How a perfectionist learnt to love the untameable beauty of an ever-evolving cottage garden - Stuff.co.nz

A cottage garden is a peculiar choice for a perfectionist. Puriri Lane Garden in Drury is like something from a fairy tale, with delicate blooms such as cosmos, nigella and foxgloves bursting from its rambling gravel pathways.

The garden's owner, Deb Sisam, is a self-proclaimed fusspot and stickler for detail. She admits she sometimes feels overwhelmed by the untameable beauty of it all.

Before moving to this property 13 years ago, Sisam and her husband, Clive, had a straight-edged, suburban garden with mondo grass and buxus, manicured to builders'-level straightness.

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But it's difficult not to be enchanted by the garden they've created, complete with a storybook shepherd's hut sleepout painted in the charming duo of Resene Dell and Resene Sugar Loaf.

"When you come to a place like this, you do need to stop trying to control it all. For example, I never used to want to see leaves in my garden, but now I've learnt to love watching them fall and scatter," says Sisam.

"I am a perfectionist, but a garden is an ever-evolving thing. I'm always apologising to garden visitors when one of the flowers looks a bit past its best or is going to seed. I guess I've just had to learn to relax a bit," she says.

When Sisam and Clive first moved in, the property had established magnolias, ornamental cherry trees and redwoods, but not a flower bed in sight.

While still holding down her job in the city contracting to a beauty and health company, Sisam spent the first year of rural life pulling out weeds.

She then started planting the garden with English favourites. Although she comes from a family of keen gardeners, Sisam says her interest has only really come about in the past 10 years.

She and Clive did a horticulture course to learn about propagation and nursery practices before eventually starting Puriri Lane Nursery, where they now both work full-time.

They sell vintage-style plants and botanically inspired gifts and garden wares through Puriri Lane's online store, including many plant varieties not commonly found in New Zealand.

Their own garden is densely planted with species of flowers that bloom across the seasons: foxgloves and poppies in spring; scabiosa pincushion flowers, cosmos and achillea in summer; astrantia (masterwort) and dahlias in late summer/early autumn; and hellebores in winter, to name just a few.

The garden is open to the public a few times a year and the couple also host flower-inspired workshops. Next year, Sisam and Clive hope their shepherd's hut, called The Gardener's Cottage, will be ready to rent out as an Airbnb, giving visitors a chance to wake up to a garden filled with the scent of spring.

Craftsman Steve Sygrove built The Gardener's Cottage five years ago. Sisam's vintage collection inspired its colour scheme of Resene Sugar Loaf and Resene Dell.

"The painter colour-matched it to an old enamel plate so it felt vintage, and I also wanted it to fit in with the surroundings," says Sisam.

She suggests using rustic furniture, old tools and watering cans in the garden as other ways to add old English charm. Trellises, gates, sheds and fences can add structure and colour even when flowers aren't in bloom.

The two sheds and chicken coop in Puriri Lane are functional, but their Resene Pioneer Red roofs and trims work with the vintage look.

Sisam also has an obelisk painted in vibrant aubergine purple, Resene Upstage.

"I love the pop of colour it gives and the height; it creates a focal point and was put there as a contrast to the orange and purple plantings."

As cottage gardens are often planted in annuals, which die off after a year, they can look tired at certain times, but that comes with the territory, says Sisam.

"Cottage gardens require year-round maintenance. There will be patches that don't look great all the time, and that is the nature of it."

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While the garden is a lot of work, she does have some help most weeks.

Sisam gets enormous joy from her garden and working in the nursery: "You couldn't ask for a better office."

Gardening is full of surprises, like the nigella "Love in the Mist" that self-seeded and popped up in the driveway. Sisam doesn't have the heart to pull it out.

Although she's not quite a reformed perfectionist, she's learning to enjoy the unexpected.

"Sometimes plants thrive; sometimes plants don't do well. I give it a go and love trying new things," she says.

"Audrey Hepburn had a lovely quote: 'To create a garden is to believe in tomorrow.' I love that saying. Gardens create hope for the future, and we love sharing ours with people."

HOW TO START A COTTAGE GARDEN

Cottage gardens have dense plantings of ornamental flowers and edible plants. Though the plant species are generally English in origin, they can grow well in hotter climates such as New Zealand and Australia under the right conditions.

Cottage garden stalwarts include sweet peas, honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum, not the pest variety), dahlias, old-fashioned roses, achillea, larkspur, cosmos, foxgloves, poppies, hollyhocks, nicotiana and violets, to name a few.

While there are no rules to this unstructured garden style, think about planting flowers of different heights for interest and ensuring successional planting.

"Carefully plan your plantings so that you can have year-round seasonal interest and create a style that can basically manage itself once planted," suggests Sisam.

"Use plants that self-sow to ensure that as the plants multiply, there will be no room for weeds," she adds.

Puriri Lane sells an array of old-fashioned perennials and annuals via its website, puririlane.co.nz. The garden has a few open days and is open to garden groups by appointment. There are also workshops throughout the year – check the website for dates.

Images: Deb Sisam and Sally Tagg.