Open garden: Wilsons on the Wetlands, NSW
VISIT this 1.7ha garden of mystery and surprises near Port Macquarie in NSW.
Wilsons on the Wetlands, 3 Fagans Crescent, Kendall.
Owner: Debb Wilson. Open this weekend from 10am to 4.30pm; $7, under-18s free.
Describe your garden: It’s 1.7ha with half a hectare of wetlands, halfway between Port Macquarie and Taree. It was once an established tree nursery so we have a lot of rows of 30-year-old liquidambars, maples and poplars. When Jeff and I bought it in 1996, we didn’t even know what they were but I’ve since studied horticulture. There are large expanses of manicured lawns because Jeff was a mad lawn man. We created the garden for our kids to run, play and explore freely, and there are funny little sculptures and bits that make it home.
What makes it special: We built this garden on memories of our childhoods — we were both influenced by our grandparents’ gardens. So it has lots of twisting paths leading off mysteriously, tunnels and surprises. Things are allowed to grow and in autumn there are great quantities of leaves to rake into piles and jump into.
Biggest challenges: Stormwater — we get up to a metre of water flooding across the property. And every few years we get black frosts.
Favourite part: A barbecue area up the back near the wetlands is a wonderful place where we’ve spent a lot of time with family and friends. There are fire pits and open fires — we always have lots of firewood with all these trees.
You hope visitors will: Bring their children — admission is free for them — to run wild and play in big piles of autumn leaves. Bring a picnic, too.
Fundraising: Hastings Hospice helped Jeff in his last 12 months, supplying palliative care that allowed him to stay home until the end. He was only 52. Donations are welcome. Proceeds will go to them.