This allows us time to sit and enjoy a coffee with home baking.’’
They are ‘‘pretty rapt’’ with the landscaping outcome.
‘‘Our garden is now an enjoyable labour of love, the personal satisfaction is reward enough, watching the seasons pass, and knowing in our golden years we can enjoy the fruits of our labour.’’
They are opening the garden to a tour for charity Nelson Tasman Hospice on November 20, which Elizabeth says was an easy decision for the couple who feel good about sharing what they have created.