Open gardens: Garden of Hope, Melbourne

The Garden of Hope in Melbourne’s east is a 4000sqm block, one third is garden and the rest bush.

Garden of Hope.

Describe the garden: We’re in Melbourne’s east on an acre (4000sq m) block, of which a third is garden and the rest bush. From our hilltop we have a magnificent view of the Dandenongs but see few buildings, giving a sense of escape from the city, yet we’re five minutes from the freeway. We built a reproduction Victorian house in 1990 and surrounded it with garden. Having just moved from England it was initially an Eng­lish affair, cottagey in style, but held together by a strong axial structure of bluestone walls and formal elements such as box hedges. Over the years I’ve redesigned areas and changed the plant choices to be more drought tolerant with longer seasons of interest. I’ve included more plants for their foliage colours and textures, and I love grasses and grey foliage plants. The garden is full due to my bad habit of wanting to include every plant I like. I am a self-confessed plantaholic. Climbing roses, perennials, grasses, flowering trees and shrubs fill every nook and cranny.

Tell us about the garden’s name: I inherited my love of gardening from my mother and grandmother. My grandmother’s name was Hope and my mother and I have it as a middle name. My work as an oncologist involves giving hope to people with cancer so it seemed a way to honour them and my late mother. When I qualified as a garden designer, I set up Hope and Heart Garden Design.

Biggest challenges: The soil. The front is on solid rock with a thin layer of imported soil. It dries out quickly in summer but other areas get waterlogged in winter.

Lessons from your garden: Do not copy my overabundance of plants. It makes for very high maintenance. It’s much better to follow the “less is more” philosophy that I use now in designing for other people.

What’s looking good: Japanese windflowers, sedums, plectranthus, salvias, ornamental grasses and the golden ash trees changing colour. Their glow spreads across the whole garden.

Extras: We put on a very big weekend. There’s a cafe selling lunches and devonshire teas; stalls selling plants, gifts, homemade chutneys (from our vegie patch), jams and slices; a raffle; live music and a BMW car collection to help interest non-gardening partners. Funds raised go to Breast Cancer Research — we’ve raised $25,000 over the past four open gardens.