September 29th, 2024Redesdale to host three open gardens
Redesdale plays host to three private country garden openings for Open Gardens Victoria on the weekend of October 19-20.
Coliban Springs is a beautiful and tranquil five-acre garden, set in the middle of a wider 200-acre sheep property.
Owners Kathy Hall and Rod Gibson have spent nearly 20 years creating an oasis from a bare paddock.
“We have very hot, dry summers and frosty winters,” says Kathy. “So from the beginning, we planned a drought-resistant garden filled with mostly natives.
“We have no straight lines. Gravel paths meander from one room to another, where there is usually a place to sit and watch or a little sculpture to contemplate. There is a definite ‘dry creek bed’ look about it.”
Located 15 minutes north-east, Gibbards Crossing is a three-acre garden nestled within the undulating hills of the local landscape.
Surrounded by a 40-acre olive grove and vineyard, with a remarkable one-kilometre river frontage on the Campaspe, the property is named after the old bluestone river ford at the end of Gibbards Lane.
Owners Frederika and Mark Laurie stumbled across the property about eight years ago and set about renovating the original bluestone homestead and rejuvenating the property’s soil.
Organic compost, mulch, fertiliser, and an advanced irrigation system have ensured a flourishing garden of established trees and striking mass plantings, set against locally sourced stacked stone walls.
Highlights include the kitchen garden with a stylised labyrinth, bursting with herbs and citrus trees, and a fully enclosed vegetable garden mass planted with garlic, chillies, and tomatoes, all for preserving.
A nearby enclosed area for fruit trees also houses the chickens in a fun log cabin made from repurposed vineyard posts.
Located a further five minutes on and sitting high above the Campaspe River, Rocklands (pictured above) is a peaceful, rambling five-acre garden created by owners Peta and Gary Prendergast over the past 10 years.
Blessed with stunning views across an expansive lawn area towards the river valley, the garden uses volcanic rock, collected from the surrounding paddocks, to create low walls along meandering paths, as well as backdrops and edging for plant beds.
Paths wind in and out beneath 30-year-old English oaks – planted by the original owners of the property – and entice the visitor to venture forward and discover what lies around the next bend, including deep, colourful perennial beds with mass plantings of blue and white agapanthus, swathes of pink and white belladonna lilies in late summer, and purple iris in spring.
Link: www.opengardensvictoria.org.au
