The promise of a tree garden
Mark Hutching is promising a garden of trees and shrubs rich in colour, form and texture at next month's Ellerslie
International Flower Show.
Elegance is the garden being created by two new companies in the Canterbury landscaping industry, Allwood Trees and Beaver
Landscaping. Although new companies, Allwood Trees and Beaver Landscaping both have a wealth of industry knowledge and
expertise which they “hope will win all the prizes” at the Ellerslie International Flower Show.
Mark Hutching of Allwood Trees, having owned and operated a tree nursery for more than 14 years, says their garden
design is simple, letting the trees make “the spectacular impact”.
“It is not a funky design but rather a simple contrasting exhibit which visitors to Ellerslie can envisage at home. The
emphasis is on the trees and foliage and the value they add to any garden.
“The challenge will be getting the balance between the hard landscaping structure and the garden colour right; making
sure everything is not just green.”
In the 15m x 10m exhibit, four-metre square planted boxes will sit in each corner planted with towering four-metre high
evergreen Magnolia trees. These will be underplanted with layers of trees and shrubs to provide form and colour to the
garden. At the rear of the exhibit will be a solider line of seven topiaried Golden Whitebeams standing about 2.5 metres
high and forming the backdrop for the central courtyard.
Trees with variegated leaves will also be used in the display, along with maples for their colour, form and a selection
of other trees for structure.
Elegance will boast a blend of native and exotic trees and shrubs, and feature a number of “not so common plantings”, such as
Dicentra, Eucryphia, Pseudowinteria and Kalmia.
Trees are a real passion for Mark: “Trees not only provide shelter and privacy in the garden but also pure enjoyment and
enhance the aesthetics of any environment.
“Planting trees is about getting the right advice and selecting the right tree for your garden. Most important is
getting the scale right and choosing varieties which will thrive in the prevailing soil and weather conditions.
“Nothing beats sitting outside under a tree and reading a book or drinking a glass of wine – it is pure magic.”
With their garden Elegance, Mark says critical to the whole design is creating a garden setting that visitors to Ellerslie feel could be created
at their home.
“The display at Ellerslie is designed to encourage homeowners to start thinking about putting trees back into their
gardens.
“For many years, homeowners have had the low-maintenance garden drummed into them. As a result we have not only lost a
generation of gardeners but it has been detriment to the overall look of Christchurch.
“Christchurch is known as the Garden City and it’s important we retain that image. Trees are a significant part of this
heritage which we must preserve,” he says.
ENDS