Spring Glory in Adelaide Hills
There are more bulbs than people in the Adelaide Hills come springtime, so it's no wonder an increasing number of people are lured to these glamour gardens. Make sure you visit the Adelaide Hills this spring to catch the blooms at their best.
Here are six of the best garden experiences:
Al-Ru Farm: One Tree Hill Road, One Tree Hill. Bowers of roses rise above white daffodils, freesias and more, with a bed & breakfast and antique shop providing an extra excuse to stick around. Open year round on appointment, but don't miss 'Armfuls of Flowers' from 26-27 October. It's a special Open Gardens event combining floral arrangements with Ruth Hill's magnificent living canvas. Telephone: (08) 8280 7353.
Daylily Garden: Kumnick Hill Road, Lenswood. Initially planted back in the 1950s, this half-hectare garden has been designed for year-round enjoyment. Canadian Redwoods and Maples tower above ponds, rose gardens and lush rolling lawns.
Barratt Uley Vineyard: Cornish Road, Summertown. Flowers AND wine - what more could you ask for? The stunning cellar door is nestled within half a hectare of immaculately groomed gardens, including artful rockwork, waterfalls and the Japanese garden. Open 11.30am to 5pm, Fridays to Sundays. Telephone: (08) 8390 1788.
Hans Heysen's The Cedars: Heysen Road, Hahndorf. The historic home and studio of Australian artist Sir Hans Heysen is surrounded by a rambling cottage garden, rolling fields and towering gums (you can stroll around the 60 hectare property to see Heysen's favourite painting spots).
Mount Lofty Botanic Garden: Piccadilly Road, Crafers. You'll need your walking shoes to properly explore this one. There are no less than 97 hectares of magnolias, rhododendrons, ferns, camellias, roses and natives. You'll find several walking trails and good picnic areas, with stacks of ducks to feed on the pond. Guided walks run every Thursday.
St Githa's Garden: Tucked away in a secluded spot, this sweet garden features 100-year-old trees and manicured hedges enclosing 12 colour-coordinated beds of flowering shrubs, perennials and annuals. Stay overnight in the bed & breakfast to enjoy the garden at dawn and dusk.
The people behind the gardens
But what's it like on the other side of the fence? To work all year for blooming brilliance, only to have people pore all over your precious patch of earth?
Ruth Irving, mastermind behind the divine 2.5 hectare gardens at Al-Ru Farm in One Tree Hill, says sharing her garden is one of life's great pleasures.
“I love visiting gardens myself - you always come away with a new trick or idea,” she says. “So I understand the delight that people get from visiting us here at Al-Ru Farm”. Ruth has been involved in Australia's Open Gardens scheme for 21 years, but things haven't always gone according to plan. “One year I thought I was spraying fertiliser on the lawn, and instead I sprayed the whole thing with Roundup - it took months to fix, but luckily gardens are very forgiving!”
Across the hills in Lenswood, Trevor and Kaye Quast moved to the Adelaide Hills for a 'tree change' three and a half years ago, and say they're now “obsessive compulsive” about transforming Daylily Garden to its former glory. Like Ruth, they thrive under the extra pressure of public scrutiny. “We floundered when we first took over the property, as the garden was very rundown. So we joined the Open Gardens scheme to bring it all together, to set ourselves a deadline.” And the results are stunning: mass plantings of daylilies are complemented by camellias, rhododendrons, hedges, ferns and rolling lawns.
At Barratt Uley Vineyard in Summertown, Carolyn Barratt likes nothing better than working on her annual garden projects (a Japanese garden one year, David Austins another, terracing in 2008) and waxing lyrical with fellow green thumbs. “Because my husband's so focussed on the vineyards, I used to spend around 20 hours a week in the garden and receive absolutely no feedback,” she says. “Now people come through and want to hear how we've developed the garden - I just love it.”
So where to go, what to see in the Adelaide Hills this spring? Of course, you can always explore the nurseries. Blows Bros Nursery in Stirling is an absolute must for cool climate plants including camellias and azaleas. You'll find roses that make your heart sing at The Flower Garden in Nairne, and Blackberry Nursery in Hahndorf also has a great reputation for beautiful blooms. But true green thumbs won't want to miss Adelaide Hills's gorgeous gardens.
