“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. There were rocks and established trees – but very shady and for ages we would…

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…

Heronswood

Located on the beautiful Mornington Peninsula, Heronswood Gardens, Nursery and Restaurant offer an idyllic location to escape to crowds, relax and shop for a huge range of plants, heirloom seeds and garden hardware. Wander through the gardens of The Diggers Club featuring seasonal plantings of heirloom vegetables, fruit trees and glorious flowering annuals and perennials.

"The Bank" through the Cherry Tree

“The Bank”

By late spring in 2019 after the hot summer we had some good rainfall – and  “The Bank” was lush. Everything was in flower the wisteria, snowball trees, lily pillis to bring the birds  and  lavender. “The Bank” is viewed from the study, the craft room or the conservatory. It is always on show –  but it was not always this way – 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. TheSmoke 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. Firstly we had to build the “connector” which was a boardwalk that would gently…

Camellias and Rhododendron

Camellias signal the start of autumn and keep on right through winter. They love acid soil at Uccello Lane and burst into bloom when everything else seems to be having a rest! They grow under the Ghost Gums where nothing else will with bright red flowers. Rhododendron is like a winter orchid and loves the acid soil like the Camellias.