Gardening With Gael: Jacaranda dreams

20 Dec, 2021

The plan for this article was to write about coprosma rhamnoides but personal events have overshadowed my plans and my article has taken on a new meaning and purpose.

I have been struggling where to begin. That first sentence usually sets me going. Sometimes help comes from a random place. As I was thinking about how to approach this article, I ran into a very dear friend who was clutching a gardening book entitled ’The Inward Garden’. To say I snatched it from her would be the most accurate description of what happened next. For me and others, gardens are a sanctuary - a carefully placed seat, a winding walk, a bower of roses all soothe the senses and provide a place of tranquility.

“Building a garden is a lifelong endeavor, not something that can be accomplished in several weekends, or even just over a few years,” says book writer Julie Moir Messervy. “Your inward garden is your personal dreaming space which you will continue to refine as you grow, change, and gain wisdom over the span of your life.”

Gardens serve the imagination. Fed by magazines, parks, local gardens and the sight of plants that feed the soul, a garden is only limited by the imagination of the gardener. A blank wall becomes the recipient of climbers floral and fruitful or, if the space is confined the wonderful art of espalier. A dream of what your immediate surroundings may look and feel like, all contribute to the inner space a garden big or small can provide. As the garden grows, the concept changes. For some trees a gardener may wait years to see their dream become the reality they imagined.

A personal joy for me is helping friends decide what plants to choose in their gardens and with not terribly subtle encouragement where to place them as well. Mary’s Karl Maughan garden is flourishing, nyssa salvatica and cercis canadensis - or forest pansy - thrive in the damp soil of Carol’s Hakaru garden, and roses, lavender, penstemons and a colourful variety of perennials are a joyous border of colour in Anthoinet’s.

In Whangarei the glorious blue of mature jacarandas dominates the city. Down the road near Maungatapere my son Matt had an avocado orchard on the slopes of Whatitiri. He designed and built his family home there. To soften the architectural lines of the house we decided an avenue of jacaranda would be ideal. I had planted one earlier and it was blossoming. An avenue of jacaranda in full bloom with a blue carpet beneath is a dream. Sadly Matt died recently and I turn to his garden and my new garden for solace and healing. I quote again from ‘The Inward Garden’: ‘Research has shown that hospital patients who can see a tree outside their window heal faster than patients without a view of a natural object’.

I have bought the jacaranda we will plant in our garden in memory of Matt. No tree will have better care. I will see it from my bedroom window and watch it grow and develop.

When his children were babies, he bought and operated Stingray Matt’s (hence the name), a reminder of the happy times he spent back in his home village. RIP my son.

Over time trees provide shelter, shade, healing, memories and colour that feeds the soul, like this old jacaranda.