Landscape designer Edna Walling

Edna Walling’s design legacy.

Edna Walling garden. Picture: Brett Horan.

Edna Walling was one of our great landscape designers from the 1920s to 1950s, when it was rare for women to work in this field. Her influence is still felt today, not least in her experimental urban development, Bickleigh Vale village, which remains a tightly held pocket of real estate in the foothills of the Dandenongs outside Melbourne.

English-born Walling arrived in Australia aged 17 and at 26 bought 1.2ha of land at Mooroolbark to build herself “a cottage of charm and personality”. There she conceived a “scheme for the establishment of a model Devon village”, purchasing an adjoining 7.2ha on which she designed 16 cottages and gardens over 20 years from the 1920s. Bickleigh Vale, named for her birthplace, reflects her childhood memories of quaint cottages that nestle into large and rambling gardens. They feature local stone for chimneys, paths and walls; views to the garden from every room; and simple fences with gates to encourage neighbourly access. The garden design principles for which she became known are here: informal “rooms”, trees planted in copses, the design’s bare bones visible in winter, and green the predominant colour. Walling believed gardens should be allowed to grow naturally and be pruned as little as possible.

Edna Walling garden. Picture: Brett Horan.

Trees with seasonal interest include crabapples, birches, magnolias, plums and elms. She favoured repeated plantings of shrubs like Viburnum, Spiraea, azaleas, buddleias and native mint bush (Prostanthera), with perennials such as forget-me-nots, foxgloves, penstemons, Japanese windflowers, ajuga and hellebores. Drifts of spring bulbs are a feature. Some of her favourites, however, are now on the weeds list and are being phased out: willows, agapanthus, cotoneaster, vinca, erigeron and hawthorn.

Maryann Sporon-Fiedler has lived at Downderry (built for Walling’s mother) for 25 years. “It’s the most wonderful place to live, in a very kind and safe community. I hope to stay here until I go out in a box,” she says. Recently, her daughter and grandchildren became neighbours, buying nearby Mousehole. “To live here you have to like gardening and odd houses,” says Sporon-Fiedler. “Every season is different, but you must enjoy things being a bit wild and woolly.”

Edna Walling garden. Picture: Brett Horan.

“It’s unique in suburbia today,” says Jennifer Vardy, who bought The Barn nine years ago with her husband Paul and four young children, attracted by the large lots. “It gives us an experience that’s like country living, where we grew up, and we want our children to have that. Like-minded people find their way here, as Walling planned – they’re artistic and creative people who prefer gardens that are not manicured but layered and seasonal. Most of us are committed to preserving the charm of the village.”

Edna Walling garden. Picture: Brett Horan.

Walling, who was known for wearing jodhpurs and for her determined (some say demanding) manner, commanded respect from her clients and peers, and was also a talented artist, photographer and garden writer. She left Bickleigh Vale in 1967 for Queensland and died in 1973. The village was given heritage protection in 2004.

A rare opportunity to visit eight of the gardens, with talks by owners, is on Sunday, October 13. Entry fees apply. opengardensvictoria.org.au

Q&A

Would native frangipani suit a large pot in full sun? Three in the ground are well established. What else would provide greenery, a little shade, and fragrance or produce? Summer is very hot here. Jenny Garroun, York, WA

This slender rainforest tree might struggle in a hot pot and not be very lush. But if the pot size, potting mix quality and watering frequency are optimal, you can succeed. Other options are cumquat, frangipani, olive, oleander, murraya, loquat, mulberry, feijoa, fig and carob.

Our neem tree has borer holes with crumbly residue on the bark. How do we treat it? Theresa Ford, Maitland, NSW

Borers successfully attack trees already stressed from factors such as old age, drought, changes around their root zones, or sub-optimal climate (neem is a tropical tree). You can stick wire down holes to pierce the grubs inside but the main treatment is to improve the health of the tree. Try Seasol, deep watering and a mulch of compost.

My moth orchids flowered for several years but now only produce leaves. I haven’t changed their location, watering or fertiliser. Heather Solly, Finniss, SA

Phalaenopsis thrive in temperatures of 20-30°C, high humidity and bright, indirect light. A week or two of night temperatures below about 15°C helps initiate flowers after a two-month rest period. They can produce new flower spikes from old ones that stay green, so only remove the brown ones.

Cranlana.

Send your questions to: [e-mail] or Helen Young, PO Box 3098, Willoughby North, NSW 2068. Website: helenyoung.com.au. The best question for September wins a copy of the new book Cranlana: The First 100 Years, the story of the Myer family seat and its garden, worth $80.