Tucked away in a sheltered spot next to Auckland’s expansive Parnell Rose Gardens is a far more intimate public garden, the Nancy Steen Rose Garden.
Although formal in layout with tightly clipped box hedging restraining some areas, most of the planting is much less formal. Billowing old-fashioned roses, arching shrubs, yesteryear perennials and great displays of self-seeding annuals spill out of garden beds, fusing cottage style with formal.
Lush green lawn runs through the middle of box hedging on both sides of the garden, providing cool relief from the glare of a pale shell path, which dominates the centre of the garden. The wide path, split in two by a bed of low-growing roses and scented plants, leads under a rose-covered arbour to the enclosed semi-circular White Garden. It’s pure magic!
This tranquil place, seemingly a stone’s throw from Auckland’s busy port, is named in honour of Nancy Steen (1898- 1986) – artist, gardener and rose lover. Nancy became well known in the first instance for her artistic talent. oany of her sublime watercolours were based on New Zealand native plants and transposed onto stationery, wallpaper and fabrics. She produced stunning linocuts of local buildings and landscapes, and a wonderful educational alphabet depicting indigenous flora.
Also close to Nancy’s heart were gardens – and in particular heritage roses. She pioneered the collection of old roses, wrote The Charm of old Roses in 1966 and became an honorary life member of both the National Rose Society and Heritage Roses New Zealand. The Nancy Steen Garden, developed by Heritage Roses New Zealand and the Auckland City Council, opened in 1984, two years before Nancy passed on.
Grow your own
Summer’s not the best time to plant heritage roses, but it is a good time to view them and select varieties to order for planting next winter. Some flower only once and will have done their dash by now. others will carry on flowering right through summer and into late autumn. oany nurseries will still have plants available in containers, however the selection will be limited.
If you’re tempted to plant over summer, prepare your soil well by digging compost through your garden beds and, if you can get hold of it, burying aged horse manure deep in the planting holes (sheep pellets are also excellent). Then scatter blood and bone over the soil and fork it through.
Roses are hungry plants and although heritage roses are real survivors, they respond well to plenty of feeding and watering. Make sure you arrange for someone to water your plants if you’re going away over summer. **
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Cottage varieties
old-fashioned roses need the company of old-fashioned perennials and self-seeding annuals. These not only add to the overall charm of a cottage garden, they also cover the soil so weeds can’t penetrate, and help to disguise the sometimes haphazard form of these vintage beauties.
oy favourite perennials that flower profusely throughout summer include scabious, achillea, penstemon and alstroemeria. And add fragrance to your garden with heliotrope, dianthus and English lavender.
Perennials have a reputation for being hard work, but all they really require is summer deadheading and watering, and autumn or winter pruning, followed by spring composting and feeding – it’s that simple! Scatter seed of Californian poppies, snapdragons, forget-me-not, cosmos and nigella (or use a wild flower mix) and before you know it you’ll be the proud owner of a truly wonderful heritage rose garden.
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