This quarter acre in Tauranga is anything but traditional

Article by Your Home and Garden

From dry riverbed to palm lounge, see how this Tauranga garden has garnered global inspiration to create charming, themed ‘rooms’

There’s no need for a garden to feature a uniform theme throughout. Just ask Colin and Vicki Davis, whose Tauranga garden has been divided into different ‘rooms’. One area is English-themed, in another a Balinese statue is comfortably at home, and there’s a French-inspired quarter, too. In yet another zone, subtropical planting is accompanied by a cordyline-like sculpture that Colin made from a water cylinder.

This diversity was not, however, part of the original plan. Colin and Vicki started out with a vision of an English formal garden, with boxed hedging and lots of flowers. But they soon discovered their quarter-acre site was too big to sustain that focus, so the idea of different themes was developed. The challenge was transitioning from one zone to the next. “To make it seamless, we decided to use ficus and different mondo grasses as a common denominator,” says Vicki.

The couple’s 1920s home had been renovated in the 1940s, 1960s and 1980s. It’s not a stock-standard home, says Vicki, and their garden has followed suit with its own eclectic style.

You can visit Vicki and Colin’s garden as part of the garden trail at the Bay of Plenty Garden and Art Festival, 17-20 November 2016, gardenandartfest.co.nz.

Words by: Monique Balvert-O’Connor. Photography by: Rachel Dobbs.

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The couple’s 1920s home had been renovated in the 1940s, 1960s and 1980s. It’s not a stock-standard home, says Vicki, and their garden has followed suit with its own eclectic style.

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The main entrance with ficus-lined walls and bare pillars.

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One area is English-themed, in another a Balinese statue is comfortably at home, and there’s a French-inspired quarter, too.

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“The first thing we did,” Colin says, “was establish a courtyard off the kitchen area, surrounding the rhododendron.”

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Vicki and Colin relax in the “outdoor dining room”, which includes an outdoor fire and barbecue, framed by massive camellias at the other end of the table.

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Paving stones lead from here to the “outdoor dining room”, an appealing place for al fresco meals, thanks to the outdoor fire, barbecue and concrete furniture.

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You can visit Vicki and Colin’s garden as part of the garden trail at the Bay of Plenty Garden and Art Festival, 17-20 November 2016, gardenandartfest.co.nz.

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The fire pit area with bromeliads, hibiscus, cane and sago palms in among the rocks.

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The kitchen courtyard & vege beds.

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There’s a fire pit, Balinese statue and
a carved Indonesian screen. It’s a favourite hangout when the children are home, especially with the spa pool alongside.

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No plant is off limits in this eclectic garden, as illustrated in the collection of spikey succulents (Haworthia) and a sole cactus taking pride of place on the table.