Our Stories

Some emails just make you smile.  Last October I received such an email from Luke Gardner in New Zealand. Luke explained that he had been listening to the podcast since day one.  Already I was smiling! He had a plant story he wanted to share.

Luke in front of his harakeke or swamp flax

photograph by Lucia Zanmonti

I called the podcast ‘our plant stories’ rather than just ‘plant stories’ because stories that find me, turn up from places that I would never have looked. 

Luke grew up amongst  roses, peonies, tulips and other ‘exotics’ in his mother’s cottage garden.  There were no New Zealand native plants because as he explained, his parents and grandparents, wanted to create gardens that reminded them of England.

Luke has created a garden at his home Longbush Cottage which also reminds him of his childhood home and it has a 4 star rating from the New Zealand Gardens Trust.  Open to the public he was busy with his tulip festival when we first started talking.

However there is a key difference between his garden and the garden that his mother created; the soul of his garden, which he describes as a ‘modern cottage garden’, is harakeke or swamp flax. (Phormium tenax)

Luke describes harakeke, a native plant, as the one every New Zealander knows because it is everywhere but perhaps that means it is also taken for granted. His plot at Longbush Cottage had been grazing pasture and there was literally nothing there except the harakeke when he began to make his garden.

Luke may be learning about this New Zealand native plant but to Edith Rolls this is a plant she has known all her life. Edith (on the left) recently visited Longbush Cottage, introduced to Luke by her friend Larissa Carlson.

Listen to find out why this plant is the soul of Luke’s garden. 

Listen also to hear how important this plant is to Edith, a Māori weaver.  

And do listen right to the end to hear how plants really can bring us together.

Have a good weekend

Sally

x

ps if this episode sparks your curiosity for other New Zealand native plants then there is an episode about corokia from Season 2.