Open garden: Banna Billa’s beautiful lake the central feature

With its willow-fringed lake, Banna Billa, at Cowra NSW, is more like a beautiful park than a garden.

Banna Billa: the central and imposing feature is the willow-fringed lake with its island and views down to the river.

Banna Billa, 345 Gem Road, Cowra, NSW. Owners: Fred and Coleen Fahey. Open this weekend, 10am-4pm. Entry $8, under 18s free.

Describe the garden: We’re 7km out of Cowra on a small ridge overlooking the Lachlan River. It’s more like a parkland than a garden, covering about 7 acres (2.8ha) all up. It’s simple in a way but it has a relaxing atmosphere. The central and imposing feature is the willow-fringed lake with its island and views down to the river. We wanted a garden that didn’t look formal but had architectural form, yet married well with the natural landscape. The lake is the focus on the northern side, while on the southern side we repositioned an original settlers’ hut from another part of the property, surrounding it with garden. It’s a bit of history from the district. Plants were selected for their form, texture and scale, to highlight seasonal change and to attract as much birdlife as possible.

How did it develop? We started it about 12 years ago from a block with nothing but Scotch thistles. I planted the boundaries first with native tubestock and mulched heavily. Stage two was constructing the lake while we finalised the house plans. Once the house was built, the lawns and adjacent trees went in, and within the next two years the banks of the lake were sown to natives. Finally the vegetable gardens were built. In 2013 we were able to buy the ­adjoining property, which allowed us to expand the garden. Being my first garden, I naively just thought to make it easy to look after but I’ve learned and become a gardener along the way. Coleen’s cousin, Joseph Corkhill, is a garden designer nearby and he helped with the plant selection and placement. The colours are subtle greens, blues, greys and whites. Continuity of planting links all the area together.

What makes it special?Everyone is drawn to the lake. Every room of the pavilion-style house looks out over it. The reflections are just beautiful; they give another dimension to it. The name Banna Billa was given to us by Kim Freeman, a local Wiradjuri artist. It means a place with lots of water.

Biggest challenges: It’s pretty dry here in summer and we rely on the automated watering system from the dam, but it’s forever breaking down.

Favourite part:Sitting on the veranda with a glass of wine looking out over the lake. I’m an agricultural pilot, which can be hectic in seasons, so the garden is my refuge. I love flying but at the end of the work day it doesn’t give anything to look back on, whereas with gardening all your work and ideas keep rewarding you, getting better as it grows and develops character.

What’s looking good: The colour of the deciduous trees such as Manchurian pears, liquidambars, Chinese pistachio, Chinese tallow trees and willows.

Extras:Morning teas to raise funds for Bunyarra Nursing Home in Cowra.