The garden of first-time Ellerslie exhibitor Emily McEwan is no conventional affair, writes Gillian Vine.
When Landscaping New Zealand members were encouraged to take part in this year's Ellerslie International Flower Show (EIFS), Emily McEwan decided to go for it.
''I'd been considering it for a few years,'' the East Taieri landscaper said.
Her design for the 10m by 10m show garden is inspired by her own life path and reflects the challenges she has faced, so there are prickly plants, a wall maze and stepping stones.
From the louvre-roofed pergola, it becomes apparent the routes to the most inviting areas of the garden are filled with barriers but the intention is to reflect the lives of those who, like herself, constantly search and explore life.
''It speaks really of what most people go through in life and how they find a way through.
''It's easy to do the same things every day but there are opportunities around every corner,'' she said.
''You can shy away or push through the difficulties. And if you push through there's a real sense of achievement and satisfaction.''
She has demonstrated this in her own life, starting her business, Outright Landscape Design, five years ago after completing a Diploma of Horticulture extramurally through Massey University.
''They were very good,'' she says of those running the extramural programme.
''I worked that around having [three] children and playing around with my own garden at Henley,'' she says. Entering a show garden at Ellerslie is not something to be undertaken lightly.
''It's a huge commitment,'' Emily says.
Apart from spending an estimated 1000 hours on it, there is the cost of having to limit the client work she can undertake over the next month.
''I'll head up there [on Tuesday] and crack into it,'' she says.
Sponsorship is a vital component of any designer's EIFS garden and ''I've had some pretty good support'', Emily says.
Wallis's Nurseries, of Mosgiel, are growing on alstroemerias for her, Elliott's Nursery of Amberley ''has been very helpful''and she praises her contractor, Evergreen Landscapes, of Christchurch.
There have been challenges, particularly in sourcing plants mature enough to use - ''A lot of nurseries seem to be quite lean at the moment'' - and she has struggled to obtain succulents and prickly plants.
As a result, her choices have evolved so only ''one or two'' plants on her original list are still there.
Although the garden is compact, it needs about 1500 plants, ''or maybe a few more'' to get the desired effect.
''And bear in mind it's a temporary garden and all of it has to be pulled out afterwards, so it has to be easy to build and easy to deconstruct.''
Her Ellerslie show garden is in sharp contrast to her own property. The McEwans have almost 1ha, which features large mature trees, sweeps of lawn and not a prickly plant in sight, unless you count the beautifully pruned standard white Iceberg roses.
At this time of year, the colours are mainly green and white but in autumn the deciduous trees change the palate to gold, while in spring ''there is quite a deep pink flush from rhododendrons and tulips, as well as pink and white horse chestnuts''.
''Trees are important in a garden and often overlooked,'' she says.
There will be trees in her Ellerslie garden. In keeping with its small scale, she is hiring native five finger (Pseudopanax arboreus) specimens for the background.
It's an exciting challenge for the young designer.
''And I think [any designer] would be lying to say you don't care about winning gold,'' Emily says.
See it
The Ellerslie International Flower Show is being staged at Hagley Park, Christchurch, from Wednesday, February 26, to Sunday, March 2. Tickets are on sale now at www.ellerslieflowershow.co.nz and $29 ''earlybird'' tickets are available until February 9.
