The Kempt Garden
Autumn is for tidying up after summer's party. As we experience less temperate weather the lawns are scattered with dead leaves, flowerbeds straggle with tired annuals and perennials and most plant growth slows as everything begins to hunker down for the onset of cold and winter wetness.
Our own gardens are one thing, but have you considered maintaining NZ Historic Trust gardens that are always open and under the scrutiny of the public eye?
Kerikeri's Mission Station, which includes the year-round open gardens of Kemp House, is presently under the care of an enthusiastic young Kiwi gardener recently home from a four year stint as Head Gardener on the prestigious Badminton Estate in England. Chelsea Neustroski appreciates the need to maintain "the recreation of the gardens based on 1840 plantings retaining as much heritage value as possible."
Chelsea favoured an outdoor career so studied horticulture at Unitec in Auckland then worked a year on a Canadian horticulture farm which grew perennials and cut flowers for markets and she maintained the display gardens. She did a stint in Australia in a nursery on the Sunshine coast and ran a garden centre in Alice Springs.
Her experience working the grounds of a formal but functioning English stately home saw her tending "herbaceous borders for the family and guests to wander around" while being responsible for cut flowers and fruit and vegetables from the home-use kitchen gardens. This differs from Chelsea's present task.
" The Kemp House gardens will be a representation of a period of time and the upkeep and presentation are the key to both very differing gardens," she says.
Though extensive flooding of the Mission station grounds through the years has washed away much of the gardens there are still historically valuable plants on site.
"The pear tree at Kemp House is dated circa 1828. The Rosa Chinesis has been used in original plantings. Plum trees, jacaranda, magnolia and Metrosideros have been attributed to the extended Kemp family plantings dated 1850s - 1974."
And as an avid seed collector and cutting taker, Chelsea recognises the importance of ensuring the preservation of certain plants and while using historically sourced plants and heritage seeds, she will introduce some hybrid plants. Since the grounds are a registered archaeological site there is a stipulation there is to be no digging outside of approved beds.
With the help of volunteers Chelsea says she will maintain a propagation program, replacing lost plants and incorporating the historical notes. A self-guided tour will be introduced "so people can see what we are doing to preserve this significantly important part of New Zealand history".
At a recent annual working bee several volunteer gardeners were able to assist with a major tidy up. Overcrowded bulbs and corms were lifted for sorting, replanting and for sale in the Stone Store. Leaves were raked and meticulous weeding of the front flowerbeds made sure heritage weeds ( Hawkweed) that were used for medicinal purposes in the 1800's were maintained.
Like any garden those at Kemp House are a work in progress and volunteers are always required. Contact Emma Godwin, 09 407 9236.
