2025 Gardens
Garden 1. Bonnie Doon
Enjoy wandering through around 4 acres of trees and grassy park-like gardens. Bonnie Doon has a wide variety of native and exotic trees scattered
throughout. Large pots and sculptural pieces create cameos to view as you walk. Two dams provide water for the garden and there is a decorative serpentine pond, complete with a little bridge over a stream. Around the pond, plants have been chosen to soften and naturalise the water feature. Closer to the house, shrubs and flowers fill beds, while an exuberant
vine drapes across the back patio. It is a tranquil garden to relax in and enjoy nature.
Size: 1.7 hectares; accessibility: gentle slope, grass
​
Garden 2. Spur's Shack
The gently-sloping, informal front bank, leading up to the house, is framed by formal rows of various shades of green and red-leaved hedges. Hedges abound in this garden, framing spaces with massed plantings mainly of shrubs with other plants scattered throughout.
The shape and form of the garden is cleverly created with coloured leaf forms. It is a garden for all seasons kept healthy with use of compost
created on site. Pots, bird baths and features are placed throughout the garden.
​
Size: 2000sqm Accessibility: medium slope with concrete paths
Garden 3. Rose Garden
An abundance of roses of varying shape, size, form and colour, fill sunny and partly shaded spots in the garden. This half-acre garden is filled with new and old-fashioned roses, which is not surprising, as the owner is the co-ordinator of the local Heritage Roses In Australia group and his passion shines out. Columnar trees, shrubs, perennials and bulbs as well as raised
vegetable beds and fruit trees, complement the myriad roses in this garden.
​
Climbers, standards, bush, floribundas and teas are grown and propagated by this rose enthusiast. There is an emphasis on improving soil with compost and mulch rather than using chemical fertilisers. And, with all the flowers, bees are plentiful.
​
Size: 2000sqm Accessibility: flat site, gravel paths
​
Garden 4. Illowra Park
Enjoy wandering either side of the driveway to peruse the variety of trees, shrubs and other delights before crossing the bridge over a pond and stream, to a more densely planted garden around the house. The stepped area behind the
house has an orchard and berry patch, as well as a covered vegetable plot. A variety of shrubs and flowers fill beds and overflow down retaining walls. Paths wind through the garden with seats strategically placed to enjoy sun or shade throughout the year. A Cedrus Atlanticus horizontalis is trained over a red bench along one of the paths. Sculptures feature throughout as well as rare and unusual plantings.
Size: 1 hectare Accessibility: some level areas, some steep slopes, gravel paths and grass
Garden 5. Wynlen House
Set on half an acre, Wynlen House is above all, a productive garden. At the front, rays of garden beds fan out to allow maximum sun in each bed. Decorative shrubs grow on the boundary lines, framing the space as well as in the vegetable beds. Beside the driveway, a camouflaged chook run has lots of space for chickens to forage and roam. At the back, is a quiet courtyard. It is a contemplative space to view the productive work all around.
​
Bio-intensive poly-culture is used to grow densely planted vegetables rather than traditional spacing. Vegetables are interspersed with companion plants to reduce pests. The garden is filled with colour and interest.
​
Size: 2000sqm Accessibility: gentle slope, some steps, mulched paths
Garden 6. Annaro
Annaro, named after the owner’s mother, is a lovely, little cottage garden that suits perfectly the cottage it surrounds. A winding path wends through the front yard past pruned shrubs and flowers planted below the spreading branches of overhead trees. Camellia japonicas grow along one fence line, while a table and chairs sit on a grassy patch of lawn, sheltered by the trees.
Beside the house, in a sun-trap, a vegetable garden continues to grow produce all year round. Many types of citrus trees cluster together in a small orchard in the backyard. A hedge bisects the garden with a rose covered arch leading through to an area of well-established trees. A quiet, restful garden.
Size: 1400sqm; accessibility: gently sloping, paths and grass
​​
​
Garden 7. Derwent
Wander around Derwent on meandering pathways, or change levels using steps, either way shows the garden to advantage. The garden has been designed with family in mind – a place to create memories. The circular lawn behind the house is perfect for cricket matches, a childrens’ play area has swings and slides and a high sasanqua hedge forms a secret garden for grandchildren to hide in close to the house.
The herb garden is close to the kitchen door and the vegetable garden and chicken coop are at the back fence, with a short walk to the orchard. Espaliered citrus abound on the north-facing wall of the house. Down one boundary fence shade-loving plants prosper under the overhanging trees. Hedging, walls, structures and paths create rooms filled with flowers, shrubs and produce.
Size: 4000sqm Accessibility: gently sloping, some flat, gravel paths, some steps
Garden 8.
This garden is brimming over, spilling out onto the verge beside the house. The plantings are informal and generous. The owners have replaced much of the lawn with garden beds, arranged into rooms. Hedges surround a quiet little seating nook, paths edge a formal courtyard, a Japanese-style section sits under a Paulownia tree, which has been heavily pruned to encourage more flowers. Shrubs, flowers and bulbs are planted throughout.
A large, fenced vegetable garden is overflowing with vegetables and fruit trees, including a limequat. There is enough bounty to share with the community. The productive garden has migrated out to the verge where vines provide an abundance of eating grapes. It is a relaxed informal garden with much to see.
Size: 2000sqm Accessibility: gently sloping, some gravel paths, grass, some steps
