BACKYARD BEAUTIES Lovely pots, plus must-have tools and products A SIGHT TO BEHOLD Explore Steve Cordony’s garden at Rosedale Farm EXPERT ADVICE Essential jobs to do and what to plant every season TAKE A TOUR OF INSPIRATIONAL COUNTRY GARDENS
O N E - O F - A - K I N D G I F T S A R E ALWAYS IN SEASON
PHOTOGRAPHY ABBIE MELLÉ
COUNTRY STYLE DREAM GARDENS 7 EDITOR’S LETTER PHOTOGRAPHY ABBIE MELLÉ, ALANA LANDSBERRY I must admit that I don’t have a garden. I have a collection of pot plants, but nothing rooted in the earth. Near where I live is a community garden, where rows of vegetables are planted and volunteers tend the beds. There is a large chicken coop with a tree at its centre. Whenever I feel stressed I walk to it and peer in through the fence to see what’s growing and have a chat to the chickens (I can’t imagine what passersby must think… I’m surprised I haven’t been sectioned). I feel as if I’ve been transported to the country and I feel instantly relaxed. That’s the power of a garden. It makes you feel connected to nature and can be incredibly grounding. When you’re working in the garden, pulling weeds, pruning or even mowing the lawn, you’re engrossed in that activity. I love nothing more than potting flowering perennials with my mum at her house, and my girls do, too. Doing the “pots of colour” has become a tradition in the lead-up to Christmas to get the house looking its best. I do most of my gardening at my mum and dad’s house. Dad recently got a new lawnmower, which is self-propelled. He let me have a go and I had trouble keeping up with it. It was off! Perfect for his hilly, terraced lawn. Last year I spent time at their house while they were overseas. It became very windy and hot and the lawn started to look dry. I was out there morning and night hosing to keep it alive. I picked lemons from their tree while being watched by a green tree snake tangled in the branches. I felt responsible and protective of their patch of greenery. Gardens take a lot of work to be done well, which is why I’ve earmarked it as an activity I will do later in life. And even though I don’t have a garden now, it doesn’t mean I don’t love looking at them and imagining what mine will be like. It must have hydrangeas, gardenias and star jasmine. As well as an extensive vegie patch with green beans, carrots and lettuce; herbs, too. Until that day, I get my dose of gardens from the pages of Country Style, which is why I couldn’t resist putting together this special issue. It’s full of invaluable advice from our garden columnist Fiona Weir, and there are so many gorgeous country gardens to inspire you. KYLIE’S WISH LIST 1 Garden trugs, from $44 each, from Farmgate & Twine. 2 Canvas kneeler, $107.50, from Hard to Find. 3 Large Palmer tub in White, $44.95, from Provincial Home Living. 4 Riviera single daybed in Honey, $3020, from Cotswold InOut Furniture. 1 2 3 4 KYLIE IMESON Save from 36% on a one-year subscription to Country Style; simply scan this QR code.
18 116 28 110 122 64 58 70 44
COUNTRY STYLE DREAM GARDENS 9 PHOTOGRAPHY ABBIE MELLÉ, MARTINA GEMMOLA, HANNAH PUECHMARIN, JOANNA MACLENNAN/THE SISTERS AGENCY 10 take it outside Stock up on the latest products designed to help you work, rest and play in the garden. 14 outdoor helpers Make short work of your to-do list with these tools. 16 on display Decorative pots to show off your precious plants. 18 a year in the garden Country Style columnist Fiona Weir lists out the important jobs to tick off in the garden each season. 28 purple reign Designer Tim Pilgrim was tasked with creating this evolving cottage garden in Macedon, Victoria. 36 humble harvest Chef Annie Smithers gives us a tour of her flourishing kitchen garden in Lyonville, Victoria. 44 dream existence An idyllic estate belonging to Steve Cordony and Michael Booth surrounded by glorious landscaping. 52 sweet surrender Florals, vegies and herbs embellish a charming weatherboard cottage in Toowoomba, Queensland. 58 new beginnings Establishing the infrastructure for their garden was top priority for this family in Orange, NSW. 64 treasure cloves A thriving garlic farm in Tenterfield, NSW, keeps its owners busy and fulfilled. 70 master stroke A weekend passion inspired a career change for a clever horticulturalist in Ravensbourne, Queensland. 76 field of dreams Peonies prosper at a farm in Brighton, Tasmania. 82 true blue Bushes covered in hydrangeas provide endless joy for the owners of this Southern Highlands, NSW, home. 88 heaven scent Lavender and herbs prevail on a rural Queensland farm. 96 natural order Gardens of scented blooms and delicious fresh produce await guests of Bimlow Cottage in Edith, NSW. 102 wild abandon A naturalistic plot suits its Yandoit, Victoria, setting. 110 double duty Neighbouring homes in Longford, Tasmania, embrace the Danish concept of hygge inside and out. 116 whimsical wonders A visit to Merribee Gardens in Numbaa, NSW, thrills the senses and unlocks forgotten memories. 122 plant the seed A rural property in Spargo Creek, Victoria, acts as a natural playground and food source for its owners. contents PHOTOGRAPHY Martina Gemmola ON THE COVER Landscape designer Tim Pilgrim took inspiration from this heritage home when planning its cottage garden for owner Virginia. Formal hedging is juxtaposed with loosely layered beds, with a granitic sand pathway winding its way through it all to reach an ancient oak tree. Read more on page 28. OUR COVER Lamb’s ear, seaside daisies, olive trees and purple alliums paint a bucolic picture in this front garden in Macedon, Victoria. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY Are Media acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia. We pay our respects to Elders past and present.
SHOPPING LIST IN THE DOG HOUSE Give your loyal sidekick somewhere stylish to shelter from the sun or rain with this All Day Dog Villa kennel, $195 for large, from Petbarn. Visit petbarn.com.au. GARDEN-ENHANCING ESSENTIALS. take it outside ON THE MOVE Deliver tea in the garden or drinks on the verandah with minimal fuss using Pillow Talk’s ‘Orian’ range of natural round trays, from $69.95. Made from handwoven water hyacinth and featuring smooth ceramic handles, they also make a nice display piece. Visit pillowtalk.com.au COOKING WITH COAL Born from a love of cooking over a flame, Pig & Pilgrim portable parrilla barbecues make 0utdoor cooking easy. The Campfire, $950, can fit in a medium-sized car to go where you go. Visit pigandpilgrim.com.au
COUNTRY STYLE DREAM GARDENS 11 HANDY GUIDE Feeling inspired by all of the glorious gardens within these pages? Start planning your outdoor makeover with help from Australian Dreamscapes, with photography by Claire Takacs, $99. Visit homegoods hardware.com.au pull up a pew Nothing’s better than sitting in a quiet corner of the garden, admiring your surroundings. The solid teak ‘Lutyens’ bench, from $5145, provides the perfect spot to do just that. Visit cotswoldfurniture.com.au BLANKET APPROACH Consider a TBCo recycled wool picnic blanket (from $229 each) for your next picnic, finished with a handy recycled cotton and polyester Carrier strap, $55, for easy transportation. Visit au.tartanblanketco.com MORNING SONG Encourage more birdlife into your garden with the PromiDesign wooden bird feeder, $149. It’s the perfect size for small birds like fairy-wrens, robins, Willie Wagtails and fantails. Visit hardtofind.com.au WORDS STEPHANIE HOPE PHOTOGRAPHY STEVEN FOSTER PHOTOGRAPHY
COUNTRY STYLE DREAM GARDENS 12 SHOPPING LIST PHOTOGRAPHY QUENTIN ROBERTSON STYLING JENNY ROBERTSON TRIPLE THREAT Take your entertaining up a notch – or three, in fact – with the Buschbeck ‘Rondo’ 3-in-1 outdoor barbecue, pizza oven and fireplace, $2799. Made from concrete and steel with a copper insert and rugged quartzite finish, it’s incredibly durable, plus the twin-skin system ensures the exterior stays cool and safe to touch. Whether you want to cook steak or pizza, using charcoal or wood, this beauty does it all. Visit buschbeck.com.au OUTDOOR RECLINER Put your feet up with the Cape Cod armchair and stool from Woodbury Furniture, $1330, which has wide armrests ideal for a cuppa. Visit woodburyfurniture.com.au FRONT-ROW SEAT Sundowners on the verandah are all the more enjoyable when snuggled on this ‘Kasbah’ two-seater chair, $1499, with someone special. Visit provincialhomeliving.com.au SET THE MOOD Shed some light on intimate evening dinners with the Zafferano ‘Poldina Pro’ cordless, rechargeable lamp, $359. Choose from 11 different colours – this one is Matte Black. Visit casaecucina.com.au DISH IT OUT There’s something wonderfully nostalgic about enamelware, with its solid steel core and smooth exterior. This 2-tone bowl set, $31.99, has a delicate bronze rim as an extra-special touch. Visit barebonesliving.com.au
Stay inspired WITH THE latest Homes trends + Free delivery T&C’s: *Savings based on Home Beautiful, Australian House & Garden, Country Style, and Inside Out cover price of $9.99. Offer valid from 01/02/2024 – 31/01/2025. Australian residents only. Not available inconjunction with any other offer. For Are Media Group’s Privacy Notice and for full terms and conditions, visit magshop.com.au/INSPO. If you do not want your information provided to any organisation not associated with this promotion, please indicate this clearly at the time of subscription. Subscription copies do not receive gifts offered at retail. Your subscription will be subject to continued autorenewal. Your credit card will continue to be charged as per the above rate and term unless you cancel and is subject to any price increases notified to you in accordance with the Magshop terms and conditions. For full Magshop terms and conditions including auto renewal payment plan terms please visit www. magshop.com.au/terms. SAVE UP TO 36% ONLINE: magshop.com.au/INSPO PHONE: 136 116 and quote M24INSPO 2 EASY WAYS TO ORDER
COUNTRY STYLE DREAM GARDENS 14 SHOPPING LIST TOP ROW Clobeau garden tote in Green, $36.99 (tools not included), from Amazon. Burgon & Ball ‘Asteraceae’ secateurs, $60, from Backyard Botanist. Esschert Design portable barbecue bucket, $44.95, from Botanex. MIDDLE ROW Burgon & Ball vegetable garden hoe, $38.50, from Botanex. Classic leather work gloves in Olive, $38.99, from Barebones Australia. Burgon & Ball pocket knife, $56.50, from Quality Garden Supplies. BOTTOM ROW Kaemingk embossed watering can in Dark Rust, $184.95 (10L), from Botanex. Wolf Garten wide galvanised steel garden trowel, $10.95, from Botanex. Redecker galvanised metal buckets, $198 (set of two), from Saison. DIG, SNIP, CLEAN AND WEED TO YOUR HEART’S CONTENT WITH THESE HANDY TOOLS DESIGNED TO MAKE GARDEN WORK A BREEZE. outdoor helpers
Are you a new parent or parent-to-be? Bountyparents.com.au is Australia’s favourite and most trusted parenting destination, providing quality product reviews and must-read expert advice. Why become a Bounty Parent? PLUS By becoming a Bounty member, you could win a DYSON PURIFIER VALUED AT $1,099! We’re giving away one purifier every month for 6 months. • Enjoy all the perks of being part of Australia’s best parenting community: It’s free, easy and your go-to place for all parenting news and recommendations • Receive parenting newsletters: Once we get an understanding of you and your family, we will send you a weekly newsletter • Join Bounty Trial Teams: Trial FREE products from big name brands. When you get selected for a Trial Team, you will receive a parcel delivered to your door and all you need to do is write a brief review • Earn rewards and points: Your opinions matter to us - so be rewarded for them! For every review you leave on our website, you receive points that you can use on FREE parenting products in our Rewards Room How to win a DYSON PURIFIER 1. Simply head to bountyparents.com.au 2. Sign up as a Bounty Parent between December 1, 2023 and May 31, 2024 3. Complete the entry form for your chance to win * T&Cs apply, see www.aremedia.com.au/competitions for full T&Cs. Commences 12.00am AEST/AEDT on 1/12/23. Ends 11.59pm AEST/AEDT on 31/05/24. AU residents 18+. Drawn at Are Media, Level 3, 54 Park Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000 at 11.00am AEST/AEDT; 6 monthly draws between 02/12/23 - 31/05/24. Prizes: 6x Dyson Purifier, valued at up to $1,099 each. Total prize pool is valued at up to $6,594. The Promoter is Are Media Pty Limited (ABN 18 053 273 546) of 54 Park Street, Sydney, NSW 2000. Authorised under permit numbers: NSW: TP/0001, ACT: TP 23/02262, SA: T23/1732.
COUNTRY STYLE DREAM GARDENS 16 SHOPPING LIST TOP ROW Wylda rattan planter (74cm), $269, from Domayne. Bastienne pot in Limestone, $1999, from Waldecks. Northcote Pottery planter in Blue Holland (45cm), $66, from Bunnings. MIDDLE ROW Gazi Moroccan pot, $770, from Barefoot Gypsy. Marimo shallow mini planter in Green, $41, from Forever Plants. FP Collection ‘Dokos’ urn, $189.95, from Flower Power. BOTTOM ROW Lark Grove small blue planter, $24.95, from French Knot. Soga International gold metal plant corner stand with pot, from $74.90, from Hardtofind. Petra terracotta planter in White, $18.95, from Temple & Webster. MAKE A FOCAL POINT OF YOUR PLANTS BY SHOWCASING THEM IN ONE OF THESE DECORATIVE AND PORTABLE POTS, URNS OR PLANTERS. on display
NEWS ROYALS LIFESTYLE HEALTH BEAUTY MONEY TRAVEL A new lifestyle website for women who know better
COUNTRY STYLE’S GARDENING COLUMNIST FIONA WEIR PLANS OUT A YEAR IN THE PLOT. WORDS FIONA WEIR PHOTOGRAPHY ABBIE MELLÉ A YEAR IN THE GARDEN
COUNTRY STYLE DREAM GARDENS 19 Home-grown garlic and onions. FACING PAGE Fiona Weir in her thriving kitchen garden on the NSW South Coast. A YEAR IN THE GARDEN
COUNTRY STYLE DREAM GARDENS 20 Hello, lovely gardening friends! One of the most wonderful things about being a gardener is the year-on-year learning, don’t you think? Whether you’re gardening in the same place over and over or moving from garden to garden, each passing season gives you a better idea of what to expect the next – all the fun things, as well as the pitfalls. If you’re gardening in the same place year on year, you’ll know that one of the disarming things about being an Australian gardener, in particular, depending on where in this vast country you are, is that the seasons aren’t necessarily distinct and reliable. I, though, reliably make the same mistakes every spring. Plant too many zucchini. Plant them too close together. Similarly, the same mistakes happen every summer. I get busy and forget to tie up the tomatoes. We hit Christmas week and really ignore the tomatoes until they take over one whole area of the garden, triffid-like, creeping over the grass and climbing fences like they’re staging a breakout. In autumn, I forget to dig up my dahlias, madly hoping there’s not too much rain, and that the sleeping tubers don’t rot. And in winter when the ground cools right down and the rains start, I forget I still have to weed, and I’ll look up and suddenly my calendula bed is swamped with onion weed. So today we are going to take a walk through a year in the garden, scribbling some notes about what not to forget each season. Bear with me – I understand that you might be somewhere much warmer or colder than the coast of NSW where I am gardening, so I’ll keep it as general as possible. I’m a huge advocate of having fun in the garden. If all you do is weed and deadhead and worry, is your garden a source of joy? We want to be able to absorb its beauty, even if there is kikuyu grass you can’t seem to get rid of. Every season you’ve got a new opportunity to learn about or grow something new and fun, like weird herbs. A coffee tree. Free salvias from your local community garden. Purple potatoes. Vanilla beans. Fabulous flowers that you know will make you smile, a bank of sunflowers, a wall of sweetpeas or an avenue of blue sea holly (more on that in spring). Let’s go! AUTUMN: MARCH TO MAY Autumn in Australia is a gift, and my favourite season of all. A gentle retreat from the heat of summer, typically fairly regular rain and a cool and slow run down to winter. Autumn in the northern hemisphere is much more distinct. The chill is obvious, the days quickly shorten and, in some countries, fruit trees in pots are all brought indoors. In Australia, though, autumn is generally gentle. It’s punctuated by ANZAC Day, a date by which we are supposed to have sown our annual garlic crop – but we are lucky to have a growing season for most things that lasts pretty much all year. In some places the ground will freeze, necessitating a break from the outdoor work with a focus on indoors, and in those places autumn is all about maximising the summer harvest while preparing for a season without fresh garden produce. For most of Australia, however, the growing seasons change but don’t stop. On the coast here, we don’t ever get frost (my dad used to talk about heavy frosts on the farm when he was a kid, swearing their demise was evidence of global warming. He was probably not wrong). What we’re watching for is the ground temperature dropping and the growing season slowing down. We try to get our garlic in by 25 April, because as the ground cools down, the rate of growth slows too. When we talk about autumn veg, we’re usually thinking about vegetables such as beans, beetroot, cabbage, kale, leeks, peas, parsnips and potatoes, most of which we’ve planted in late summer. Of course, the most famous autumn veg is pumpkin. In the United States, it’s harvested in late autumn and ready for Halloween at the end of October and Thanksgiving in November. In the southern hemisphere, our pumpkins are perfect in May (if you remembered to plant them in late summer), and for me, one of the many highlights of autumn gardening is bringing the pumpkin harvest to our farmhouse verandah, where the pile will dwindle week by week until they’ve all been used up as soup, baked dinner vegies, hummus and scones. > A YEAR IN THE GARDEN
JOBS TO DO IN AUTUMN y Sow garlic before 25 April y Mulch garden beds y Harvest pumpkins y Dig up dahlias, divide and store them ONE NEW THING THIS AUTUMN Plant a persimmon. I ate a persimmon for the first time last year, and now I’m determined to try growing one. What a beautiful fruit! What a gorgeous tree! They can be grown in a range of Australian climates, are pretty adaptable and by reputation, quite hardy. Let’s find out. Garden-fresh carrots in all their glory. FACING PAGE Fiona picks some late-flowering dahlias to make up posies for friends.
“EVEN THOUGH OUR GROWING SEASON DOESN’T STOP, WE TRY TO TAKE TIME TO REST AND WATCH THE GRASS GROW.”
COUNTRY STYLE DREAM GARDENS 23 WINTER: JUNE TO AUGUST Winter in the Australian garden is nowhere near as hectic as in summer, but don’t (like me) assume you don’t need to weed. Kikuyu grass growth slows right down, but not so much the onion weed. My husband Adam is planning to enter the world’s longest piece of kikuyu grass in our local agricultural show this summer, so I can’t pull all of that out, but it and the onion weed will overtake my calendula bed if I ignore it all winter. The colder months are a great time to plant roses or trees, so they can get established in the cool ground before shooting out new growth in spring. It’s also a great time to prune things – roses, hydrangeas, hedges and trees. We can dial back the watering of indoor plants through winter (we go from weekly watering to fortnightly) and we can move indoor plants next to windows that they couldn’t sit against in the heat of summer. Even though our growing season doesn’t stop, we try to slow down in winter. Take the time to rest against warm windows, make a calendula salve for gardening hands and watch the kikuyu grow. Check seeds, spend time sifting through seed catalogues, and maybe read a gardening magazine or book by the fire. > JOBS TO DO IN WINTER y Prune everything y Weed y Make compost from all the late autumn trimmings y Clean up your garden shed, oil tool handles, clean and sharpen garden tools y Check seed stock and order new seeds ONE NEW THING THIS WINTER This year I’m going to learn all about apple trees, and, in particular, codling moth and how to avoid it. I have planted heaps of apple trees on the farm over the last five years. They are fruiting beautifully, but we have yet to achieve one single edible apple. I’m reliably told my problem is codling moth. I’m going to use my winter garden downtime to figure out how to manage it for a more fruitful future. Reposition indoor plants in winter to capture the light and escape heat sources. FACING PAGE Prune back your hydrangeas, but leave a good amount of green stem to ensure lots of blooms come summer. A YEAR IN THE GARDEN
COUNTRY STYLE DREAM GARDENS 24 SPRING: SEPTEMBER TO NOVEMBER Suddenly spring is here, with warmer ground temperatures and cabbage moths. We “take out winter” from the vegetable garden in order to fit in spring veg, and because it is those overdue winter veg that when grown out of season down here attract clouds of very pretty, but super destructive, cabbage moths. September is the time to plant everything that you want in abundance by Christmas. Plant leafy greens (lettuce mix and/or spinach picked young) a row at a time, about two weeks apart, so it doesn’t all come up in November and get leggy and go to seed by December. We start whole lettuce in trays and when the seedlings are 10cm high and sturdy, we’ll transplant them out to the garden. We’ll put in tomato seedlings and watch them carefully for slug attacks until spring gets busy and the tomatoes get ignored and get away from us. We put in our summer veg – sweet corn, eggplant, chilli, basil, capsicum and cucumber. I’ll plant more zucchini seedlings than I should and will start watching the garlic optimistically, wondering how long it will be until we can finally harvest it (usually not until mid to late November, at the earliest). JOBS TO DO IN SPRING y Clear out winter veg that might attract cabbage moth or other pests when out of season (eg kale, cauliflower and broccoli, cabbages) y Plant ranunculus and lilies and dahlias, anything that grows from a corm or bulb or tuber y Plant all the spring and summer vegies ONE NEW THING THIS SPRING Plant blue sea holly. To be honest, it’s not a totally new thing here, but I’m going to plant a lot more of it. What an absolutely cracking addition to any cottage garden. It sits around as glossy green leaves for months and months then shoots out these metre-high sprays of fantastic blue flowers that look otherworldly. The coolest. You have to grow things that make people stop and gasp, right? So fun. I’m also replanting all my dahlias, sprinkling cosmos and zinnia seeds as cottage garden filler and finding somewhere to grow a bank of sunflowers. > “SEPTEMBER IS THE TIME TO PLANT EVERYTHING YOU WANT IN ABUNDANCE BY CHRISTMAS.” A YEAR IN THE GARDEN
For fabulous dahlias like these, ensure you get them in the ground in spring. FACING PAGE, FROM LEFT Rhubarb, ripe for the picking; wild posies await those who sow their seeds in spring.
“SUMMER ON A FARM IS CHAOTIC, BUT IN THE GARDEN IT CAN BE ‘EXTRA’, AS THE KIDS SAY.” Fiona inspects her vegie patch in the cooler parts of the day. FACING PAGE, FROM TOP Reinstated verandahs will help keep the house cool in summer; chickens range freely to keep the caterpillars down.
COUNTRY STYLE DREAM GARDENS 27 SUMMER: DECEMBER TO FEBRUARY If at our local agricultural show you notice that Adam has managed to enter the “longest piece of kikuyu grass” category, you know we’re winning the season. We’re trying to roll with what we do best: watching insanely rapid weed growth in the time it takes to pour one iced coffee. Summer on a farm is chaotic, but in the garden it can be “extra”, as the kids say. There is SO MUCH TO DO in summer. Not only are the weeds aggressive but the vegie harvest is abundant and the flowers are everywhere and need picking, staking, dead-heading, watering. In an Australian garden in summer it can feel like everything needs watering all the time, so if you haven’t installed some kind of watering system, this might be your moment. You can set it to water early in the morning to ensure the garden dries out through the day, minimising the risk of mildew and fungi forming, and avoiding burning fragile leaves. We have a lot of lawn here, and it feels like it needs mowing every second day. That’s an exaggeration but certainly the grass is growing FAST at this time of year, and we’re mowing every week. Pot plants dry out quickly on hot summer days, so if you have herbs at the back door, don’t forget to water them regularly. You can mulch pot plants in the same way you can mulch garden beds to minimise the risk of the soil drying out and maximise their moisture. JOBS TO DO IN SUMMER y Install a garden watering system to water efficiently y Plant your autumn veg: beans, beetroot, cabbage, kale, leeks, peas, parsnips and potatoes y Late summer: plant your pumpkins y Mow the lawn, but not too short y Water your pot plants ONE NEW THING THIS SUMMER I’m going to grow a grapevine. Last summer, I grew a wonderful passionfruit vine; this year I’m going for an ornamental grape. In the hot Australian climate, the best thing we can do is shade our homes to keep them cooler, naturally. I’ve planted trees all around the farmhouse and two years ago we put the old verandahs back on, which my grandparents had removed. On the north-facing back verandah I’m going to grow a grapevine which will offer shade in summer and will die back in winter to let the sun in. What a wonderful plant. A YEAR IN THE GARDEN
Lamb’s ear, interspersed with seaside daisies, adds a tactile element with its velvety foliage. FACING PAGE Paths laid in compacted granitic sand create a sense of journey in this Macedon garden, with the ancient oak tree a key landmark.
COUNTRY STYLE DREAM GARDENS 29 MACEDON VIC MEANDERING PATHWAYS AND AN EVOLVING PALETTE OF UNEXPECTED BLOOMS FORM THE BASIS OF THIS LOW-MAINTENANCE GARDEN. WORDS SHELLEY TUSTIN PHOTOGRAPHY MARTINA GEMMOLA PURPLE REIGN
Macedon Ranges Garden Services, who knew landscape designer Tim Pilgrim by reputation. Tim, who specialises in naturalistic cottage gardens, set about crafting a plan built on Virginia’s loosely formed vision. “Talking to him about how I currently use the garden, what I didn’t like about it and what I was hoping to achieve, really helped shape my thinking and helped me work out how I wanted to use the garden,” says Virginia. As step one of the design process, Tim asked Virginia to share any gardens she liked – in a serendipitous twist, she named the nearby Garden of St Erth at The Diggers Club, which Tim had previously worked on. “It felt like it was meant to be,” says Virginia. Through their conversations, the garden design started to emerge, like an image coming into focus – the spot where Virginia had soaked up afternoon sun became a summer courtyard, the living umbrella of the oak tree dictated the position of a paved dining area, while the dappled shade from that tree inspired a brightening floral palette of whites, mauves and pastels, which worked neatly with the blousy, layered cottage-garden look Virginia loved. > F iltered through an ancient oak tree, dappled light flickers over this country Victorian garden, joining bobbing flowerheads and wiggling bees in a bucolic dance, choreographed by nature – and by landscape designer Tim Pilgrim. The story of this garden began when city girl Virginia was seduced by the country, encouraged by friends who had settled in Macedon in central Victoria, on the traditional lands of the Dja Dja Wurrung, Taungurung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples. In the wake of COVID lockdowns, Melbourne had lost its charm, and Virginia says, “Every time I’d come to visit their house, it would feel like this beautiful escape from the city”. Oak Cottage, with charm in spades and more than enough room for green-thumbed tinkering, stole her heart. The adorable cottage deserved a gorgeous front garden to match, but although Virginia is a keen amateur gardener, she was unsure exactly where to start. “I knew I wanted something beautiful, that I could enjoy and spend time in, but it was an unclear vision,” she says. Luckily, the friends who prompted her tree change include Grant Smitten of COUNTRY STYLE DREAM GARDENS 30 MACEDON VIC
CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT A fluffy ranunculus; seaside daisies grow well in the shade; this hydrangea was salvaged from the original garden; Virginia’s dog Harvey relaxes on the deck. FACING PAGE The base of the oak is planted with shade-loving Japanese forest grass, bulbs, ferns and valerian.
“I TRY TO CHOOSE PLANTS, NOT JUST FOR THE COLOUR OF THEIR FLOWER, BUT FOR THE COLOUR OF THEIR FOLIAGE AND THEIR STRUCTURE INTO DECAY.” This ‘summer courtyard’ has been designed as a spot to soak up the sun. “I like to sit and have a morning coffee here, just listening to the birds singing and the bees buzzing,” shares Virginia. The spherical Allium ‘Purple Rain’ is a colourful feature in flowerbeds throughout the garden. COUNTRY STYLE DREAM GARDENS 32 MACEDON VIC
FROM TOP Red valerian brings the butterflies; Agastache ‘Pink Fortune’ was chosen for its spires of pink flowers and stunning seed heads. FACING PAGE Faded red recycled bricks define the dining area. The heritage home inspired the look, but also threw up some challenges. With its welcoming verandah and period details, the cottage’s symmetrical facade would normally have dictated a more formal style of garden. But the old front door now opens onto Virginia’s home office, with the main entrance around the corner, raising the question of how to direct traffic. The solution was countering the straight lines of the house with curves and flowing pathways that lead from the front gate, offer glimpses of open spaces and draw visitors towards the oak to the right of the house. Though the garden is richly layered with flowers and foliage, it’s surprisingly low maintenance, designed to have a thorough clipping and tidy up twice a year, with not much in between, says Tim. The labour-light design is due to his preference for a naturalistic style that allows perennials to run through their full cycle with minimal interference. “The traditional garden advice suggests that as soon as the flower finishes, you cut them down. But I try to choose plants, not just for the colour of their flower, but for the colour of their foliage and their structure into decay; how their seed heads look and how they stand up when they’re in decay over winter,” he says. As a result, flowers peak and die back, with a new cast of blooms always following on their heels to keep the garden looking lush and vibrant. This idea of multiple garden heroes, each stepping into the spotlight, then fading out to support a new star, requires a skilful balance and an imaginative vision. Tim explains that this scene, with its haze of mauve and white, punctuated by purple alliums like fireworks, is just one of the garden’s many faces. As the alliums fade to straw-coloured seedheads that roll around like tumbleweeds, Tim says a new palette, driven by peachy orange achilleas, will emerge. Hot pinks start to come through late in the season, fading into rich autumn tones to complement the falling leaves of the oak. “It’s an ever-evolving display. Hopefully we’ll get six ‘scenes’ out of it that are really pretty.” This constant change encourages Virginia to keep exploring, drawing her outside to snatch little moments of serenity in the middle of a work day. “Often if I’m on a lunch break or I have 10 minutes between meetings, I’ll wander out and have a look, see if something new has started to bloom. There’s just something about that connection to nature and being in the fresh air,” she says. To see more of Tim’s work, visit tpgardens.com.au or follow @t.p_gardens on Instagram.
“I’LL WANDER OUT AND HAVE A LOOK TO SEE IF SOMETHING NEW HAS STARTED TO BLOOM.” COUNTRY STYLE DREAM GARDENS 35 MACEDON VIC
An established box hedge surrounds Babbington Park, the home that Annie Smithers shares with her wife Susan Thompson.
LYON V ILLE VIC COUNTRY STYLE DREAM GARDENS 37 AT HER PICTURESQUE LYONVILLE FARM, COUNTRY CHEF ANNIE SMITHERS GROWS FRESH PRODUCE TO SUPPORT HER PADDOCK-TO-PLATE ETHOS. WORDS STEPHANIE HOPE PHOTOGRAPHY LEON SCHOOTS HUMBLE HARVEST
COUNTRY STYLE DREAM GARDENS 38 LYON V ILLE VIC Trentham chef, restaurateur and farmer Annie Smithers is a busy woman. At her French-style farmhouse restaurant, Du Fermier, she serves up a changing menu of seasonal dishes to her appreciative diners, showcasing produce plucked fresh from her home kitchen garden. In addition, Annie writes a regular newspaper column, holds classes, tours, weddings and events from the Lyonville home that she shares with her wife Susan Thompson, and champions her paddock-to-plate philosophy through various creative endeavours. Needless to say, when faced with the option of entertaining at home on one of her rare nights off, she is quite happy to hang up her apron and let someone else do the cooking. “I’ve just ticked over 40 years at the stove, and Susan has raised three children and spent the last 25 years cooking for a family,” Annie explains. “Given the choice, we prefer to go out.” But before they do, they start with a pre-outing beverage on the back verandah of Babbington Park, their Federation farmhouse that overlooks the lake and the bucolic paradise they’ve created. The property is situated on a 9.3-hectare parcel of land just outside of Lyonville, a small rural village located in the Hepburn Shire, home to the Dja Dja Wurrung people. Green pastures are dotted with established trees and various farm buildings, including a weatherboard garage, brick workshop, corrugated-iron machinery shed and “two jewels in the crown”: an 1870s shearing shed and a recently converted chapel, where those aforementioned weddings take place. “The house seems to be last on the list for restoration, but we’ll get to it,” says Annie. “For now it’s perfectly serviceable, but we would love to make it something a little more special.” Understandably, the couple’s attentions have been occupied elsewhere, in establishing the now thriving kitchen garden and orchard that supplies Du Fermier with its bountiful produce. “My previous property had a large kitchen garden and it was indispensible to me,” says Annie. Covering just over a hectare, Babbington Park’s vegetable garden has been seven years in the making, with plenty of trial and error along the way. “There has been a lot of editing over the years and many things have had to be removed before new work could start, but seven years on, we feel that the bones of the garden are in place,” says Annie. Planned out a year in advance, the vegetable garden consists of eight blocks of approximately 20 square metres each, all filled with a variety of crops including lettuce, pumpkins, parsnips, potatoes, rhubarb, beetroot, peas, beans, garlic, kohlrabi and herbs galore. The orchard, still in its youth, is planted with a mix of apples, pears, quinces, stonefruit and almonds. “Root vegetables do particularly well here, along with berries and rhubarb,” says Annie. >
CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT A perfectly formed dahlia; catmint (Nepeta) is the perfect pairing for silvery lamb’s ear; the resident gaggle of Sebastapol geese; blue delphinium. FACING PAGE Susan and Annie cut flowers to decorate the restaurant tables.
“IN SUMMER, VEGETABLE PRODUCTION IS IN FULL FORCE, THE CONTINUATION OF BUMPER CROPS AND HARVESTING.” LYON V ILLE VIC COUNTRY STYLE DREAM GARDENS 40
A credit to its creator, Annie’s expansive kitchen garden forms the basis of her weekly changing menu at Du Fermier.
Annie harvests her carrots. BELOW Delicate scabiosa (Pincushion flowers). FACING PAGE Miniature Galloway cattle graze in the paddocks. “They’re part of our circle here,” says Annie. “PEOPLE OFTEN ASK ME WHY I LOVE GROWING FLOWERS. MAYBE IT’S BECAUSE I DON’T HAVE TO WASH THEM.”
LYON V ILLE VIC COUNTRY STYLE DREAM GARDENS 43 The region’s cool climate, excellent rainfall and deep brown volcanic soil help the cause, as do the property’s seven natural water springs. But it’s the menagerie of farm animals – inherited when the couple took over the farm in 2017 – that complete the cycle. Miniature Galloway cattle, cashmere goats, an assortment of geese, ducks and chickens and Annie’s beloved miniature Cheviot sheep all help keep the paddocks down, contribute their fleeces and feathers to the compost heap and enrich the soil with their manure. The mild climate also lends itself well to Annie’s favoured English cottage-style perennials and annuals, including snapdragons, lupine, delphiniums, scabious, echinops, peonies and dahlias, which fill vases on the tables at Du Fermier. “People often ask me why I love growing flowers. Maybe it’s because I don’t have to wash them or cook them,” says Annie. For Annie, the garden is a reprieve, and she’ll often be found picking vegetables first thing in the morning or mowing on the ride-on late in the afternoon. Susan is right there by her side, although she prefers to leave the shovelling and heavy machinery to Annie. “Susan loves to garden a little more delicately than I do,” says Annie. “She spends endless hours on the detail – the tiny weeds in paths, collecting sticks and bark, snipping, cutting, arranging.” It’s a massive undertaking and the couple rely on their two indispensible helpers, Megan and Cathryn, to keep the wheels turning. “They do the bulk of the farm and garden work for us now that my hours have increased at the restaurant and we have expanded the garden far more than I had originally planned,” says Annie. “Or perhaps I just underestimated how much work it would need.” It also means that the time she does have in the garden can be spent admiring its constant evolutions. “At various times of the year, the garden can look clipped, polished and posh. At other times it can look wild and messy, like long hair on a windy summer’s day,” Annie says. “It looks its best in November – peonies in abundance, perennials looking lovely, everything green and verdant. In summer, vegetable production is in full force, the continuation of bumper crops and harvesting.” But her favourite times of all? “Sitting quietly, holding Susan’s hand, contemplating our surroundings, how far it’s come and what it will look like in years to come.” Visit anniesmithers.com.au or follow @babbingtonpark
Rosedale Farm, home to Steve Cordony and his partner Michael Booth, sits in a serene, park-like garden overseen by Michael. COUNTRY STYLE DREAM GARDENS 44 ORANGE NSW FROM A CHILDHOOD SKETCH, STEVE CORDONY AND MICHAEL BOOTH HAVE CREATED AN IDYLLIC ESTATE SURROUNDED BY EXTENSIVE GARDENS. WORDS HANNAH JAMES PHOTOGRAPHY ABBIE MELLÉ DREAM EXISTENCE
COUNTRY STYLE DREAM GARDENS 46 ORANGE NSW Gaze out at the landscape around Rosedale Farm and you might think you’re in a Jane Austen novel. Hills stretch away, studded with oaks and elms, while a tree-lined picket fence marks the property’s boundaries. Crest a rise and you’ll see a classical Georgian-style house overlooking a lake, with clipped box hedges in front and a thriving vegetable garden behind. It’s a picture of rural serenity that Capability Brown himself would approve of; a charming blend of nature and art nurtured into perfection. “I remember at the open house, we were standing by the dam looking back at the house,” says stylist Steve Cordony of buying the property near Orange, NSW, in 2017. “We weren’t saying, ‘Should we buy it?’ We were saying, ‘What are we going to do first? And then what?’ It felt like we’d owned it for the past 50 years.” In a strange way, that was almost true. “Stevie has one of my doodles somewhere,” says Steve’s partner, Michael Booth. “When I was a young kid, all I would draw was this two-storey house in the country with a white picket fence and two horses. This is exactly what I drew.” Unsurprisingly, the purchase was Michael’s idea, but, as neither of the Sydney-based pair has a country background, Steve, 38, took a little persuading. But it didn’t take much. As soon as Steve agreed, Michael, who was Coca-Cola’s national business marketing manager at the time, began studying horticulture at night. Over the next three years, as they were searching for the right property, he set up a nursery in Sydney’s south to grow plants for a garden that as yet existed only in his dreams. The creation of Rosedale Farm, and its magnificent gardens, is a testament to how hard Steve and Michael have worked to make those dreams come true. They knew it would be a sizeable task to renovate the 1877 homestead, previously home to an elderly couple who used only a few rooms. The land, all 49 hectares of it, was an even greater task – but they hadn’t imagined how great. “We could have easily come up and gone out to breakfast every weekend,” Steve says, “but for three years non stop, we had full-time jobs all week, then drove here and worked all weekend.” The weather has been their chief adversary – two years of relentless drought saw the pair lose thousands of plants; three years of rain followed. Michael estimates a recent storm caused about $25,000 worth of damage. “But that’s country living,” he says. “You’ve got to look at the upside – moving forward, we’ll make sure the place is drought-proof and also flood-proof. Chin up and soldier on.” The soldiering on is helped by the existence of a master plan the couple committed to soon after they bought Rosedale. Steve’s sizeable social-media audience will >
CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT Michael (left), Steve and Bedford the English springer spaniel; box hedges and balls line the steps; an oversized fountain; boots brighten the back door. FACING PAGE Potting up in the vegie garden.
COUNTRY STYLE DREAM GARDENS 48 Flowering chives. FACING PAGE Raised beds made from salvaged sleepers form the basis of Michael’s flourishing vegie plot.
ORANGE NSW “WE WANTED A TYPICAL ENGLISH GARDEN, WITH A BIT OF PAUL BANGAY-INSPIRED FORMALITY, AS WELL AS THAT RAMBLING, EDNA WALLING FEEL.”
ORANGE NSW know he loves a plan, and he loves a mood board. So although the garden was Michael’s domain, “I did slip a mood board onto his desk”, Steve admits. “It took inspiration from classic European gardens. We wanted a typical English garden, with a bit of Paul Bangay-inspired formality, as well as that rambling, Edna Walling feel, all staying true to the heritage of the house.” That was the brief the pair gave Christopher Nicholas Garden Design, who created a road map they’re still working from. The pool and orangerie were recent additions. The pair love entertaining at Rosedale and have hosted a number of lavish affairs, including a big New Year’s party (which is also Steve’s birthday). Amid the celebrations, they like to steal a moment to reflect on all they’ve achieved. For starters, they’ve put in a 600-metre driveway and fenced all 49 hectares. They’ve added 30,000 plants, and expanded the house garden to nearly four hectares. They worked with Landcare to plant a nine-hectare paddock with 9000 native trees and plants. They’ve also planted apple and stone-fruit orchards, and created a half-hectare vegie garden, complete with raised beds crafted from weathered, silvered timbers rescued from a crumbling hayshed. Harvests of rhubarb, raspberries, spinach, rocket, radishes, garlic and more are given to friends, to Steve’s sister Amanda, who runs a catering business, and to nearby restaurants. “Once we get more into a cycle, we’ll sell produce at the farmers’ market and give the money to charity,” says Steve. Similarly, profits from their twiceyearly open garden events go to a local charity. Their country community is important to Steve and Michael: they run a gardening internship for a local Year 11 student, and welcome schoolchildren to pick and sell Rosedale apples to raise money. Others learn about animal husbandry, thanks to Michael’s menagerie. Two shire horses complete his childhood dream, plus sheep, belted Galloway cattle, chickens, ducks, geese, doves, guinea fowl, peacocks, ostriches, a rescue pig and even a camel, all in a strict black-and-white colour palette. It’s good to know that amid all the hard work, there’s room for whimsy. “There have been trials and tribulations,” says Steve, “but we’re getting somewhere. We’ve created a legacy.” Follow @stevecordony and @rosedale_farm