Broadoak - A Garden To Inspire
Wisteria and hanging flower baskets complete the English country pub feel at Broadoak.
When Claire and Shaun Maloney moved on to their lifestyle block in Ohoka in 1998 it was a paddock with scrubby gorse and a stable block.
words: Pattie Pegler images: Dorothy McLennan
Now summertime visitors are greeted with colourful blooms that give way to areas of native plantings, tranquil water features and intriguing sculptures. It’s no surprise they attract garden visitors from near and far.
But the couple are clear, this was no overnight transformation. It’s been a gradual process and one that has seen them raise four children, run a commercial peony paddock on the premises and generally juggle work and life whilst chipping away at this transformation.
Early Days
The front garden was one of the first areas they tackled, says Claire, creating a brick and white gravel pathway bordered with an archway of roses, including iceberg and westerland, that today climb up and over the archway.
On the other side of the property a 16-bay horse stable was in a neglected state. Today it functions as a private venue in the style of an English pub. Inside there’s a bar with beer on tap, a pool room and a cosy book-lined snug.
“We cleared it up first,” says Shaun. “But then it was a kind of organic growth we kept the original footprint and all the rooms are designed around the sizes of those stables.”
Everywhere you look there’s something interesting – a model ship, a wall full of beer mats. It’s even got its own pub sign - The Bike & Bovine which was inspired by an old phrase Shaun’s dad used to say, ‘about as much use a cow with a bicycle’. The image on the sign was originally used in an advert for cheese triangles, Shaun tracked it down via the advertising agency that had created it and asked if he could use the picture for his pub sign – they said yes.
A light fitting on the ceiling is made from old beer bottles with the bottoms taken off. It’s a DIY job and Shaun explains he followed a process that involved submerging the bottles in ice water, soaking a wool thread in methylated spirits, lighting them and then using the wool to cut off the base of the glass bottles. Honestly, it sounds fraught with hazard but the finished item looks great.
Outdoor Rooms
The garden itself is diverse. There are sculptures and tree ferns, water features and a fabulous conservatory where Claire is growing banana plants. It was an image on Pinterest that was the starting point for the stunning black steel framed conservatory - Shaun took the picture along to a local engineering company and they created it for him, as a kitset that was put together on site.
The formal garden area is surrounded by hedging that runs between twenty brick pillars topped with gargoyles. Shaun remembers how he collected the secondhand bricks in daily trips with his trailer before work every morning.
There are burnished stainless steel peacocks, a life size chessboard, formal ponds and neatly trimmed hedging that forms a love knot. A teak door from India is over 100 years old and marks the entrance to a lawn area where weddings take place.
“People often call it the Narnia door,” says Shaun. But actually much of this block is like Narnia, with unusual and engaging objects and plantings and surprises like the beautiful rustic shed where Claire opens the door to reveal bunches of dried flowers hanging from the ceiling. They’re from the first wedding held at Broadoak earlier this year which was for one of their own daughters.
“We pick things up all over the place,” says Shaun of the many interesting pieces. Maybe but they’re also pretty inventive – an old rusted water tank has been converted into a garden ornament with a fern growing inside it. The small wooden chapel is based on the old style huts used by London taxi drivers, Shaun built it himself. How long did that take? “Probably about a week,” he replies.
Hard work
“Shaun does all the design and lay out of things,” says Claire as we walk through one of the garden rooms with a love knot in the hedging. “He doesn’t stop.” But neither does she. Anyone who gardens can see how much work goes into this spot and they have only recently taken on some help.
Beyond the manicured gardens are hazelnut trees, chooks and beehives that they tend themselves. There’s a lot of hard work and a genuine love of creativity that has gone into this space and Shaun and Claire are tireless in their efforts.
And honestly, it’s inspiring to see what one couple can achieve. Food for thought for all those that sigh about not being able to get on top of the garden.
