Trees make way for roses

LEGENDARY Te Awamutu rosarian Paddy Stephens was part of the team that approved planting of trees at Te Awamutu Rose Garden around 30 years ago, but now she is glad some have gone (including the large cashmeriana near the entrance) to allow the roses to flourish. 187061AD

Paddy Stephens rapt Pat’s ‘Big Purple’ will thrive out of the shade.

Paddy Stephens is unashamedly ecstatic that several large trees have been removed from the Rose Garden. She is a self-confessed tree lover - but adds her first passion is for the roses.

Mrs Stephens is chairperson of the Te Awamutu Rose Trust, the organisation that has spent thousands of dollars over 30 years stocking the Te Awamutu Rose Garden with quality varieties. She and her late husband Pat Stephens were at the forefront of the Rose Garden project, the formation of the Rose Trust and are nationally and internationally recognised rosarians.

Many of Mr Stephens roses are in the Te Awamutu garden, including the stunning ‘Big Purple’ which has struggled in the shadow of the large cashmeriana tree. Also proudly on display is the rose he bred for his bride ‘Paddy Stephens’.

At the last Rose Trust meeting trustee Dean Taylor was given the go-ahead to prepare and present a submission to the Long Term Council Community Plan asking for the garden to be restored to its former glory. The trust wanted Council to be aware that with the broken fence removed, protection of the assets (the roses) were at risk, that large shade trees and sun loving roses did not mix and that the fence had been built out of local bricks using fundraised money and volunteer labour.

Council voted not to alter their long term plan as a result of the submission, but did undertake to perform remedial maintenance out of existing budgets. Asset manager recreation, Max Ward says the cashmeriana had lost a third of its crown due to dieback and it was agreed to remove it, along with five or six trees on the Gorst Avenue boundary to the Rose Garden which have pushed over the brick wall. They will make way for a new footpath and boundary fence - once plans have been discussed by Council with interest groups. Timber bollards are likely as a temporary barrier.

Mrs Stephens admits she was part of the team that approved planting of trees to create a woodlot connecting the garden to Pioneer Walk, but says no-one expected them to be allowed to grow so large. She says her suggestion several years ago that some trees had to be cut down initiated an often bitter battle and probably lost her friends. But she believes the right decision has now been taken, as park trees are lovely, but do not enhance a rose garden.

Visiting the garden on Tuesday after the cashmeriana had been removed she stated she couldn’t be happier.

“My Pat’s ‘Big Purple’ will thrive now,” she said.