Added Value: Cox's Bay

2A KINGSLEY STREET, COXS BAY. 

The dark, green garden "was not pleasing to the eye." 

Amanda Elvin and Shirley Johnson took a leap of faith when they decided to put the revamp of their garden in the hands of a designer about four years ago. 

They didn't totally jump in the deep end, though, as the garden designer they chose was Xanthe White, who is putting together the New Zealand entry at this year's prestigious Chelsea Flower Show in England. "The only thing I said to her was that I wanted colourful foliage, and that I loved natives," says Amanda. 

"I'd seen things she'd done for other people and I liked what she had done. I've gardened a fair bit myself so it was interesting to see what someone else would come up with." 

What Xanthe White had to work with was a fairly tight site to the north of the house. 

"The garden was all just green, very dark, and not particularly pleasing to the eye," says Amanda. 

The new garden, which took a few weeks to complete and cost about $20,000, has crushed stone walkways edged in concrete studded with stones and paua shell. The swirling paths form a koru motif, and weave through plantings of cycads, aloes, bromeliads, canna lilies and astelias. These sit beneath palms, cabbage trees and a Brazilian fern tree. 

At the rear of the garden is a small circular lawn - a sop to Shirley who wanted more grass in the garden. She laughingly calls this the picnic area. It sits in front of her vegetable garden against the back fence. 

The curved theme was extended to the deck, which was narrow and used to run straight along the side of the house. A semi-circular addition softens its lines and provides space for seating. 

The couple opened the garden to the public as part of the Heroic Gardens Festival and had 1400 people through in one weekend. It received lots of positive feedback. 

The garden upgrade has been complemented by the work that Shirley and Amanda have done on the house in the five years they have owned it. They've had the interior and exterior repainted in neutral colours, as well as grinding the floors back to their concrete base to remove an apricot-coloured finish. 

They have also replaced the rustic looking kitchen and its macrocarpa features with something more sleek and modern. The house also had a self-contained set-up at the rear for a teenager in the previous household. 

"It used to have a full-on kitchen out the back but we took that all out," says Shirley. "We left the bathroom where it was but we've tried to join this area back up with the rest of the house." 

All that work will hold them in good stead when they take on a villa do-up just around the corner. And it sounds like the garden they're planning for their new home will suit Shirley more. As Amanda says: "It's a larger site so we'll be doing a lot more natives, and there'll be more lawns." 

Vital Statistics: 

BEDROOMS: 4 

BATHROOMS: 3 

GARAGE: 2 

SIZE: Land 1/2 share 878sq m. 

PRICE INDICATION: CV (2005) $960,000. Set sale closes April 5 (unless sold prior). 

INSPECT: Sat/Sun 2.30pm-3.15pm. 

CONTACT: Annie McDonald, Ray White Ponsonby, ph 376 2186 bus, 021 650 900. 

FEATURES: Renovated plaster villa that sits above street level with decks downstairs and upstairs and views over Coxs Bay. Repainted inside and out with new kitchen. Garden designed by Xanthe White.