We sometimes joke about “parklike acres” but Gail and Peter Hannan’s garden on the bank of the Williams River surely fits the description. Offering a sweeping vista down to the trees lining the riverbank, it is a pleasure to walk into this beautiful haven.

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The garden is reached via an avenue of poplars, silky oaks and jacarandas, and the visitor has already attained a level of calm before even arriving at the actual garden entrance. Autumn crocus nestle here and there in the avenue, dotting it with their blooms when in season.

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We enter the garden “down the side”, a narrow path that brings us to a cool and welcoming covered area populated by ferns and lovely potted plants. Before us is the vista: east facing and offering a choice of sunny or shaded spots to sit. Gail has kindly offered to put a few extra chairs around so you’ll be able to spend some time soaking up the atmosphere, if you like. For safety reasons, visitors will be confined to the “yard”, not allowed down to the river. But it’s a big yard and very beautiful.

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This was Peter’s grandparents’ place, so is filled with memories and has a very rich sentimental value to the present custodians. The original owners were not gardeners, however: the gardens we see today were created over 42 years of residency by Gail and Peter – Gail even made the rock wall, she told me: dug, built and cemented it! Her aim was indeed “parklike, with a wild side”. She describes herself as a plant-lover who enjoys nothing more than looking at other people’s gardens, which is a description that I believe would fit most Ramble visitors.

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Being an established garden, there are many large trees: Golden rain tree (koelreuteria) offers summer shade; cotoneaster, forest pansy and jacaranda give splashes of colour in their season, and commemorative trees such as the cape chestnut and flowering Murray River gum have a special place in the owners’ hearts.

 

There is much to see in this garden and I don’t want to give too much away here, so best come and enjoy it all yourselves: the view, the atmosphere and the plants!

 

Please park on the road and enjoy the walk up the avenue to the entrance.

 

The garden is accessible to people with limited mobility (including large grassed areas, and paths) but we ask that the driver drop off at the end of the driveway and then park outside as there’s limited room at the garden entrance.

 

Entry $5