Ellis - Kiwi backyard: inspirational landscape design ideas and plans for your own backyard

Andy Ellis, ex-All Black, Cantabrian and part-time landscape designer, presents creative landscape ideas that you can adapt for your garden.

This book features a wide range of backyards from Kiwi heroes Kieran Read, Richie and Gemma McCaw, Sir Graham Henry, Wayne Smith, Wyatt Crockett, Sir Richard Hadlee, Izzy Dagg, George and Kayla Whitelock, Jason Gunn, Razor Robertson, Dan Carters folks, Al Brown, Matt Watson and Jason Kerrison.

With themes including the inner-city sanctuary, the native haven, the Kiwi kids playground and the entertainers utopia, theres something for everyone within these pages.

In addition youll find planting lists for each different theme and generic plans drawn up by Andys friends at Kamo Marsh Landscape Architects, giving you practical ideas for creating your ideal backyard.

ANDY ELLIS studied landscape architecture at Lincoln University on a rugby scholarship. He got three years through the four-year degree when professional rugby took over and he began playing for Canterbury from 2005 and the Crusaders from 2006. In total he played 154 games for the Crusaders, winning two Super Rugby titles. He was selected for the All Blacks in 2006 and played 28 tests, including the 2011 final in which New Zealand won the Rugby World Cup.

While playing rugby in 2009, Andy worked with his friend and landscape architect Danny Kamo on an entry for the Ellerslie Flower Show. In their second year they won a supreme award and were invited to compete in the Singapore Garden Festival, one of the big three in the world. With the help of Weta Workshop and Sir Richard Taylor, they came up with a design that saw them become the first New Zealanders to win a gold at this prestigious show.

Andys degree has been put on hold while he plays rugby overseas in Japan, but he loves to stay involved with landscaping. He has appeared in a series of segments on TVNZ 1s Seven Sharp , where he visited Kiwi celebrities and learned about their passion for their backyardssomething he feels many Kiwis have in common.

INTRO
DUCTION

Taking a stroll through the garden with my lovely wife, Emma, at her sisters place.

Gidday! Im Andy Ellis, and I guess you could say Im a typical Kiwi bloke. I love rugby, drinking beer and I dabble in a bit of horse racing. How about that Speeding Spur, eh? Shes quite a horse!

Ive spent the best part of the last decade throwing a ball around the footy field, but before that I was a pimply-faced landscape architecture student at Lincoln University. Ive always loved nature and the outdoors, as well as creating something out of nothing, so getting into designing gardens and outdoor spaces was a bit of a no-brainer for me.

Before I get ahead of myself, though, lets begin at the beginning. I grew up on a one-acre block in the heart of Christchurch. My parents grew tomatoes in our garden for a bit of extra cash, and my grandparents, who lived next door, did the same with asparagus. My siblings and I were pretty quick to learn that a bit of extra cash required a whole heap of work! We spent a lot of our spare time as kids and right through to our teenage years helping tend to the tomatoes and pick the asparagus, and in the process we discovered the great Kiwi tradition that is growing your own vegetables. I think the fact that you can grow your own vegies almost anywhere in New Zealandwhether its in your backyard if youve got the space, or in window-boxes if you live in an apartmentis one of the best things about living here.

Me and my sister, Amanda, in the sandpit Grandad made for us out of an old tractor tyre.

Preparing for the start of the tomato season with my dad (right) and one of his mates.

Checking on the tomatoes with Dad and Amanda.

When I finished high school (and moved on from my part-time career in asparagus-picking), I managed to win a prestigious scholarship through Christchurchs Willows Cricket Club that took me to Surrey in England for six months. I had the time of my life cruising around with a bunch of Poms in the English summer. It wasnt all fun and games, though. I also had to get a job while I was there, and that job just happened to be as a landscape gardener. Every moment that I wasnt playing cricket, I was helping sort out the gardens on some incredible English properties. While I was at it, I managed to learn a lot about different types of plants and the techniques for pruning them. Oh, and also that there are snakes in England! Who knew that you have to keep an eye out for bloody snakes while youre mowing an English lawn? (And, just so were clear, Im not talking about our opening batsman Quinny, either.)