Only 10 minutes out of town, this is a garden chiefly concerned with productivity, sustainability and pollination, and almost every aspect of the place reflects those concerns.

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That’s not to say it isn’t beautiful, because it is. There is beauty in the arrangement of the wicking garden beds, in the structure of the orchard cage – a serious structure doing the serious job of protecting the trees within, and their harvest, from marauding possums, wallabies and birds. Indeed, the cage (I feel that should have capital letters and flashing lights) enables the gardeners and their families to live in harmony with the creatures that also inhabit this beautiful area of the Hunter Valley. The garden’s setting is also beautiful, and it has ornamental as well as productive areas.

 

The garden is the result of two keen and knowledgeable gardeners, Gill and Megan, who share ownership and responsibility for this enterprise, along with their respective families. They started work establishing it about fifteen years ago. It has been done in stages involving a lot of hard work to date, and of course, like most gardens, the evolution is ongoing. Here, it’s always a matter of food for the humans and food for the bees and other pollinators, and bee-keeping principles generally rule. (Of course, the bee crisis over the past couple of years has had an impact but I’ll leave it to Gill to fill you in about that when you’re there.)

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Since they began their work, both gardeners have noticed the impact of climate change and are now planting sub-tropical and low-chill fruit trees in preference to the more traditional ones. The garden also employs wicking beds – meaning minimal watering – and whilst not certified organic, the gardeners eschew pesticides and are great proponents of recycling, mulching and other sustainable gardening methods.

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In the caged orchard can be seen a wide variety of fruit trees, many of them espaliered for management purposes, but these are also very attractive and the espalier method highlight the shape and patterns of the tree trunks. You will enjoy wandering through the orchard.
 

The ornamental garden has a native focus, with both weeping and standard grevilleas, eremophila, westringia and prostanthera taking centre stage, whilst exotics like crepe myrtle and hibiscus are also featured.

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Gill will be on hand to answer your questions and explain some of the methods used, so we look forward to seeing you there.

 

SOME COLOURFUL MARKERS WILL BE PLACED AT THE ENTRANCE

Please drive in – it’s a long driveway, just keep going till you scome to the shed and park according to the signs.

Entry $5