Katie C's
Mt Maunganui
08 May 2014
On a lovely autumn day we gathered at Katie C’s new home to marvel at the joy of a blank canvas. Those of us renovating someone else’s garden to make it our own could see how wonderful it must be to just assess a plot of dirt and map out exactly where you want to plant. The house is exquisite – it’s such a lovely home.
The 6.5x5.5m magnesium filter pool is a major feature of the back yard, and the moat around it has gifted Katie a patch of garden in which she plans to create her more high-maintenance garden. To satisfy council pool regulations, she is not allowed to plant anything which grows higher than 1.2m and it must be a soft plant (no trunk or hardwood on which a child could get a footing). It’ll be in this garden that Katie will potter away in the gorgeousness of cottage perennials on a sunny day while the kids are in the pool. Around the perimeter of the section, she’s planting a screen of pleached olive trees which she will underplant with something (suggestions welcome!). In a raised redwood garden-bed on the deck, she will plant an ornamental pear and create four mini-gardens mixing ornamentals with edibles. 
At the front of the property, a striking fence has been built using 110 sleepers stacked horizontally. Inside the gate is a courtyard where she will sit raised rectangular vege beds. Around the courtyard she plans to plant miniature feijoas and lomandra.It was such a lovely visit (great smoothies) and wonderful to see the garden in its blank canvas state. It’ll be fascinating to watch as Katie’s vision for it takes shape.
Keri
