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Paving Surfaces
When choosing solid paving, remember that it can become unbearably hot in full sun. Dark granite will absorb heat becoming too hot to touch while very white paving can be impossibly glaring on sunny days. Choose a paving colour that will be ‘warm’ in winter but usable in the height of summer. Check also for slipperiness, on that odd wet day some surfaces can become impossibly slick and dangerous.
Solid paving sheds any rainwater immediately, water than can be used in the garden. You can use a very slight slope on the paving surface to direct run-off where you want it most. As a particularly heavy downpour can result in washouts, however, make sure that whatever is planted there, and any mulch, can handle this. Swales are widely used in areas that experience sudden thunderstorms and heavy bursts of rain, directing runoff and reducing damage while retaining water in the garden.
Wooden decking is a popular choice, so much so that it is almost a cliché. Don’t let this sway you unduly as it is practical, inexpensive and it works. Decked areas need to have some sort of weed-mat underneath to stop errant weeds popping through, and they must be well constructed to be safe. See a builder or get a proper design, and check for permit regulations before you start.
Gravel is a good paving, it allows rainfall to seep into the soil where neighbouring planted areas and larger trees can access it, and it is informal. Use it with care adjacent to a house, as fine gravel is easily tracked inside, creating a nuisance and spoiling floor coverings.
Shelter from Wind
Wind dries, anyone who has hung out the washing on a day with a stiff breeze or in the full-blast of a Canterbury nor’wester knows that it dries faster in the wind. Plants are very much affected by wind and plants have developed many techniques for surviving in exposed, windy places.
In the garden we want to grow a wider range of plants and thus garden design should plan for shelter. Dry garden design in windy areas must include shelter.
The ultimate shelter is a good hedge that filters wind and blocks damaging salt spray at the coast. In smaller gardens hedges take precious space, and they do require regular maintenance to give of and look their best, so alternatives may appeal more. Good hedges for dry climates include our many natives such as corokia, coprosma, broadleaf (Griselinia) and Akeake (Dodonaea viscosa), as well as exotics such as Cupressus arizonica, Teucrium fruticans, and, of course, lavender for a low hedge. (More on hedging)
Other excellent shelter can be made from fencing. A slatted fence is more efficient at reducing wind without turbulence and there are many alternatives, including trellis, spaced palings and pickets. Although they may not be the most attractive option, artificial windbreak fences are very, very efficient, and once the planting takes shape inside them they are less noticeable.
Jacob de Ruiter, the Wellington designer, has developed a technique of building earth mound to lift and deflect wind, and these have a place in the dry garden, enabling planting to take on a vertical aspect as the mound is planted.
Southwest style makes great use of solid walls plastered in bright colours. While these walls certainly make a great design statement, in very windy areas they will create down-stream turbulence that can severely damage plants. In small spaces they are great, in larger, more open or exposed gardens they should be used with care.
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Wood and gravel combine to define different garden areas
Wooden decking and drought-resistant planting
Soft coloured paving with texture
Hedges filter wind and shelter planting
Innovative fencing can be a design statement
A simple slatted fence is an effective wind filter
Solid walls look great but increase turbulence in windy areas |
