“Tall Trees” is an Art Deco house from the 1940s, owned by Donna Sive and Paul Vanderlaan, and indeed was originally surrounded by tall conifers. Several monsters were removed to create the front garden, a lovely arrangement of borders and beds with one remaining “tall tree” of about 70 years old. The garden, like most, is a work in progress, a delight to visit and one that may inspire you with ideas for your own garden.

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In the front, you will find camellias, roses and a weeping mulberry. Donna is what we might call the “head gardener”, and she says her philosophy is, à la Jacquie French, “weed-and-toss” to compost, sometimes on the spot.

 

You will enter the main garden from the left beside the garage, where variegated ivy and star jasmine cover the wall, and find yourself in a colourful wonderland. It is a cottage garden, certainly, not huge but perhaps a little wilder than the usual cottage garden. Donna says self-seeded plants are desirable for a more natural look, and the garden is testament to this theory, with drifts of self-seeded dahlias in particular catching the eye here and there. Roses climb and clamber, salvias and other perennials pop and jostle; buddleia dons her purple party frock with a borrowed gumtree backdrop and the birds busy themselves in all its floral gorgeousness.

 

When asked what the main feature of the garden is, Donna answers: “What’s happening at the moment” which, when I visited, were the camellias. Being a fan of “quirk” myself, I was particularly taken with some of the infrastructure in “Tall Trees”: several ladders, arches and purpose-built structures to support the roses that abound here; bird baths and other objets that enhance the garden subtly or with a sense of whimsy.

 

It’s an amazing garden, one that will have you wandering and pausing, asking questions (Donna will be there to answer) and taking away new ideas. See you there!

 

Entry $5

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There will be a plant stall out the front of this garden. Most plants will be $5, with some at $10