The transformation of a Napier tennis court into a flourishing garden makes its owner very happy.

On the site of an old tennis court, this Napier garden is a winning combination of old and new

Jan Chalmers’ garden is a rare find on Napier’s Bluff Hill – a flat, sunken garden the size of a tennis court. The dimensions are no coincidence; Jan created the garden after removing a dilapidated asphalt tennis court soon after she bought the property in 1997. The court was originally part of the neighbouring property owned by Fred Williams, influential businessman and founding partner of stock and station agents Williams & Kettle.

The section was subdivided as a widow’s residence for his wife Kate after Fred died in 1940. Following Kate’s death, Jan’s aunt, and then her mother, owned the property.

The tennis court had fallen into disrepair, becoming a mess of cracks, saplings and ivy, so removing it was the first stage of the garden’s development, a process that unveiled some surprises for Jan. “I didn’t realise there was going to be so much infrastructure underneath the tennis court – the crushed lime bedding was at least a foot deep,” she says.

Although 14 huge trucks of asphalt, rubble and

lime were removed, debris still remains in the soil making digging in the garden hard going.

Jan was initially attracted by the home and income potential of The Coach House, a historic cottage that housed the Williams’ coachman and his horses which sits on the edge of her property.

The opportunity popped up at exactly the right time, just when Jan became an empty nester. “What’s next after being a stay-at-home mum? I really needed a challenge.”

Jan tackled the task in her very hands-on style, taking on the roles of both project manager and builder’s mate during The Coach House conversion. Her vision has transformed it from a basic outbuilding into a successful B&B, with its own secluded garden modelled on an English village green complete with park bench.

During the creation of the garden, Jan drew on her breadth of plant and design knowledge gained during more than 50 years of gardening. Over the years she has worked in her own and other people’s gardens, as well as a friend’s native plant nursery. Jan also had side hustles with her own little hobby nursery and added garden design into the mix after completing a one-year landscape design course in the mid-1990s.

From an early age Jan always knew she would have a garden and is, at heart, a plant woman. “I’ve always enjoyed the botanical aspect of gardening,” she says.

Moving from Masterton to a largely frost-free, elevated coastal site has allowed Jan to grow a wider

range of plants. “I was excited about developing this garden because I knew I could use plants that wouldn’t survive in the Masterton climate like the Dracaena draco [dragon tree], Agave attenuata and rengarenga lilies, and indulge my love of tropical plants like hibiscus, bougainvilleas and palms which look a little messy when the fronds die off but I don’t care, I love them,” says Jan.

Describing the garden as eclectic, Jan says: “It’s not strictly a perennial English cottage-style garden nor is it architectural, but it has elements of both.”

Jan fell in love with English gardens during her travels there and they have influenced her own garden. The deep border running along the gravel path is densely planted with cottage garden flowers including roses, bearded irises, rock lilies, vibernums and day lilies, producing continual waves of colour throughout the seasons.

The tennis pavilion dating from around 1920 is in keeping with the old English feel. When Fred Williams planned the pavilion he realised it wouldn’t fit on his property so his friends and neighbours, Jan’s grandparents, agreed to have most of it built on their land. It straddled the boundary for decades without any complaints, but Jan had it pulled forward to avoid any potential issues for future property owners.

The paved area beyond the pavilion leads on to the lawn which is overlooked by Jan’s childhood neighbour’s house from the adjoining street.

While there won’t be any further development

to the garden Jan says she “still has ideas of how to change things around, to keep tweaking”. Her latest plan is to replace the dianellas that didn’t quite work in a tricky strip alongside the house with Scarlet O’Hara bougainvillea, adding another tumble of tropical colour.

There will be more adjustments – tired plants will make way for fresh ones and new issues will undoubtedly arise as the garden continues to evolve. Whatever problems pop up along the way Jan will overcome each new challenge with dedication and passion – she simply doesn’t know any other way.

THESE PAGES The red-berried Idesia polycarpa, puka trees (Meryta sinclairii), flaxes, rosemary and thyme create a seamless blend of classic European and bold New Zealand plantings with a touch of tropical lushness in Jan Chalmers’ Napier garden; the orange flowers are gazanias.

THESE PAGES (from left) Keeping the plants under control is almost a full-time job: “There’s always a lot of cutting back to do, I would have a jungle in next to no time if I didn’t keep on top of it,” says Jan. She has created a flourishing garden by slowly building up the small amount of good topsoil left after the tennis court excavation with compost and her magic ingredient – sheep manure her supplier gathers from underneath woolsheds.

THESE PAGES (from left) The dragon tree (Dracaena draco) adds height, takes up minimal space and casts light shade over the underplanted bearded irises – one of Jan’s spring highlights. A couple of years ago Jan replaced some of the beds with paving: “It was way too busy, the paving adds a calmness to the garden,” she says; Scleranthus biflorus ground cover grows next to Hebe ‘Emerald Gem’ in the small pot with Euphorbia wulfenii, miniature toetoe and tractor seat plant (Ligularia reniformis) in the background.

THESE PAGES The view from the tennis pavilion – the paved area where form and foliage dominate over colour, featuring a windswept Hollywood juniper surrounded by swaying grasses, spiky aloes, and potted succulents.

THIS PAGE (from top) “I chose Cyprus gracsilius because I thought they were going to be long and slender, but they turned out to be great chunky things that went skyward and the branches fall out in the wet,” Jan says; despite their shortcomings Jan has become fond of them for their structural elements and as handy leaning posts. Jan loves colour and has a relaxed attitude to combinations preferring to plant whatever captures her interest because she says “there are no clashes in nature.” OPPOSITE When Jan moved the pavilion she replaced some of the back wall with trellis to allow more light into the garden and added decorative wood detailing to the facade.

THIS PAGE A shady corner of the garden features a red-berried Idesia polycarpa tree; a puka at the right is underplanted with strappyleaved Astelia chathamica.