Open Gardens Victoria will open two stunning Ballarat gardens for the first time on Saturday and Sunday, February 1 and 2.

Located just 10 minutes apart, both gardens are set within historically significant precincts with rejuvenated gardens by award-winning landscape designer and TV host Paddy Milne.

The Oaks is a stunning 3500 sqm garden just five minutes’ walk from Lake Wendouree and the Ballarat Botanical Gardens.

Owners Harry and Alison Zehnwirth purchased the land in 1989, and have continued the historic garden legacy dating back to 1856 when Fenwick and Sarah Hamilton established a homestead called St Ernan’s on the site.

According to a local nineteenth-century arborist’s account, the Hamiltons shipped 100 oak trees from England around 1860.

“This places our four oaks, the oaks in neighbours’ gardens as well as those in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens, at around 160 years old. They are an integral part of our garden. Nothing has been built or planted without recognition of their importance,” says Alison Zehnwirth.

In 1989, the first contemporary landscape design was completed, resulting in a ‘stroll garden’ that provided a variety of experiences and activities for the growing family.

At this time, the property’s entry and large stone driveway were created to accommodate the root systems of the oak trees.

A ten-minute drive will find garden lovers at Craigie, the beautiful circa 1860s home and expansive garden of owners David and Maria Cook, located in the precinct of Soldiers Hill with the suburb covered by a Heritage Overlay.

David and Maria purchased Craigie in 1991 and within four years re-acquired two sections of the previously subdivided property.

In 1998 they undertook extensive renovations that stayed true to the house’s original character and established the foundational structure of the garden, including a vegetable garden, where beautiful historic bluestone paving was unearthed.

Like many gardens in Ballarat, Craigie’s garden suffered during the millennium drought’s harsh Stage 4 water restrictions.

“Our once thriving English-style trees and shrubs withered, and the lush green lawns turned a brittle shade of brown,” says David.

“The watering system lay unused, leaving the garden to endure the harsh conditions.”

Many garden projects were planned over the years and David and Maria recognised the need for assistance and turned to Paddy Milne to complete the task. Link: opengardensvictoria.org.au

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

Garden lovers are in for an Anzac Day weekend treat with the chance to visit two extraordinary private historic properties opening in the Macedon Ranges, with Open Gardens Victoria both today and tomorrow, April 27 and 28.

Resting at the base of the picturesque Macedon Ranges, Bolobek is a unique working farm with glorious gardens and a rich social and agricultural history.

Since 2006, current owners Brigid and Hugh Robertson have invested extraordinary passion and energy into the continuing renovation and rejuvenation of this magnificent property.

Bolobek was established over a century ago by Oswald Syme, the youngest son of David Syme, founder of The Age newspaper. Mildred, Oswald’s wife, directed the creation of the original garden, and many of the trees and shrubs remain from that time, including rows of lindens, mature poplars, and oaks that provide the garden’s backdrop.

In 1969, Robert and Joan Law-Smith purchased Bolobek. Lady Law-Smith was a talented gardener, botanical artist, and writer, and the garden rose to prominence under her direction, welcoming royalty and other dignitaries.

It was one of the first gardens to be opened under the auspices of the Open Gardens Australia scheme in 1983.

Today, the property is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register as having “aesthetic, architectural, historic, and horticultural importance to the State of Victoria.”

“We arrived at Bolobek in 2006 in the middle of a severe drought,” says Brigid.

“So the first couple of years were spent maintaining and observing the garden. It was obvious that one of the most important requirements was a new watering system.

“There was also a significant amount of tree remediation and replanting that was needed.”

Bolobek is at 370 Macedon Road, Macedon. Rafaels Coffee will be providing hot drinks with Hesket Estate wine sales and plant sales from Autumn Joy Nursery and White House Nursery.

Located in one of the oldest settled areas in the Macedon Ranges, Cadella Park is a private family home and working farm with a rich pioneering past.

Open Gardens Victoria will open the historical property to the public for the first time today, April 27 and tomorrow April 28, to celebrate the inaugural Cadella Park Open Garden & Fair.

Cadella Park’s extensive park-like gardens, original circa 1845 stone homestead, and historic collection of farm buildings are set across eight acres with a backdrop of rolling pastures and views to Mount Macedon and Hanging Rock.

The property is regarded as a significant nineteenth-century farm complex, with roots dating back to pastoral lease maps in 1839.

Known previously as ‘Oatlands’, the original 650-acre property cropped oats and was the scene of a damaging fire in 1911 when 50 tons of harvested oat and wheat straw were destroyed.

In the 1930s, Cadella Park housed prestigious horse racing stables (home to 1933 Melbourne Cup winner Hall Mark) and later an internationally acclaimed Murray Grey cattle stud in the 1960s.

The main home, the original stone homestead and a restored barn are among the historic outbuildings that Cadella Park owner Jo Ann Beck says will be utilised for the opening.

Cadella Park is at 109 James Road, Cadello and is open from 10am to 4.30pm.

Garden architect Simon Rickard will lead a garden tour and talk at 11am on both days – with stalls, food and drink by Prunella – a pop-up store, plant stalls, garden equipment and more.

Both gardens are open on the weekend from 10am to 4.30pm. Tickets for each garden are adults $15, tertiary students $10 (with ID), under 18s free. TryBooking

Words & images: Contributed by Open Gardens Victoria

Two private Trentham gardens will open their gates on Saturday, April 15
and Sunday, April 16 as part of the Open Gardens Victoria scheme.
Rhonda’s Garden, Gemmola, (pictured above) was created three years ago by local landscape designer Tim Pilgrim of TP Gardens. Designed around a new sustainable home, Tim has created a relaxing space full of light throughout most of the year.
Owner Rhonda Watson’s design brief was to provide a small lawn for her
grandchildren to play on, a small vegetable patch, plants that attracted pollinators,
and a garden that was sustainable and friendly to local wildlife. Tim then applied
his artist’s eye to create a cottage garden full of colour and movement, informal and
naturalistic.
“With great soil, wet, cold winters, and hot, dry summers, Trentham has plenty
of beautiful cottage gardens growing in its midst. I wanted a cottage garden aesthetic
and liked the style of Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf. His style of perennial mass
plantings in a naturalistic style and planting in drifts rather than blocks appealed.”
At the other end of the village is Tranquillity, described by
owners Margot Burros and David Kotzman as “an approachable, un-intimidating,
nonprofessional home garden, evolving and adapting as we learn about our gardening
conditions and as we ourselves change”.
Purchased five years ago, the owners changed and enhanced the established
garden around the house, replacing scoria gravel with buffalo lawn and removing
large clumps of flax to open up vistas. A group of xanthorrhoea johnsonii was also
relocated to the front garden.
Plants in this area are mainly Australian, South African and New Zealand species.
The ‘fence’ is an irregular line of upright bush poles with native plants and rocks
scattered between, giving a sense of boundary but remaining open to ‘see in’ and
allowing kangaroos to pass through.
“The original plan was to create mass with dense plantings of blackwood trees
(acacia melanoxylon),” says Margo. “However, this species has not done well in open
areas with our severe Trentham frosts. Consequently we are trialling new species,
including several snowgums (wolgan, lacrimans) and swamp gums (E ovata).
Rhonda’s Garden is at 32 Park Street and Tranquillity is at 3 Gunyah Drive.
Both gardens are open 10am to 4.30pm. The cost to view each garden is adults
$10, students $6, under 18 free. Tickets at the gate or via Trybooking