Dunedin-based gardener Violet Faigan tells us about her wonderful, colour-packed garden.
Violet Faigan is an Ōtepoti Dunedin-based creative – a botanically-inspired artist, statement jewellery-maker, vintage clothing collector and passionate gardener. In this interview, Violet tells us about her wonderful, colour-packed garden…
Tell us a little about yourself and your life as a gardener
Gardening has been the constant in my life while other things have come and gone or happen only sporadically (making art, making jewellery, singing, collecting vintage clothing and records…).
My grandfather was my first gardening buddy and teacher. He came out from England to live with us in Timaru when I was a pre-schooler. Then it was my mother Gladys who I gardened alongside. She would get me to do the heavier work as her arthritis worsened. Eventually, by the age of 15 or so, the vegetable garden was solely my domain – I’d reached head gardener status! And together we would tackle the flower beds. I made my first pond for Mum. She was so trusting and encouraging.
These are some of my dearest memories. Hot dry Canterbury summers, taking a break for a doorstop sandwich and a shandy. Draining the upstairs bathwater to irrigate, as water was so precious.
These days, I live in Dunedin with my partner Malcolm (a librarian, union representative and drummer) and daughters, Clara and Emerald. I work as a gardener and also occasionally make jewellery and paint botanicals in gouache.
What did you want to achieve with the garden?
This property is much larger than our previous home. It was all but a blank slate, which made the process easier to visualise in my mind’s eye. It’s my first real garden where I can have space for different types of beds – woodland, dry areas, herbaceous, veggie – and a pond and thick hedges. I’ve tried to achieve all the above, while linking them in a naturalistic way, where one moment leads you to the next.
How would you describe your style of gardening?
My style evolves constantly, though there are aspects that have been with me a while…
I like objects in the garden, especially weathered pieces coated in moss or lichen. I like some humour; well, perhaps it’s not humour, more a lack of seriousness. I love dynamism, movement, texture and colour.
My favourite colours are those that sit between two colours and are hard to pinpoint. I seldom use the primary tones. I love smokey, complex hues. Brick, oxblood, dusky pink, puce, olive, biscuit, bordeux, salmon, violet, lime… I’m beginning to use near-white tones in the darker areas. I used to be very anti white.
Was there anything unexpected in the process of creating your garden?
One unexpected thing was hitting/smashing the drain pipe while digging my pond. But actually, the way I work (with urgency and zero patience) makes it quite expected on reflection.
What are your favourite plants to grow?
This spring the foliage of the Himalayan lilies is growing at a rate of knots; it’s so beautifully glossy and full of promise.
I have several different tones of Geranium phaeum – smokey mauve, violet and the ever-reliable ‘Mourning Widow’. I have some very pretty brick-red and ‘pantyhose’ tone iris. My favourite Phlomis is the soft purple Italica but I grow the soft buttery russeliana. Floxgloves are all welcome here but especially Digitalis mertonensis (strawberry foxglove). And I have to mention the Oriental poppy, ‘Patty’s Plum’.
What lessons have you learned on your gardening journey?
I don’t think I can pinpoint anything specific, but I’m sure much of who I am is born of spadework and the rambling internal dialogue that accompanies gardening.
