Open Gardens – Part 1

It is that time of year again, when one of my friends I have our special day together visiting the open gardens around town.

This year I forwent a trip on the bike with Mick and some of our friends to the thriving metropolis  of Albert to spend the evening at the Rabbit  Trap Hotel. I sent Mick off on his merry way on Saturday morning all by himself.

I’ve shared our garden adventures each year for the last few years here, here and here.  We had previously visited all the gardens on show this year, but that didn’t matter in the least.  It is lovely seeing how they have evolved and matured over time.  When you get down to it, it is not just about the gardens, it is about having a lovely day out with a good friend.

When I hopped up on Sunday morning there was a strong, cold easterly wind blowing and it was quite cloudy at home.  After Saturday’s perfect weather I didn’t want to have bleak weather.  Fortunately, it cleared and turned into a lovely day.

As usual, we started at Miss Traill’s House.  This is a National Trust property in town, with lovely, Victorian era gardens.

“Blair Athol” was next on our list.  Wouldn’t you just love to sit and partake of tea and cake in this setting.  They even had the Shelley china on display on the table.  Very civilised.

When we first visited, many years ago, this stream was just a raw bed of rocks.  It has now matured and softened so much.

“Wentworth” is one of our favourites.  This is only the second time it has opened. My favourite part is the incredible bank of perennials.  The retaining walls are still a work in progress.  Last year they were just posts in the ground.  This year the walls are up, but still need to be back filled.  We’ll have to see their progress next year.

There are lots of interesting items made from found objects in this garden.

Do you notice something on the back of this old fire grate?

A little lizard was quite happily sitting and sunning himself.  He didn’t mind having his photo taken at all.

When we arrived at “Mt Tamar” we were greeted by this pair hiding under their hats.  The lovely Margaret and Michelle from The Home Patch were doing their bit for the Garden Club. 

“Mt Tamar” was a lovely relaxed garden.

There weren’t many irises on display this year.  Maybe all the frosts we have been having have delayed their flowering. The colours in this one were stunning.

“Le Jardin” is just a small suburban block.  However, the owners have created the most gorgeous cool, green oasis.  This is only a relatively new garden.

It makes you think of formal gardens in Europe.  Everything is so manicured and formal.

Even the footpaths are picture perfect.

Imagine training the plants up all those pillars.

Another relatively new garden is at “Blueridge”.  There are distinct rooms in this garden, begging to be explored.  This path is just begging you to see what is at the end, behind the hedge.

There you go.  The formal kitchen garden.

To the left is a rather lovely bank planted in perennials.

If you look up the steps you can see a nice, deep verandah.  Perfect for whiling away the time, out of the sun.

The pool looks most inviting, but the nip in the air reminded us that it isn’t quite swimming time here as yet.

That’s probably enough for one day. From here we ventured out of town. I’ll share the rest tomorrow.