Beautifully designed gardens are a joy to visit at any time, but spring and autumn are probably the most spectacular times when the design elements are most evident.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
Last weekend four wonderful, yet very different, private gardens in Longwood and Terip Terip were open for everyone to see for the princely sum of paying $12 at each garden.
The money goes to support various Euroa Rotary Club projects.
Visiting these gardens is organised by the Kew, Brighton North and Central Melbourne Rotary Clubs and promoted as the Rotary Garden Designfest.
They have been doing this for some years, interrupted predictably by COVID-19.
Put it in your diary to follow up for your garden day trip, or longer, meanwhile look up what you missed out on this year.
Rotary arranged visits to gardens in Metropolitan Melbourne and Mornington Peninsula during the weekend of November 12 and 13 and in three regional areas, Ballarat, Macedon and Euroa last weekend, November 19 and 20.
There were nine gardens to visit in the Ballarat area. I chose to visit locally.
Lots of people including families with young children were there.
We defied the weather warnings and dressed appropriately, there was not one umbrella to be seen as those who love gardens, young or old, don’t mind the odd shower of rain.
I spent all day on Sunday visiting three of the four gardens, having recently been to the fourth, and came home on a garden high.
Some of us garden vicariously, I am one of them.
I have previously visited all four gardens, but all continually change so no two visits see the same things.
Wind damage has opened up new vistas, boggy feet killed favourites, big old trees have died allowing more sun or less protection — so the designs have kept evolving.
Three of these gardens reflect the input of well-known designers while Gail Van Rooyen is singularly responsible during the past 20 years for the design, plant choice and execution of the large and beautiful family garden at Lakithi, Terip Terip.
While I know it quite well I loved seeing Gail’s new COVID-restrictions garden.
It’s a fenced “picking garden” to die for, full of poppies, fox gloves, lupins, sweet peas, delphiniums, peonies and much much more.
Rick Eckersley redsigned the garden at Killeen for David and Joan Fowles in 2003.
It is largely a natives garden with mass plantings complimenting the old trees and settler homestead that has the oldest wisteria recorded in Victoria across its front.
Joan’s request for roses is evident, too.
In 2009 Paul Bangay designed a new garden to dress Paula and Bryan Gurry’s new home at Midfields.
They chose Paul after visiting his garden.
Their garden is now both formal and informal with four hedged rooms, lovely tree-lined driveway and distance views.
Opposite is The Falls, owned by Joan and Ian Ball for the past 16 years.
I first knew this property when Elly and Andrew Cameron owned it, raised their family in the pre-depression homestead, planted well-chosen trees, their garden and grapes.
Andrew made wine.
Elly would ring and say “the falls are falling” and I would dash down for a cuppa.
I really wanted to see the falls again after all this rain, mysteriously there are now two falls.
Under Robert Boyle’s guidance the garden is now nine gorgeous acres of gentle landscaping and numerous bridges of wood or stone over creeks and rivulets.
The Cameron’s trees have influenced the where and why of the new design. It was a thrill to visit.
We are all so lucky to have these beautiful gardens within a day trip of us.
Their owners love them, too, and are very happy to share them for deserving fundraising purposes.
If you see an event advertised, go.
I said at the beginning that spring and autumn are perfect for visiting gardens.
Details are already online for the May 2023 Open Garden Scheme, look it up, some of these gardens are included.
Viewing other people’s hard work and gorgeous gardens is a perfect recipe for a great day trip.
— Suzie Pearce
Contributed content