Masterton Trust Lands Trust has dedicated a green space to enhance its recently commissioned mural by FLOX on Lincoln Road.
“The garden was part of our goal to beautify the pocket of Trust-owned land alongside the mural to complement FLOX’s artwork,” explains Trust Chair Christine Brewster.
Experienced local landscape designer Rachel Callaghan was engaged to create a concept for a green space for locals and visitors to retreat to and enjoy the mural.
The garden serves as a pedestrian link between Lincoln Road and Chapel Street and the new design invites passersby to wander into the space via a wide meandering path.
The Trust recognises that providing green space in Masterton can help offset the environmental impacts of developing commercial buildings.
Plantings are mainly natives chosen for form and texture and to reflect Wairarapa flora. “Lancewoods around the outskirts of the garden add a vertical accent without blocking views into and out of the site,” Rachel explains. Several large river boulders represent the river, with the green plantings reflecting hill country and forest. The lawn is like the Wairarapa Plains while the birds in FLOX’s mural link to the sky. Colourfully painted bench seats will be dotted throughout to echo the mural colours.
On one of the boulders, visitors may notice a plaque acknowledging the bequest that helped make FLOX’s mural possible. “We wanted to honour the legacy of school teacher Ethel Irene Stephens – a patron of the arts who left a legacy to the Trust to further arts and culture in Masterton,” says Christine Brewster.
“It is the Trust’s vision that locals and visitors will be able to delight in the mural for many years, and now, with the garden alongside, will be able to rest in the shade of a new garden that will flourish over time and remain a space for all to enjoy.”