H G gardens
122 | AUSTRALIAN HOUSE & GARDEN
A
s I drove down the Hume
Highway from Sydney
towards Yass I was filled with
excitement as I contemplated
the project ahead of me. It
involved a very old home, situated on a
unique property in one of the most
beautiful rural areas in Australia.
The site is unique: the Murrumbidgee
River winds around a small headland
crowned with ancient river red gums
and the house sits there, surrounded by
large established oaks. The homestead,
which once belonged to an old pastoral
family, had been neglected since the
last family members left 10 years earlier.
The new owners, having worked closely
with a heritage architect, wanted the
garden and the house to be landscaped
at the same time. This is always preferable
because country houses and gardens are
intrinsically linked.
My first task was to redesign a section
of the driveway. We made it more formal
by planting a short avenue of lime treeswith a grass strip down the centre. Just
before the main gate to the house there
were the remnants of an elm drive; we
kept the best of the old golden elms and
replanted the rest. They provide an
interface between the raw beauty of the
red gums in the paddocks and the more
refined beauty of the inner garden.
Two large oak trees helped dictate the
layout of the main garden. One was
located adjacent to the deep front
verandah overlooking the floodplain.
This was the main view from the house,
with all of the main windows and doors
facing this direction. Because this
vista was critical to the success of the
garden, we decided to make it the main
feature. We created a large lawn, as wide
as the building’s main facade, which
flowed from the verandah under the oak
tree until it reached a ha-ha wall that
allowed you to see the river flat below.
We planted a few more trees to provide
the lawn with shade and balance, and
built a low stone retaining wall on one >ABOVE A rose-covered pergola links the main
lawn with the pool pavilion.
OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT
The picking garden with bespoke stone bench
and spheres of hollyhock among roses. Gaura
‘Whirling Butterflies’; so named because in
a breeze they move constantly, looking like a
cloud of small butterflies. Geranium ‘Rozanne’.
Local stone was used for the pool coping and
ash trees planted for shade. Cutting back
the serpentine beds of box, lavender and
westringia. Spires of hollyhock.‘ Given how harsh the
Australian summer is,
it is crucial to have shady
areas in which to sit and
cool down.’ Paul Bangay