My name is Lynne Leslie, and I live on a hill (although my garden is on flat ground) in Wellington, New Zealand, which is termed the windiest city in the world, and for good reason. I have lived here for 43 years, taking on a new section consisting of rock, clay, and more rock! Thanks to masses of compost, hedging to filter the strong winds, and regular feeding, I am able to grow most things, although maples are out of the question.
My Cornus contraversa ‘Variegata’ (Zones 5–8) in the courtyard is my pride and joy. It tolerates the wind but had a real struggle when first planted. This garden is edged with Buxus (Zones 5–9), mostly cutting grown, but sadly it has developed buxus blight, so I am now reluctantly treating it with spray and also seaweed fertilizer. Now it is fingers crossed and wait and see!
My clematis grows up the gazebo and provides lovely purple blooms for months. It looks lovely combined with the rose ‘Westerland’, which has flowers of a lovely bright orange color.
Lilies (Lilium hybrid, Zones 4–9) are favorites, and I plant another one every year to remember my late mother, as they were her favorites too.
I have 13 vireya rhododendrons (Rhododendron section Vireya, Zones 10–12) growing in pots on the shady south-facing path. They are so easy to grow, and they provide color off and on all year.
The cream flower is a New Zealand native climber called Tecomanthe (Zones 9–11). It is extremely hardy and grows very quickly, so I am always giving it a little tweak to let it know who is the boss in this garden.
I have many roses, but they struggle with the high winds during spring, and I always find canes lying on the ground after a storm.
The David Austin roses appear to be more successful in my garden.
Roses trained as standards make a beautiful display.
I do love blue in the garden, and Canterbury bells (Campanula medium, Zones 4–10) always make a yearly appearance.
This purple thalictrum (perhaps Thalictrum delavayi, Zones 4–7 or a similar species) combines so well with the daisies.
