Rose Garden.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20483, 8 December 1934, Page 12

Rose Garden.

New Lay-out

Domains Board Adopts Report.

JNVOLVING an expenditure of £770, a new lay-out for the rose section of the Botanic Gardens was approved yesterday at the meeting of the Christchurch Domains Board. The lay-out was suggested in a report prepared by the curator (Mr J. A. M’Pherson) in conjunction with Mr H. Helmore, architect. Of the expenditure of £770, the renewal of the pumping plant will account for £212 4s and the replacement of* soil for £l6l 16s. Included in the new features of the rose garden will be the planting of a yew hedge round the whole area. The report was discussed in committee, and after it had been approved was released for publication.

Referring to the present rose garden in his monthly report, the curator stated that the display of roses had been fairly good considering the worn-out state of most of the bushes. The best effects had been observed where beds had been filled each with one separate variety. A general glance through most beds revealed many worn-out and dying bushes. a Architectural Balance.

Mr M’Pherson’s report on the new plan, his second review of the position, stated that the plan submitted had two great advantages. First, the architectural feature of the front of the Cuningham House was made to balance with the rose garden, and the circular lay-out did not interfere with any trees which had either botanical, ornamental or sentimental value. Only three trees required removal, namely, two birch and one scale-infested cupressus. The volume of traffic in the gardens excluded the introduction of grass paths, but softness was obtained by a central mirror pool having a diameter of twenty-eight feet and also by enclosing the entire lose garden with a low yew hedge, which would give shelter and at the same time would not interfere with the natural background of trees as would a colonnade. In any case a colonnade of concrete pillars would be entirely out of place in the general landscape effect. Provision was also made for using the present ornamental vases, while at a focal point between the Cuningham House and the mirror pool a place was reserved for a piece of choice statuary. The plan also took into consideration all existing pathways which merged into the rose garden. Slight alterations -would be necessary to two, while one would be opened up to lead down towards the water garden and featuring a sprouting artesian, and another new one opened up towards the south and leading to what some day would be the rhododendron garden and continuing further on to the present horse paddock, which would be developed as funds permit into a large sunken rock garden. With that idea kept in view there was co-ordination between all pathways to give each of them a greater radius of efficiency. A point of considerable interest was that though the new lay-out was smaller it would contain a total of 2040 roses in comparison with the present layout, which contained 2528. The 2040 was a sufficient total to include all varieties worth growing, and at the same time showed them to advantage. Water Supply. It was useless to consider alterations without a thoroughly good water supply. The cost of that was bound up with the main garden’s pumping plant and reticulation. It would be necessary to heighten the tank stand, replace the present storage capacity of 1600 gallons with one to hold 5000 gallons and replace the present pump with one capable of giving a bigger delivery. The present pump, though pumping both into tanks and direct into mains, w r as over thirty years old and was too light for the work. The alteration to the pumping plant alone was estimated to cost £212 4s. Then there was the actual reticulation of the rose garden, estimated to cost £4B 10s. The garden’s water supply was coupled up to the city water supply for ttse on the fountain. That should remain, for it was essential in cases of emergency. The present rose garden contained twelve to eighteen inches of top soil; below was pure sand. It was intended to use two feet of new soil for the new garden and drop the present soil still further below that to give a depth of fully three feet of soil to each bed. Good soil could be obtained from behind the United tennis courts on an area at present used for vegetable plots. One of the smallest items of expenditure was that of the roses themselves, which were estimated to cost £4 os per 100, a total of £B6 16s. Box edging was on hand, but gravel for pathways, estimated at £32, would be required. Securing Yew Plants. Difficulty would be experienced in obtaining yew plants for the hedge, but he had hopes of locating enough in Australia. Otherwise they would have to be imported from England and nursed for a year. They were estimated to cost £75. The central mirror pool was estimated to cost £49 4s, but in that connection he recommended that the bequest of the late Mr G. Jameson (£SO) be used for that purpose. The total estimated cost of the proposed new lay-out was £770, and if the work was carried out it would provide a rose garden capable of being maintained at a high standard. There could be no shutting of eyes to the fact that the present rose garden was not a credit to the city at the present time, and the longer it w’as left the worse it would become. The whole question was one of finance, and out of the present yearly allocation could not be undertaken, for at the moment they were maintaining the gardens and Ilagley Parks with a skeleton staff assisted by class B men of Scheme No. 5. That had been the case over a number of years. Should, however, the board be approached by citizens wishing to help even with one bed, he estimated the average cost of rose bushes at 17s 4d per bed. With the cost of water supply, resoiling, etc., the average cost was estimated at £7 14s per bed. A summary of costs of materials was as follows: New soil, £l6l 16s; manures, £B3; renewal of pumping plant, £212 4s; reticulation, £4B 10s; new roses, £B6 16s; gravel, £32 14s; new hedge, £75. Contingencies would be £7O, making a total of £770.