Where have all the flowers gone? Gone to the South Island, every one. Well, not quite, but we do rather like our flowers down here. Although no one doubts the importance of hard landscaping, it is a pity that the current trends portray planting as theleast developed area of garden design. It's a scary thought. If we take the plants out of a garden, we literally take the life and meaning out of it and what do we have left? Whatever it is, I don't want it. It's a comfort, then, to visit Julie May andher partner Colin Arps in their colonial cottage at Motukarara, about 20 minutes drive from Christchurch. Ten years ago they bought 2.5ha, part of an old estab-lished farm on the banks of Lake Ellesmere, with a view to growing irises commercially. TodayJulie's rainbow fields of bearded irises are a landmark but customers rarely see the clever cottage garden hidden behind a massive macrocarpa hedge.
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