Located on the outskirts of Christchurch, ‘Frensham’ is considered one of New Zealand's finest gardens.
The name of our garden, ‘Frensham’ was chosen as Rosa 'Frensham' was my father's favourite rose. I have been sharing our garden with visitors for nearly 30 years and many have enjoyed watching the developments and changes over the years. Visitors are inspired by the plant and colour combinations and the way in which we prune our trees and shrubs so that we can enjoy the barks, and let filtered light play in the gardens. The most common remark is how peaceful the garden is.
Why did you choose this spot for the garden?
My husband Ron wanted to come here as he wanted some land for farming, and he liked the house and location. I didn’t want to come as I had started creating a garden in our previous place. With no formal training or experience in designing a garden, I reluctantly started planting things, mainly against the house, to break the barren feeling of the house. There was almost no garden here when we arrived. Following a tour of gardens in the UK, I was ‘hooked’ and serious gardening started, but with no vision; just a serious interest in plants.
Can you tell us about your design philosophy?
I wasn’t aware that I knew anything about design, but over the years, things started to ‘feel’ wrong, and I started on the long process of ‘why’?
Can you tell us about your inspiration, where did your love of gardens come from?
My parents kept a nice garden, and my mother was particularly keen. She also liked visiting gardens. I wasn’t at all interested until my late 30s, when, one day, I decided to go to the local garden centre to buy a few plants as I thought our garden looked awful. I was immediately taken with the names of the plants and things progressed from there. I have read widely, visited many gardens in New Zealand and overseas, and organised and led garden tours to European countries, central Victoria and Tasmania over a span of 20 years.
What lessons have you learnt along the way?
It's about choosing the right plant for the right spot. Although, I didn’t learn this lesson quickly, and to this day, I am still moving plants. Sometimes there hasn’t been a mistake in the first place, but things change as surrounding plants change. One of the most important lessons that I have learned is that when something has to come out, it doesn’t necessarily have to be replaced with something else. An area can take on a completely new look once something is removed.
What’s your favourite part of the garden?
I think the woodland, which we are extending. It has a mystique and when I am there I feel as if I am away from the rest of the world.
You can discover more about Frensham in Margaret’s book, ‘Frensham: A New Zealand Garden’, photographed by Juliet Nicholas. This very personal and yet informative perspective on 30 years of gardening makes for a delightful book to be treasured and shared. To purchase, contact Margaret at: margaretlong@xtra.co.nz To keep up to date with Margaret, you can follow her on Instagram @frensham_garden or facebook.com/ FrenshamGarden
COME WITH US
We will visit Frensham Garden on our New Zealand in Autumn Tour. For details call Ross Garden Tours 1300 233 200 or visit https://www.rosstours.com/nzautumn/
We hope you have enjoyed this article so far.
One of the many benefits of Garden Clinic membership is full access to our website. Members please log in to view the complete articles.
If you are not a Garden Clinic member and wish to access our website as well as enjoy the many benefits of membership, including access to our Helpline 7 days a week, please visit the link below to join us.