North Queensland’s top garden to open up to help kids with cancer
A Rollingstone couple are opening up their award-winning garden for the last time to the public this Saturday to help raise money for a children’s cancer charity.
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A Rollingstone couple are opening up their award-winning garden for the last time to the public this Saturday to help raise money for a children’s cancer charity.
Natalie and Robert Pace’s garden won the Townsville Bulletin’s Best Garden Competition and a trip to New Zealand more than 20 years ago and the their garden has also been featured by the now defunct Australian Open Garden Scheme.
The Rollingstone Pace family are well-known for growing pineapples and pumpkins but Mrs Pace grew up with a love of gardening inherited from her mother.
Previously the garden has been opened five times but the couple decided to open it one more time to support the charity Childhood Cancer Support after family members had a child diagnosed with cancer.
“It’s just all about giving back. I’ve raised money in the past for the Queensland Cancer Council.
“I just thought I’ll do it one more time. I wasn’t going to do it again because it’s such a big job.”
Mrs Pace said they did originally not think their garden was that unique.
“I didn’t think it was all that special until someone gave my name to the Australian Open Garden Scheme. They came out and had a look, and they said they would like to put it in and that was the first time I opened it for the public.”
She describes her garden as tropical meets country cottage.
“You’ve got your palms and all your under planting, crotons and cordylines and all those sort of real tropical plants. Then I’ve got the roses and the gerberas and all the other annuals, petunias, impatiens, marigolds and a lot of orchids flowering in the garden.”
She said the garden was spread out around the house for half a hectare and visitors could make a day of it.
“We’ve got the pineapples down the back and the pumpkins out the front and mountain views so a lot of people enjoy the day.
“They’ll bring a picnic where I can sit down and have a picnic just in any part of the ground and, we’re going to do tea, coffee, scones and a sausage sizzle and a raffle for a handmade table and chairs.
“It runs from 9am to 4pm with a $5 entry and all the proceeds including from the tea, coffee, sausage sizzle, and raffle will go straight to childhood cancer support.”
The garden is open this Saturday September 7 from 9am to 4pm at 16 Balgal Beach Road with a sign on the driveway between a field of pumpkins and a field of Pineapples.
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Originally published as North Queensland’s top garden to open up to help kids with cancer
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