‘Relocation garden’ takes root

Jo Steel reckons people couldn’t concentrate on their gardens during their earthquake repairs and rebuilds.

Which is understandable. They needed roofs over their heads, money was tight, and insurance claims complex.

But Steel, a keen gardener, managed to grow a rebuild garden in an unusual way.

‘‘I got my plants from friends and family whose houses were being demolished,’’ she said. ‘‘They had no room, and couldn’t bear to see their [gardens] being [crushed] by bulldozers and trucks and things.’’

She calls it a ‘‘relocation garden’’, adding: ‘‘I’m very grateful.’’

It didn’t happen overnight or according to a landscaping plan, but evolved as the other properties were scheduled for repairs and rebuilds.

Among the relocated plants was a buxus hedge that’s now about 30m long and looking fresh and happy.

Some rhododendron were relocated from Steel’s front garden, while a Portuguese laurel came from the Elmwood Tennis Club, where she and partner Phil Wright are keen players.

The couple lost their Strowan home in the quakes, and wound up buying a section in Fendalton that was once part of a grand mansion called Daresbury House.

Steel set out to transform the woodland garden with many roses into a backyard that suited their contemporary new home.

Some large protected poplars in the front had to come down because they were old and diseased. They were replaced with variegated elms, suggested by the city council, but in the back.

And in came the relocated plants from friends and family. Steel thinks about these folks when pruning and feeding.

She likes the solitude of gardening, saying it brings on mindfulness. ‘‘It’s her happy place,’’ said Wright. The couple also have garden art collected from various sources.

Steel likes going on house tours, and has seen many beautiful new homes, often with new, unestablished gardens. ‘‘Good gardens take a long time,’’ she said.

Her garden, however, feels established even though it’s eight years old, and even in winter.

She wishes that more plants and trees had been recycled during the rebuild – just as too many building materials were sent to landfill, too many living things were wasted.