A Family Affair

Carved out of a blustery, salt-licked site by a couple and their obliging teenagers, this lush garden is still drawing the clan together years later – along with hordes of admirers

- Carol Bucknell

They say gardening is a great way to connect with family. This is certainly true in the case of Jenny and Guy Oakley whose three teenaged sons helped them build their delightful Taranaki garden.

Now grown up, two of their boys are still keen gardeners and every year, when the couple open their garden for the Powerco Taranaki Garden Festival, Jenny’s sister, parents, various cousins, nieces and nephews all join the family to help prepare the garden for the scrutiny of hundreds of visitors. “I have an amazing group of people who help me,” says Jenny. “It’s become a real family time. I couldn’t do it alone.”

SITE

The four-hectare property is near Manaia and just two kilometres from the South Taranaki coast. Salt spray is a huge issue – when Jenny and Guy bought the land 36 years ago the few existing plants in the mainly bare pasture, including a walnut tree in front of the house, had been badly damaged by the salt.

Their first task was to create some shelter for the garden area, planting tough natives such as karo (Pittosporum crassifolium) and pseudopanax as well as Australian banksia. “Very few plants survive the high salt levels here,” says Jenny. “It’s very heavy in this South Taranaki Bight area.”

DESIGN