Mawollok, Western District, Victoria

Mawallok station, in Victoria’s Western District, has one of the most significant historic gardens in Australia.

Mawallock garden. Picture: Open Gardens Victoria.

Mawallok station, in Victoria’s Western District, has one of the most significant historic gardens in Australia. Owned by the Russell family since 1847, the 2428ha pastoral property near Beaufort was bought by Jocelyn and Peter Mitchell in 1980. And in a neat twist, their son Stephen married Serena, whose grandmother was a Russell – so that when the couple took over in 2009, ownership came full circle.

“It was a daunting prospect taking on Mawallok,” says Serena. Her family property was nearby and she fondly remembers playing in Mawallok’s garden as a child. “Stephen and I both deeply love the place but the garden has been a steep learning curve for me. My mother-in-law has been an amazing inspiration.”

Mawallock garden. Picture: Open Gardens Victoria.

William Guilfoyle, director of the Melbourne Botanic Gardens, designed the 2.5ha garden in 1909 to complement the Arts and Crafts homestead built the same year. In the 1920s, Sir John Monash designed the 9ha lake, fed by an abundant permanent spring, and opened up the sweeping vistas to the Pyrenees Range and Mt Cole beyond. In 1924 Major Alex Russell, a keen golfer, designed the six-hole golf course, which is separated from the main garden by a ha-ha wall built in the late 1930s.

When Jocelyn and Peter Mitchell took over, they reworked some of the changes of the 1930s to “take it back to its Guilfoyle roots”, Serena explains. The design reflects English picturesque and gardenesque tastes, with both formal and informal elements. There are serpentine paths, sweeps of lawn, a flagstone terrace and pergola, both lawn and en-tout-cas tennis courts, rockery, generously curving shrubberies and a wealth of historic trees. These include Algerian oaks and a Gallipoli oak grown from acorns collected by World War I soldiers. Osage orange (Maclura pomifera) is among the unusual windbreak species. In 1985 they added a new area with an avenue of pleached limes (Tilia), underplanted with massed bulbs, backed by herbaceous perennials and mixed shrubs.

Mawallock garden. Picture: Open Gardens Victoria.

Serena and Stephen, who met at school, are continuing the policy of preserving the heritage-listed house and garden while fulfilling their own visions including a new terrace, vegetable garden and finessing the perennial border. Serena’s latest project is a dry garden, inspired by the recently restored “Guilfoyle’s Volcano” at Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens.

“Stephen is interested in lawns and trees and mechanical logistics, while I focus on the plants,” says Serena. “We’re fortunate to have three part-time gardeners, one of whom has worked here for 30 years. Her knowledge of the vast array of plants here is unparalleled. We’re also vigilant about keeping garden diaries.”

Contract arborists help maintain the precious trees. With the garden now into its second century, succession planting is a constant for future generations.

“Our eldest son at 20 is starting to appreciate what we’re doing,” says Serena. “We recently had to remove a huge number of old pines along the drive. He said it made him realise that when he is our age the avenue of oaks we planted will be beautiful, established trees.”

Mawallok is open April 27 and 28, with food stalls, art show and plant sales. All proceeds go to local charities; opengardensvictoria.org.au

Q&A

My lillypillies have soft, white clumps on the branches inside the plant. Are they bad? How should I deal with them? Christine Potter, Gold Coast

This pest is white wax scale, a sucking insect that attacks lillypillies, gardenias, citrus and pittosporums, especially in the shaded parts. Adult scales are protected under their blobs of waxy secretions, making them impervious to sprays. Wipe off minor infestations by hand, wearing disposable gloves. Eco-oil or PestOil will treat juvenile stages; repeat spray after two weeks. Ants “farm” scales for their sweet secretions, so control ants by banding trunks with horticultural glue.

What fragrant climber would suit a large feature trellis on the southern wall of our courtyard? We wanted a rose but it’s shady most of the year. Jennifer Codey, Brisbane

Roses do need full sun. Star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) is unequalled in its ability to give bottom to top coverage in shade. Also consider stephanotis (S. floribunda) or Hoya carnosa (porcelainflower or wax plant). Both are fragrant but less vigorous.

The buffalo grass in our walled courtyard receives some morning sun but is patchy despite great care. Can you suggest a more suitable grass? Kathie Barnes, Shoal Bay, NSW

The most tolerant turf types in your area would be King’s Pride, which is a softleaf buffalo variety, or Durban grass, also called sweet smother, which doesn’t tolerate frost or heavy traffic but has soft texture. Alternatively, consider a groundcover such a native violet or Dichondra repens. Dwarf mondo grass is tough but will be more expensive and slow to establish.

Gardenlust by Chris Woods.

Send your questions to: [e-mail] or Helen Young, PO Box 3098, Willoughby North, NSW 2068. Website: helenyoung.com.au. The best question for April wins a copy of Gardenlust: A Botanical Tour of the World’s Best New Gardens by Chris Woods (Timber Press, $70). March’s winner is Keith Mackay of Canberra for his question about plant-friendly path cleaners.