wander the garden

Colleen and her family live within their garden on a rural property in the hills near Orange in the Central Tablelands of NSW. In the main it is casual and informal, with sweeping curves to echo the hills that lie beyond the simple farm fencing that surrounds it, and moments of formality here and there to give the garden bones.

The garden has been made to tread lightly on the landscape, using a simple no-dig method within sinuous lines that roll with the natural curves of the land. The hardy planting sits comfortably in the Australian landscape, and has stood the tests of record drought and hilltop winds that spin the clothesline like a helicopter.

Within the bones of trees, shrubs, hedges and voluptuous topiary sit beds of ornamental grasses, perennials, roses and vegetables. Plants are chosen for habitat, seasonal character, and tolerance of an increasingly challenging climate. Many have been gifted and gathered from friends and family, providing the thread that weaves the garden story.

The chooks live in a pen within the untidy orchard where they collect bugs through the day, while little Irish donkeys Olive and Pearl hover over the garden fence waiting for bananas or ginger nut biscuits. The surrounding paddocks are spotted with the family’s flocks of heritage English Leicester and Southdown sheep, and the beloved mixed-lolly bunch of dogs, Otta, Arlo and Hugo spend their days lazing on the verandah or chasing rabbits.