Garden 3
Welcome to our Mountain View hideaway!
We have been here since 2004. This 1 ha block was developed from a kikuyu cattle grazing paddock around 2000. We bought the adjoining block in 2007 to give us 4 ac of lawns, some lovely rain forest natives & extra frontage to Mountain View Road. Take a walk through here as you leave. Many of the 30 year old trees are identified.
We had a basic form of landscaping to begin with, mostly on the northern side of the house. The tall port wine magnolias & the Camellias plantation pink, on the northern extremity of the block, are about 9 years old while the weeping fuchsias have been in for 3 years & don’t seem to mind the hot summer sun.
Our intention was to retire here from farming in a western N.S.W climate that received 18” rain annually, if we were lucky, to 80” here on the range. The beautiful red Maleny soil allows us to grow those acid-loving camellias, magnolias, azaleas & pierris. Some take many years to grow well & display their ultimate beauty.
As you proceed down the long driveway entrance you can notice a variety of trees, including the 2 Ginkgo bilobia. Had I realized they would grow here so well, I would have planted the whole driveway with them! Towards the house end, we recently took away the tall Lillypillys & replaced them with several different sasanqua camellias.
Walking along the path towards the house entrance, the sloping garden of shrubs has replaced lawn that was hazardous to mow. Only a few Hebes here have survived the 2 months of rain through Feb & March this year. Further on, the lovely pink Duchess de Brabrant roses are always in flower & we can constantly view them from our kitchen.
We have always been used to home grown fruit & veges & thus planted a lot of the orchard where you can walk around & view 25 varieties of fruit from citrus to stone & berry fruits & some of those tropical gems we could never grow in a hot dry climate e.g. Bananas, paw paws, custard apples, pineapples, mangoes & lychees. Sadly, none of these will look their best in June.
Sandy has developed an interest in paving & tiling, & so much of what you see has been his handwork. The terraced area is almost complete, but a pool & fountain at a lower level, is planned shortly, along with improving the circular driveway which leads to the grassed car park. Some formal edging of Buxus Falconeri has been used in the courtyard, along with Miniature murraya & Lemon, lime & clippers hedging at the entrance. Ideally, I should have used Mediterranean plants to complete the Italian look in this area, but most of those plants would not survive the wet summer. Several types of hibiscus & dwarf allemandes & Jacobinia paucifolia survive beside the concrete walls along with small pomegranates & Michellia bubbles.
Heading down the hill towards the 2 large flowerbeds you can see the Teucrium fruiticans hedge bordering the nearest beds of many types of euphorbias which do enjoy our winters. For some sense of permanency, I planted some Camellia sasanquas (night rider) but have yet to see any flowers. Across from here to the other side, I have a bed consisting largely of cuttings given by gardening friends when I was new to this area as well as 2 fruit trees Black sapote & Cumquat nagami.
The lowest area on this block is the newest & has some semi shade- loving plants. Shade is pretty limited, & we have purposely not planted any trees in the sight of the mountains. In the future, I hope to see some Japanese maples survive here but, this summer, rain has almost
drowned them. Have planted several bromeliads & cordylines but this very wet area makes growing conditions tough. There is a lot more to be achieved here.
Heading back up the hill towards the house you can notice a circular bed sporting yellow & blue colors & 2 large blue glazed pots. Have planted Chimonanthus praecox (winter sweet), a pale yellow highly perfumed deciduous shrub. The white climbing rose “Moonlight” enjoys its company. Clerodendron ugandense, browallias, & agapanthus Maleny blue are also present.
After 6 years here we are still work in progress!!
We hope you have enjoyed your visit to our garden.