THE OAMARU GARDENS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21300, 2 April 1931, Page 6

THE OAMARU GARDENS

A GALAXY OF COLOUR (Special to Daily Times.) OAMARU, April 1. Delightfully cool and inviting, and presenting a picture of intoxicating beauty, in colours that defy the artist’s brush, the Oamaru Gardens are a striking tribute to the farsightedness and aesthetic taste of the civic administrators, past and present, whose aim to make them the chief amenity of the town has been so well achieved as to place them in the forefront of the public gardens of the Dominion. That this is no idle claim was again borne out by no less an authority than Mr F. W. Giles, director of the plant research department of Sutton’s favourably-known seed establishment in Reading, England, who, after paying a visit of inspection earlier in the month, classed Oamaru and New Plymouth as the finest gardens he had seen in his travels from Auckland south. Oamaru, he said, offered an added attraction in the greenhouse, and he characterised the exhibition it housed as a remarkably fine one. Nestling in a valley and bountifully watered, the gardens have an ideal situation, while the natural configuration of the land formed a splendid basis for improvement, and the beautiful contours have been brought out to the fullest degree. In the whole layout any suggestion of stiffness and artificiality has been happily eliminated, so that in traversing the well-kept winding drives and footpaths a keen sense of anticipation and delight is engendered in the visitor as new and beautiful vistas open out before the eye. Each scene and setting have been carefully thought out, and the result bears tangible testimony to the handiwork of man in his skilful arrangement of Nature’s robe. Entering by the massive gates at the main entrance a profusion of stately scabious and salpiglosis immediately arrests attention. Well-tended beds of antirrhinums are making their second blooms, and a little farther on is the fountain, ringed with beds of cannas in full bloom and fibrous-rooted begonias, and displays of geraniums. Petunias and dahlias next lend splashes of colour, but their efforts are in a measure dwarfed by three magnificent beds of tuberous begonias and stately clusters of fuchsia, in full bearing. Then comes the herbaceous border, in which raicha elmas daisies, perennial phlox, and gypsophila, and statice form the basis of the colour until the greenhouse is reached. Just as the gardens have built up a reputation for beauty and variety, so the spacious greenhouse, during its short existence, has become famed for the truly remarkable and colourful exhibitions it has housed. The main display at present is provided by begonias, which occupy the centre and the whole of one side of the house. Ever since the beginning of the year these beautiful exotics have made a wonderful showing, and for size, variety, colour, and conformation the exhibition would be difficult to eclipse. As a much-travelled and discriminating visitor remarked on Tuesday: “ I have witnessed the begonia displays at the Royal Show, Chelsea, and elsewhere, but Oamaru has them all beaten.” The remainder of the display in the greenhouse is provided by delicately-coloured streptocarpus and full-throated gloxinias in rich and brilliant hues. Overhead numerous hanging baskets of begonias form a canopy that plays an important part in the colour symphony, while deftlyplaced palms and ferns add relief to a veritable riot of colour. The rose, the queen of all flowers, is making quite a bold showing for the second crop, particularly the Covent Garden and Lady Inchiquin varieties. The mirror lake where the ducks and swans find sanctuary, the band rotunda lawn, and the rhododendron dell, where the dahlias atid gladioli are in full bloom and the chrysanthemums are beginning to show colour, are places of quiet beauty. The azalea gardens and lawn are next met with, and just beyond, the click of mallet on ball breaks in upon the ear as players enjoy a game on the green sward of the new croquet lawns, which have a striking show of colour along the southern fringe by asters and dahlias. Returning along the bank of the lazy stream, “ Wonderland ” statuary —the gift of Mr Robert Milligan—admirably set in a grassy decline and buttressed by the rock garden, trees and water, compels a pause for admiration before a crossing is made by way of the new ornamental bridge. The rose pergola leads on to the Chelmer street entrance, while on the right magnificent chestnut trees and lawn, where golden argosies peep through from the noonday sun, revive memories of Old England. To the left is the fernery, which has been greatly improved in recent months, and which is well worthy of a more prominent site instead of hiding its light under a bushel in its present ..obscure position. The native garden and the children’s playground, with its paddling pool and numerous forms of amusement, are further important adjuncts. Throughout, deciduous and ornamental trees and shrubs occupy prominence in the borders and lawns, and, although situated practically in the heart of the town, on the Main "road south, the gardens provide a haven of peace and beauty, while towering trees add a sylvan rusticity to the scene. In spite of the increased demands to provide the best possible seasonal displays in the greenhouse this has not been accomplished at the expense of the outside garden, and the well-kept lawns, drives; and verges, paths, and carefullytended beds are striking testimony of the good work of the curator (Mr j. Tait) and his efficient staff, and the gardens a credit to the people of Oamaru. There, is an old saying that the best things in life cannot be bought, which probably explains why a small charge is not levied from visitors. Be that as it may the splendid attendance of townsfolk and visitors at the gardens each day throughout the year is significant of the fact that, although the lay mind may not realise the amount of painstaking labour entailed in flower culture, appreciation is not lacking, and the fragrance of such labour is not allowed to blush unseen.