garden-fashion
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The Local Arboretum: An introduction
By definition an arboretum is a specific place where trees of the world or of a specific country are collected for public viewing. Adding local seems to complicate that understanding. There is good reason for it though: the premise here is that even a single tree, looked at in-situ, can open up the same interests…
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More on the ‘interesting curio’: The Monkey Puzzle in New Zealand, Part 2
The first blogpost on the monkey puzzle tree in New Zealand finished with a view of a good specimen in Queen Mary Hospital, Hanmer. It was planted about 1930, very likely as part of Alfred Buxton’s commissioned work at this site. Given that Buxton & Company planted quite a few monkey puzzles in their highly…
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Not a Standard ‘Rise and Fall’ Story: The Monkey Puzzle Tree in New Zealand, Part 1.
One of Wellington’s very few monkey puzzle trees. Source: Author, August 2026 Stories of trees falling in and out of fashion are common. Beamish, for example, has written on the ‘rise and fall of the Lombardy poplar’, a tree frequently seen in New Zealand landscapes. But perhaps the tree that most readily comes to mind…
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New Publication: ‘Beside the Cenotaph’
Here are six examples of cenotaphs, obelisks, or similar World War One memorial structures that all have phoenix palms beside them: Source: Postcard of a war memorial, Akaroa. Ron Scarlett Collection, Canterbury Museum. Source: Papakura-Karaka memorial, 2024, Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 3003-0719 Source: Author, Pakaraka war memorial, July 4, 2023 Source: Author, Napier Memorial Square,…
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The Vagaries of Tree Life, Part 1. A Monkey Puzzle Pair in Ashburton
In 1904 when monkey puzzle trees were still a considerable botanical curiosity, an article in the Ashburton Guardian on the local Beautifying Society records that ‘Mr James Porter, of Allenton, had presented the association with two monkey puzzle trees, which would be planted in Baring Square. It was decided to thank Mr Porter, and to…
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A Buxton Favourite in the Deep South: Earnscleugh Station’s Fan Palm Pair
Robert Percy Moore is regarded as New Zealand’s greatest panoramic photographer. Particularly during the 1920s, Moore’s photos included many large urban houses of the upper class and rural homesteads of wealthy runholders. Here is an example of the former: Source: Smith, George John, 1862-1946. Riverlaw, a very large three-storeyed house in Aynsley Terrace, St Martins,…
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The Trio Effect. Part 2. Three palms in Greytown (plus a backstory)
The three palms showcased here have both a botanical label and further information on them provided nearby. The ‘backstory’ relates to the nature of such information, and an entry into such matters is provided by the following photos captured in a recent visit to Corsair Bay, Banks Peninsula: Source: Author, May 2026 This is very…
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The Trio Effect: Part 1. Hidden over time?
Recently I was catching a bus home from the central city and partly because leaves had begun falling from deciduous trees (it is autumn here), I noticed a large tree I had previously assumed to be singular was actually three trees. I don’t think I’d ever paid the ‘singular’ tree much attention, perhaps because it…
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Welcome to Miramar, Wellington’s Pohutukawa Suburb
Source: ‘Wellington from the air, 1930‘, F. Douglas Mill Collection, Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections FDM-0570-G The photo above shows part of the Miramar Peninsula, Wellington. If you fly into Wellington when a southerly is blowing, you’ll be just above the strip of water with the land to your left. Struthers reports that the name ‘Miramar’…
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White Peppermint Gum (not for chewing)
If you fly into Wellington and drive into town from the airport, the first significant trees you come across are in the Mt Victoria town belt. The planting of conifers in this large public reserve began in the early 1880s, and radiata pines and macrocarpa still predominate. Some of these old conifers featured in the…
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Acorns from Great Windsor Park: Royalty and 160 years of commemorative tree planting. Part 3
In the first two posts of this set we saw two things. First, in New Zealand from 1859 on, a tradition was established of commemorative tree-planting that marked events associated with British royalty. These events could have been an actual visit to New Zealand by members of royalty, or something that happened back in Britain…
The Local Arboretum: Noticeable trees and their stories 