The winding history of our mazes.
Back in 1999, when we purchased the Manse, as it was called, the land had an aura of neglect, with
horse paddocks on one side and a sheep enclosure on the other side of the homestead. A couple of
snakes had set up home in the ramshackle shed and the 8 acres of river flats had been used and
abused for commercially grown potato crops.
We immediately got to work landscaping, starting out from the French doors of our kitchen, and
gradually extending the gardens all the way to the Forth River, where Pete and our 6 kids planted a
deciduous forest.
After planting 1000 trees in one weekend, two spaces opened right in the middle of the plantation,
perfect for a couple of mazes.
I believe the mysterious urge for mazes resides deep within each human being, so we never
questioned it. Lacking funds, we collected loads of cuttings from a neglected graveyard at a secret
location and got to work.
The maze with the diamond shape was planted first. Now that the kids knew what to do, we
expected them to plant out the round maze, which they did. I can’t remember if we ever paid them
pocket money, but they had fun, whacking each other over the head with branches and cuttings, and
learning valuable maze building skills. They simply accepted it as part of their lifestyle, along with
growing and harvesting 50 types of heirloom garlic, eating homemade bread, yoghurt and
sauerkraut, family gatherings under the trees, lying around in hammocks and bonfires.
This chapter of our family life ended abruptly when I got hit by a truck in 2006 and was left with
catastrophic injuries. We needed to simplify our lives. Garden rooms were neglected, and hedges
made way for lawns. The forest and mazes were abandoned, but they didn’t seem to mind. They
probably longed for much needed peace and quiet! The area became inhabited by thousands of
rabbits and dozens of feral cats, mother nature creating a precarious balance between cat and
rabbits.
The first hundred-year floods decimated the mazes. Bit by bit we resurrected the area and by June
2016, our mazes and river flats were picture perfect.
That’s when the second, even more devastating flood struck Forth. We were flooded in and when
our gardener returned to see the size of the destruction, he instantly resigned. We didn’t blame him.
All his hard work had evaporated overnight, along with the rabbits and feral cats.
In 2017 we had the good fortune to find Ben, a fantastic gardener and landscaper and since then the
forest hasn’t looked back.
Trees, mazes, and plants love the touch and attention of humans as much as we do. Today, our trees
are some of the first to leaf up, the grass never stops growing in the winter and the mazes are
rewarding us with a wonderful opportunity to lose ourselves for a bit.
Isn’t this what life is all about? Death and endings are followed by new beginnings and growth. What
is lost is waiting to be found. The answers to our longings are found inside our own mysterious
depths.
We hope that you enjoy your Purple House Forest experience as much as we do!
Grada.