From Gorse to Greatness

Not long after Caroline Hammond finished her very pretty She Shed she entered in a She Shed competition with a gardening magazine. The shed was highly commended which felt good she says. 

Words: Pattie Pegler Images: Essence Magazine

But for Caroline it was more than just a nice place to potter in the garden. It helped her to feel at home in her new space. 

Along with husband Ricky, Caroline moved to this Fernside block back in 2013, but it was a move that they had to make. The couple had been living in a home they loved in Brooklands when the earthquakes struck – the house was left standing but the land was damaged beyond remediation. It was devastating says Caroline and she was very sad to leave what they had thought would be their forever home. 

So when she started to create her She Shed in this new space, she decided to reuse parts of that old home. The roof came off their old barbecue area, the window was a glass wall they had installed outside and even the columns were brought from their garden in Brooklands. 

“Once I had the columns up I felt better,” says Caroline. “Then I thought - ‘right, I’m going to create this garden’. And I got started.” 

And she doesn’t seem to have stopped since.  With several distinct outdoor rooms from Honeybee Cove where the beehive is located, to Cleopatra’s Terrace inspired by a visit to Greece – Caroline has created a garden full of interesting spaces and places to relax and enjoy nature. 

There are manicured lawns and a gorgeous gazebo; Easter Egg Alley (where Caroline used to hide Easter eggs for her grandchildren) and statues, gumboot planters, fruit trees and natives.  All with the gentle babble of the river beyond. Hard to imagine then that all this was covered in gorse and broom just eight years ago. 

“The block was empty and the grass was really long and dry,” recalls Caroline. “And my husband said ‘right we’re going to shape the driveway.’” So he drove the truck while Caroline told him where to put the curves. Now that drive leads up to the garden and their new home. 

A black and white colour scheme ties the outdoor rooms together, from the She Shed to the hen house, the black and white beehive with its fleur-de-lys emblem to the white wheelbarrow bursting with colourful blooms and a black café style table and chair.  

So where does she track down all these garden accessories? A lot come from local stores. “I really do believe in shopping local when you can,” says Caroline. But she also loves the thrill of finding the perfect item on Marketplace and Trade Me. The wooden furniture outside her She Shed was an online buy that she cleaned up and spray painted. 

A garden like this doesn’t create itself and Caroline is tireless when it comes to getting things done. During the first Covid lockdown she built a stone wall and archway single-handed. She worked on it for three hours a day, everyday, for six weeks. Now, at this time of year she estimates she spends around 30 hours a week in the garden and she’s also a big fan of watering by hand “as I see what’s going on with my plants.” 

And when she’s not working on the garden, she’s planning.  “I’m the mastermind,” she says. “I come up with all the ideas and Ricky says ‘oh no not another one of your projects.” Most recently Ricky has been concreting in the gazebo so that it doesn’t fly away in the nor’wester.  

“it’s my haven, it’s beautiful and I don’t mind a bit of hard work,” says Caroline.