Jumping the Ditch

I’ve been away – not for long, but just long enough to soak in a few days of someone else’s summer, which was a lot better than ours.   I got away to Flinders, outside of Melbourne for three days for all things gardening, hanging out with my fellow Botanical Guides from the fab tour company Botanica World Discoveries.  It is a privilege to be counted among these amazing and knowledgeable gardeners as part of the team.    There was a bit of ‘work related’ stuff, but there were amazing gardens too and I can’t not tell you about them….

I got a great view of our coast as we left New Zealand although I can’t quite make out our house!

The contrast from above is interesting to see out of the window – the countryside is vast and seemingly barren and dry.

But from the plane window – Melbourne seems to go forever and would seem to be abundantly full of life.

It is always exciting to see the first sign of where you are when you are traveling.

We whizzed straight passed Melbourne city without so much as a backward glance.

We were heading to the gorgeous Finders on the outskirts of Melbourne

As the only kiwi – I may have been mocked ever so gently for my perpetual fear of encountering snakes in the gardens and my disappointment in not seeing koalas or kangaroos (although there was a dead kangaroo on the side of the road but I’m not sure that counts as seeing one!)

The township seemed quite small, and so peaceful and quiet – although I was told on the weekend it comes to life!

Flinders is beside the sea on a bit of a peninsula, and although my time there was brief I made a point of going to see the sea. To get my bearings – if I jumped in a wee boat and headed off to the left, I’d probably end up somewhere along the coast from home! And as you can see – the weather was stunning!

I just had to capture an image of this sculpture found out the front of a house as we drove by, of Neptune looking out over the coastal land.

In Julie Prent’s garden there were dahlias the size of your head! I’m probably exaggerating slightly but they were large, stunning and a delight to behold!

The dam at Julie’s was so picturesque, although I did spend more time looking at where I was putting my feet lest I stand on a snake or other dangerous creature!

The area was so beautiful and you got the sense of being in Australia, as the overall landscape was just what you would expect, with the dry land and gum trees and screechy but ever so beautiful birds making themselves known.  It helped that the weather was perfect – every day had blue skies and it was just the right amount of warm – not too hot and not too cool.  Although I was told this is a spot where you can get the best and worst of all the seasons in one day.

I loved the borrowed landscape beyond the hedge in Talei Kenyon’s Garden.

Talei had a delightful vegetable garden loaded with a great bounty.

Talei also had a stunning gum tree, with its glowing cream trunk set off majestically against the vibrant blue of the sky. And as hard as I looked I didn’t see any koalas!

Aside from the company of wonderful people and some amazing food, the highlight had to be the gardens.  We saw four very different gardens.  Two were the very private gardens of guides who lived locally, one was the remarkable garden of a local who claims she just planted things with no plan, just put plants where it felt right and ended up with something truly amazing.

The vegetable garden in Jo Ferguson’s garden is made all the more special with the simple yet effective rabbit proof fence.

The real magic in Jo Ferguson’s Garden is the ethereal combination of grasses and wispy flowers in bright vibrant colours.

From every angle this garden looks picture perfect.

And finally, we ended up with an exclusive behind the scenes tour of The Diggers Club production nursery.  The Diggers Club is a nationwide club for Australian gardeners to get inspiration through their publications, visit their remarkable open gardens and order garden supplies, seeds and plants online, including rare and heirloom plants to help prevent them from disappearing.  It is a great central point for gardeners across such a diverse land to come together and it was a rare treat to get to have a look behind the scenes.

The Diggers Club were getting ready to send out spring bulbs to their members – that is a lot of spring pops of colour to break the coming gloomy season in months to come.

The seed selection at The Diggers Club was beyond my wildest dreams

The plants intended for gardens across Australia were so healthy and lush with a huge range to choose from.

And as quickly as it began we were whisked back to the airport to return home, with hearts, heads and bellies full of good things from our time together.  Now I’m back to our gloomy soggy summer, I need a few moments to catch my breath and then get out in the garden and continue clearing up the wind and salt burnt plants and try to freshen things up as best as I can and get ready for the new season ahead.

Aside from the dead kangaroo on the side of the road, this one at the airport was the closest I got to seeing one.

And then I looked up and saw a koala – I guess that could count as seeing one?!

And as the sun set over the airport it provided the perfect backdrop to the end of a perfect trip.

And in the wee small hours I arrived home exhausted but with a head full of fabulous memories and an excitement for guiding botanical tours in the future.

Come again soon – autumn starts next week.

Sarah the Gardener  : o)

NB:  There are loads of photos in this post – to find out more about each one click on it to enlarge it.  (To get a full description click on the (i) symbol on the bottom right).  Oh and check my Instagram @sarahthegardener for even more photos.

And to find out more about exciting garden travel opportunities check out:  Botanica World Discoveries