BEAUTY FOR UGLINESS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 251, 22 October 1926, Page 11

BEAUTY FOR UGLINESS.

ROCK GARDEN SUGGESTED.

EPSOM AVENUE SCORIA FIT.

A DREAM OP THE FUTURE.

I Passing along Epsom Avenue one viewß the dignified building which now houses the Auckland Training College across a wilderness of tangled weeds, scrub, rocks and rubbish, which tends to spoil the appearance of the institution j and its beautifully laid-out grounds. ! A .suggestion has been made that this deep- hollow, useless for most practical purposes, might, be made a thing of beauty by the expenditure of a little money. It could be converted into a rock garden of surpassing loveliness, as much unlike, the present desolate waste as a slum from a garden suburb. : The" present desolate waste of rocks, scrub: and discarded benzine tins is, without doubt, a prolific breeding ground I for rats, so. that, quite apart from aesthetic ; considerations, the whole locality would benefit if something were done to remove the nuisance. Situated on the south side, the area of ground referred to: runs the length of the avenue,, being immediately opposite the block, bounded by Marama Avenue and Cecil Road". It comprises approximately five acres of rough, scoria land, the hollow being grassgrown in places where weeds have not sprung up nor benzine tins littered about. On the other side of the avenue are pleasant villas-and bungalows, while the Training College stands a short distance away to the east. Those who know the locality concede that it is one of the most picturesque and restful in the whole of the suburban area, this unsightly and long-neglected depression— the' result of quarrying—being the one area which is out of harmony with the surroundings.

It has been proposed by a body of enthusiasts that a rock and Alpine garden park might be made in what is I now an ugly waste. All manner of bright-hued trailing plants could be reared so as to make beds of rich profusion. Experts agree that the old I scoria - pit presents' a great opportunity for effective and artistic work, since the quarrymen appear, to have worked in a j rather haphazard way, leaving great crags and boulders here and there, rather than making a clean sweep of every obstacle. The pit is all but divided into two sections by a long arm of peculiarly shapen rock, which juts out from the high banks on the west side, and this, with the numerous declivities and piles of boulders, would with very little labour make -a great climbing background for sub-tropical plants and richlycoloured flowers. -

The area under review has been made over. to the Education Department, as part of the grounds surrounding the Training College, but it is difficult to see to what practical purpose it could be.put unless something of this nature was attempted. Members it the Auckland Bock Gardens Society are enthusiastic about the natural rock formations which the pit contains, and they are unanimous that Auckland has a natural self-contained area ready to hand for beautificatibn. There is ample good soil on. the section, so thatl&he expense in providing'beds for.flowers in some of. -the more barren patches would not be high. Perhaps the scheme might- take several years, say experts, but the ultimate result would more than repay .those who took it in hand. With proper treatment, it is suggested, this wilderness might be transformed into a riot of colour and beauty-which would be listed prominently among the many attractions of Auckland.

If developed as a rock garden it is thought that, the sunken ground which to-day is so ugly a feature of the landscape, might become a rendezvous for eightseere, and a kiosk aight profitably be established. Those who have- this idea in mind point out that the students of the Training College would be sure .to patronise it, since they would naturally spend part of their leisure hours amid the glories of, the garden, with its grand range of rock and alpine plants.