A surprise package in Taranaki: classic cars, an American-style diner and a palm-studded garden.
Classic cars and an American diner look right at home in this palm-studded garden
Alove of American cars, tropical resorts and bush-clad countryside have collided to create a home and garden of many parts on the outskirts of New Plymouth. Sitting at the kitchen bench in their Richard Furzedesigned home, John and Diane Rae gaze through huge windows to views of a steep tree-filled valley backed by a flourishing stand of QEII Trust protected bush.
Other windows frame palms, bromeliads, cycads, tractor seat ligularia, mondo grass and other plants that are usually seen in more balmy locales.
The couple originally lived two doors down but decided they needed more space. “We wanted a home where we could have more of the toys with us,” says John.
The “toys” are the classic cars John loves. He’s such an enthusiast that he started the Americarna festival in 2007, which attracts 750-plus American cars to Taranaki each year.
John and Diane own seven classic cars, which are parked in garages flanking an American diner-style entertainment area that looks like a burger joint straight out of 1950s California. >
Just three days after taking possession of the property in 2013, they had the original house cut in half, removed and the section levelled. “We saved a couple of trees and started with a clean sheet of paper,” John says.
First, they built the diner, which includes a second-storey accommodation now run as a B&B, and they lived there while the house was built. “By the end, we were sick of red,” says Diane.
The diner, all decked out in red, white and black, features LED strip lighting, a jukebox, two couches made from the back ends of 1957 Chevrolets, retro boomerang-design Formica and their beloved margarita-making machine. It’s just right for entertaining, and they love the fact that they can shut the door on the mess and head back to their spotless home, its minimalist style a quiet contrast to the colour of the American paraphernalia-filled diner and garages.
They love what they have created, but the road to completion had a few bumps.
“Building this house was the worst experience of my life because John and I have different tastes,” Diane says. “He does things at 100 miles an hour and I like to take my time.”
One thing they agree on is how much they enjoy the surrounding landscape. “I love having the space around me,” Diane says. “I love the bush and I love being able to go down in the valley and muck around down there.” >
Diane, who grew up in the country, enjoys putting on her gumboots and heading into their park-like valley, which is dotted with deciduous trees and sheep. Often when Diane gardens, her pet sheep Patsy keeps her company.
“The bush and the valley aren’t just for us, it’s for everyone,” says John. “We get amazing comments from people, saying how nice it is to look into the valley and for the kids to see spring lambs.”
In contrast to the free-flow feel of the valley and bush, the gardens around the house are formal and tropical.
Landscape designer Michael Mansvelt created the resort-like garden, which reminds John and Diane of happy holidays in Fiji.
“Initially, I was a little bit horrified,” says Michael, “because there was a beautiful garden where the house is. We had to take out a lot of trees. Once I saw the house plans and realised they were committed to replanting, it was quite exciting.
“This house is so modern we had to go for a disciplined plant palette. It really suits them. John and Diane like everything tidy and neat, and most of the plants are really great performers.”
Among the stars are the Washingtonia robusta palms, which stand tall behind a roadside concrete block fence. They are underplanted with 150 orange clivias and green mondo grass.
On the western side of the house a lilly pilly hedge is bordered by irises, and Manchurian pear trees are lined up amid concrete squares bristling with green mondo grass.
Beyond the living room and kitchen is a beaming bed of yellow gazanias. “When they were first put in, on a bright day you looked out from the kitchen and they just about blinded you,” Diane says.
Stone is also prominent in this garden. “There are around 200 tonnes of large rock retaining walls,” John says. He’s not keen on the look of gardens topped up with bark or mulch, so the soil between plants in the tropical garden is covered with 33 cubic metres of grey Rangitikei river stone.
This is a garden of contrasts, and the couple are a happy blend of opposites that makes them an ideal team. Diane is a private person, who likes the tranquillity of her role as chief gardener. John is a public figure, who gets away from it all by doing the edges, lawns and massive clean-outs in the valley.
For both, this is their haven, where they fly the flag for the Americarna festival, enjoy their shiny toys and relax looking out at their peaceful bush-clad valley.