For gardens
| Good wizard! Thus he weaves his spell. Yet, charm he twenty times as well, Me shall he never spur, To seek again the old, green land, That seems from far to stretch a hand To sons who dream of her. William Bember Reeves (1857-1932) |
Ayrlies Garden
You will love this beautiful private country garden with distant views of the sea. A woodland of maples graces large ponds connected by a tumbling stream and edged in hostas, irises and other damp loving plants. There are collections of rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias and masses of old roses and other climbers twining through trees and over pergolas. Garden seats beckon to delightful vistas with surprise corners along easy wandering paths.
Malcolm and Beverley McConnell contoured this garden from open paddock in 1964, the name of the garden comes from the family farm which is in Scotland. The garden was laid out to create a larger informal country garden not unlike the gardens of Beverley's childhood homestead in Hawkes Bay; a garden whose shape was dictated by the topography of the land; a garden where there was space for larger trees to grow in family groups; a garden of all seasons striving to have some plant or vista at its best throughout the year; a garden where still ponds and cascades of water create a sense of tranquility; a garden with lots of heady perfume and moments of excitement.
Oliver Briers arrived from England to help in the 1970s. Oliver is enthusiastic about natural landscaping. His natural eye for line coupled with his innovative construction give Ayrlies permanent form and interest complementing the more transient nature of the plantings. In 1978 they expanded the garden from three acres to ten and have plans to transform the swampy land below the homestead into park land thus linking the garden to the sea.