The “Welcome Beds” – via Protea Avenue

The “Welcome Beds” – as you drive up the Lane you will pass through two garden beds which includes Protea Avenue. There are mainly natives with protea, leucadendrons, banksias, waratah and Stuart desert pea ground cover going over the rocks. There are bird baths & houses – and some wooden mushrooms.

Winter at the Lane

Winter at the Lane is a special time – autumn has meant leaves have fallen and the great structure of the trees and plants are revealed. It is really striking to see as the days get longer and colder. The Wisteria Colonnade is bare and the Elm over looking the Secret Garden turns to yellow and then drops its leaves over just two days….

Seats, Statues and a giant Apple

In the garden there are bird houses, baths, a giant apple, emu, concrete koala and angel – and mushrooms… Seating is always close by – and helps to make sure everyone is well rested while walking around.

Kitchen Garden with a Willow Fence

I first saw a kitchen garden with a willow fence at Stonefields with cane cloche’s over the plants………and thought at one point I could in fact make one myself. However Tim who sometimes gardens at Uccello Lane (and many other things as well) not only could make one BUT knew where to get the willow – so the willow fence with a small gate…

“Red Garden” – with the Westringa Balls

At the back once you get past the native garden and the Wisteria Colonnade – you will find the “Red Garden” – this marks the boundary of Uccello Lane – with a row of Claret Ash, some grasses, Red Hot pokers and the red Fire Bush plant! The Westringa balls with their grey foliage provide a great contrast – with the tall gums signalling…

Secret Garden – outside the wall

One side of the Secret Garden wall looked up to the Birch Forest and the Wisteria Colonnade where we had done a lot of work and was shaded by the wonderful elm tree. The other side was really just a dumping ground for garden rubbish and had a very steep slope. Initially it was also dark as a row of Cyprus trees from next…

Natives Garden – beside the back gate…

Past the edibles and through the gate is the native garden – wattle to the right and then Correa and native plants mixed in with some sedum “Summer Joy”. The soil here was terrible – tee trees had made planting difficult and the only plants that survived were natives. Before Firstly we cleared the scrubby trees and weeds, put down some soil and compost…

Edibles – and the chooks are back!

Next to “The Bank” is the Edibles area. Before When we first came there were only roses and lots of random plants including Agapantha’s and a huge hedge of Seaside daisies After We built raised garden beds, and a large chook pen area called Casa di Paola with a Rosemary herb wall. We are constantly changing the plants seeing what works – sage ended…

Orchard and Fruit trees

We planted an “orchard” next to Il Pergolato Di Rosa with mainly apples and pears. It has been slow growing in size but every year there are cherries, apples and plums – and some great blossoms. Crab apples were a favorite of Edna Wallings and Paul Bangay has them in his white garden at Stonefields – he calls them “2 week wonders” but for…

Abutilons – Chinese Lanterns

Abutilon or Chinese lanterns many different colors and so easy to look after. They come in many colors and can be cut back hard and will reflower quickly. There is a Flea Beatle which seems to feast on the leaves – so we have been spraying with some oil and also digging up around roots – sometimes it works sometimes it doesn’t.

Poppies

Poppies are amazing. A handful of seeds and you are rewarded by a blaze of color year after year. The Scarlet poppy is the most striking and resilient. We planted a whole raised garden bed of Poppies on our way to the Chook Pen – it was a daily treat.  

The Secret Garden settles into the Lane

The Secret Garden settled into the Garden and is a wonderful escape from everything. We changed to Hobbit Door to some wrought iron leaves so you could peep through and see what was growing. Every season we plant something new – this year lots of bulbs for that early spring color. You can see the walls from everywhere in the garden but it is…

Roses

Roses are a must in any garden – there is a place for them anywhere even if it is just a pot! We built the Il Pergolato Di Rosa as the main feature but all around Uccello Lane there are roses – so we always have flowers somewhere.

Salvia

Our love of the Salvia knows no bounds – rugged, forgiving and just keeps flowering – often when other parts of the garden are having a rest. Planted next to Hebe they look great and both plants seem to be able to even survive the frosts. The Argentia Salvia looks like an alien with big fluffy silver leaves. Salvias also compliment plants like Loropetalum,…

Stonefields by Paul Bangay

Recently open to the public Stonefields was described as: Previous visitors will get a first-hand look at the growth of the garden and new additions made since 2013. New visitors can look forward to a day of indulging in Pauls’ incredible private garden, rarely open to the public. Expect 4.6 acres of enchanting elegance, delightful detail and just a touch of wicked whimsy, all…

Cloudehill

A must see garden made at the top of The Dandenongs where a maze of stone walls and jewel like garden rooms are set within woodlands of magnificent and historic, cool climate trees. Some 20 garden compartments are threaded through glorious 80 year old European beech, magnolias, maples and a collection of fabulous Himalayan tree rhododendrons, all beautifully grown and a testament to the…

Beleura

Erected in 1863 Beleura at Mornington retain elements of an earlier pre 1900 garden. Commencing in 1952 Jack Morton Tallis overlaid his parents garden with a romantic, idiosyncratic version of an Italian garden.  It is the intention of the Trustees appointed by Jack Morton Tallis to maintain this condition of things and to make Beleura and its gardens and contents available to the people…

Alowyn Gardens

“Alowyn Garden is designed along strong symmetrical lines that become blurred by the softness of the spaces and the grace of the trees, within an area of approximately 4 acres. There are 5 clearly defined areas within the gardens, a perennial border, designed to display colour from Spring to Autumn, a silver birch forest, an edible garden of generous proportions, a parterre garden and…

The Secret Garden – Mary-Lou Pittard Tiles

We have loved the work of Mary-Lou Pittard forever at Uccello Lane. Her Teapots and bowls, vases are bright and natural. So she made us tiles for the Wisteria Colonnade and the walls of the Secret Garden – they are unique and perfect! Capturing the love of birds and the color of the render blending into the native bush. Mary-Lou (and Chris) came out…

Before and After at the Lane

We moved into Uccello Lane in 2012 – it was a mudbrick house on a lane that led to the Yarra River – with a garden that was very natural and overgrown but all the hard landscaping and rock work had been done. The first thing we noticed were the birds – they were every where so that is why we decided to name…

"The Bank" through the Cherry Tree

“The Bank”

Before In July 2013 we decided to remove everything from the bank and start again. There was nothing really growing and the soil was very poor. First we had to clear away the existing trees and weeds. Trav’s Trees came with their chainsaws and this was the first of many visits to maintain and manage trees at Uccello Lane. After By late spring in…

Shirley Minster – Creswick

As part of the Open Garden for Creswick we went to Shirley Minster beautiful rose garden. It is a rather romantic garden in very difficult conditions fighting rabbits, a hard clay soil and a very limited water supply. The Smoke bush is amazing but the heroines are the Roses.

A Boardwalk and a Dry Stone Wall

A stone wall is part of any Garden that is influenced by Edna Walling. We knew there had to be one but not where. The pathway had continued after the Secret Garden to where we wanted to make a “woodland” – it became clear this is where it should be. Before Firstly we had to build the “connector” which was a boardwalk that would…

Birch Forest

“Walling’s style was demonstrated with her magical method of placing silver birch trees in subtle harmony with one another, she took five potatoes from a bucket, threw them all in the same general direction and said “There!” It was no more haphazard than nature’s way.” The Birch trees are now in their 7th year – they are not quite a forest yet but soon….