The secret gardens you must see
Gain inspiration from these small relatable gardens with a host of ideas.
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No matter the size, keen gardeners can always gain information and inspiration from visiting other people’s gardens. While large, grand scale gardens, whether private or public, may not always be relatable in terms of scale, budget and opportunity, there are smaller gardens which are definitely worth a visit, because of their domestic garden size, which show what the average home gardener can achieve. Here are four of the best from around the country.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Anna’s Garden - opening October 1-2 (this long weekend, but not open Monday),
46 Gladys St, Clarence Gardens
Anna is an exuberant lady of Greek heritage and an amazing cook, and her suburban garden reflects this. It is the scale of her garden that is so relatable to most backyards, and she has managed to fill every available space with colour and interest, with lots of edibles planted amongst the flowering plants and 16 fruit trees. The colourful front garden and verge are massed with hardy cottage garden plants including roses, salvias, kiss-me-quick and the occasional vegie and fruit tree, while out the back, a framework of mainly Mediterranean fruit trees, vegie and herb beds are intermingled with roses, lavender, and many other ornamental flowering plants including poppies, love-in-the-mist, alstroemeria and daylilies.
A lively alfresco eating area houses a collection of vivid blue and white pottery displayed both on the walls and as containers filled with exuberant foliage or pretty flowering plants. Pots and repurposed items, many in Anna’s favourite blue tones, are everywhere, adding to the vibrancy and providing a home for her collections of orchids and lovely lacy ferns. Tall trees add a sheltered feel but where their roots compete for water and nutrients, more pots and hanging baskets have been used to successfully fill difficult dry spots with foliage and flowers. Anna gardens organically and eight bins are in constant use to convert green waste to the rich compost that keeps the soil healthy and able to sustain the dense planting.
VICTORIA
McPherson Garden – opening weekend November 19-20, 28 Malvern Ave, Glen Iris
Located in suburban Glen Iris, this relatively new garden started in 2018 and is beautifully designed on a standard suburban block. The owners envisaged a relaxed, lush garden with a contemporary edge and worked with their botanist daughter to create just that, with small garden courtyards which would create enticing garden vistas from all interior rooms; a planting scheme which incorporated foliage and flowers for picking and perfume; and a garden with plenty of plant interest in all seasons. The garden succeeds on all accounts and consists of a variety of garden rooms, providing different ‘flavours’: eg. a Japanese style courtyard with mini conifers, maples and camellias and key elements of water, stone and moss; a colourful native garden towards the rear of the property; a restful alfresco courtyard surrounded by daphnes, hydrangeas and magnolias with an Acer globosum walk. An area of the front garden has an extensive rockery which sets off many of the plantings in a colour palette of burgundy, blue and silver. A sheltered ‘allee’ runs down the side of the house with a range of vertical plantings including silver birches, maples, espaliered jasmine, hanging baskets and a pair of fastigiate yews.
NEW SOUTH WALES
Bronte House, Bronte Rd, Bronte
While the garden of this beautiful heritage-listed house built in 1845 is much larger than a normal suburban block, and it also has large expansive lawns and magnificent old trees, the garden consists of many smaller relatable areas and clever plant combinations which can provide inspiration for regular domestic gardens. This historically significant site, near Sydney’s Bronte Beach, has had its garden renovated and developed by garden experts including Leo Schofield, Myles Baldwin and others, and the garden is now maintained by Pepo Botanic Design respectfully integrating plant life and thoughtful elements, to preserve this inspiring landmark for years to come.
The garden showcases many interesting, old fashioned and unusual plants suitable for its warm temperate to subtropical climate. These plants are used to create a Victorian-style perennial garden and include cannas, gingers, salvias, roses, flax, dahlias, daylilies, succulents and more. Colours are themed in different areas to great effect, with the entrance garden around the carriage way and central lawn having a colour scheme of purple, burgundy, blue, orange and the odd pink, either through the display of flower or foliage. Attention has also been paid to the diversity of plant forms and textures, with plant combinations throughout the garden carefully chosen for maximum impact.
The garden is maintained by Waverley Council and will be open in November with details appearing on their website and in local papers.
waverley.nsw.gov.au/recreation/places_of_interest/bronte_house
QUEENSLAND
Rosevale Homestead, 922 Mt Samson Rd, Samsonvale
(open Saturdays or by appointment 3289 9250)
This garden, 40 minutes north-west of Brisbane city, is a romantic, country-style garden filled with wonderful treasures that many people wouldn’t think would survive and thrive in Queensland’s subtropical climate. It includes a large collection of heritage and old-fashioned roses which perform well despite the humidity and perennials, companion plants, bulbs and other tiny treasures which compliment them. The roses are grown for their beautiful flowers, forms and scent and the companion plants appeal to the beneficial bugs as well as us humans. This is the private garden of Leonie Kearney who runs a small nursery which is open each Saturday, and at this time, visitors are welcome to take a stroll in her garden for ideas and inspiration, and see practical examples of the plants she promotes and propagates with the aim to keep these special beauties in gardens for future generations.
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