My Favourite Artwork: Fruit bowl, full circle

Haidi Spence first laid eyes on her favourite artwork 22 years ago at an exhibition in an Australian timber mill. Since then, the painting has been a part of her home in half a dozen towns and cities and has crossed the Tasman Sea four times. She tells the story to Matt Lawrey.

Gardening coach Haidi Spence’s favourite artwork is the first serious piece of art she ever owned.

The abstract still life painting by Australian artist Chris Fletcher came into her life when she was 22. Titled Fruit Bowl, the acrylic work was part of an exhibition called ‘It’s a Case of Art in the Mill’, held in an old timber mill in the Queensland village of Ballandean. The exhibition was held annually for 20 years, up until 2022, and its organisers included Haidi’s mother.

One year, Haidi was visiting from Sydney when she spotted Fruit Bowl on the opening night. “I remember saying to Mum, ‘I just love that piece so much,’ and she bought it for me.”

It was the painting’s colours that really caught her eye.

“In my early twenties, I was working out what it was that I liked, and I think the colour palette of this painting really set the tone for what I love; muted, warm, natural colours that feel homely.”

Haidi took the painting back to Sydney, where she and her sister owned a café called Scrambled. Over the years, Fruit Bowl has occupied pride of place in multiple homes, both in Australia and New Zealand.

“It’s always been on a wall. It’s never been packed away. It reminds me of home,” she says. Haidi grew up in New South Wales. “I’m one of four kids. We grew up on a farm. I wasn’t very useful on the farm, at all. It was a really creative space, though. Mum is a textile and fibre artist and had a screen-printing business, so we were just surrounded by creativity,” she says.

Haidi’s own life has been full of creativity and expression.

From the ages of 6 to 18, she danced each year at Sydney Opera House in the national Physical Culture competition. Also known as Physie, Physical Culture is an Australian form of dance combining ballet, aerobics, gymnastics, contemporary and modern jazz.

In her final year of school, Haidi won a national title after which she headed to the University of Western Sydney to study contemporary dance. Unfortunately, a year into her degree, she developed shin splints.

“I deferred for six months to try to rest my legs and to find my dancing mojo again, but during that time, I ended up buying a café with my sister and didn’t go back,” she laughs.

Just before she started work in the café, though, Haidi did manage to squeeze in another memorable dancing experience.

“My legs healed in time, and I really missed dancing, so I auditioned for a youth performing arts group in Sydney and went on an international tour called Odyssey on Stage. We performed on a cruise ship around The Bahamas, then went to London, Paris and Athens. It was an incredible experience.”

After two years in the hospo industry, Haidi moved across the Tasman to Nelson.

“When I moved here, I just couldn’t believe the gardens, and how everything grew so beautifully. I grew up in an extremely dry region of Australia. Gardening seemed like such a battle. Moving to Nelson was when I was first realised, ‘Oh, man, I can grow things!’ so I started buying seeds and growing flowers.”

This new passion led to her successfully applying for a gardening apprenticeship at Nelmac.

“It was so awesome. I loved it so much. I was working with such fun people, and I was learning so much.”

It was during this time that she met her future husband, Dallas. Upon the completion of Haidi’s apprenticeship, the couple moved to Perth, where Haidi spent two years doing a science degree at Murdoch University. From there, it was off to Uki, near Byron Bay, where the couple’s daughter Maisey was born, and Haidi completed her degree externally.

“I graduated valedictorian of my university, which was a real honour, but it was weird because I was on the other side of the country, so I had very little connection with the students I was graduating with. It did, however, lead to some great conversations with some fascinating people and a really good job in Canberra working for the Department of the Environment.”

After two years in the Australian capital, the couple decided it was time to return to Nelson.

What followed was seven years of working for Nelson City Council’s parks team, after which Haidi set up her own garden planning and coaching business, Your Garden Guide.

The goal of Your Garden Guide is to empower and inspire home gardeners, and to save people time, money and heartache.

“It can be really disheartening when you spend money on some fabulous plants and then they shrivel up and die because they’re not in the right spot in your garden,” Haidi says.

“I’m helping DIY gardeners realise that they don’t have to be a slave to their garden. I want people to realise how fun and enjoyable it can be. It doesn’t have to be a hard slog. It’s all about preparation and getting the right advice so you can build something beautiful."