Australian Country – June-July 2019

134 australiancountry.net.au

deviations. Even the driveway has curves in it just for the

heck of it. Just like nature really.”

A ha-ha wall bisects the vast lawn that slopes down

from the house to the dam. “I love the local stone

and have used it wherever possible,” Fred says. “It

must be the Irish convict coming out in me. I used

Kikuyu for the lawn because it’s tough and responds to

water. All the lawns are spray watered and the trees are

on drippers.”

Climatic extremes are the norm in this part of the

world as Cowra’s temperatures range from frosts in

winter to high 30s in summer. Fred has opted for a mix of

exotics and natives when it comes to plants, but mostly

white fl owering. “There’s lots of May bush and white

crepe myrtle and the wisteria is white” he says. “A bit

of colour has crept in, particularly in autumn when the

willows turn and the liquidambars, Manchurian pears

and Chinese pistache put on a great display. Then there

are two big clumps of Chinese elms, some of which are

self-seeded. I like the randomness of that.”

The dam itself is three metres deep in the middle and

Fred has seeded it with silver perch. For this reason, and

in keeping with his policy of minimising environmental

impact, he eschews chemicals for weed control. Mulch

from the lucerne grown in the paddocks is a great asset

for keeping them at bay, promoting soil-enhancing

bugs and worms and retaining moisture. Fred added

100 eucalypts to the dam perimeter. “They were all

place 13 years ago and I knew straight away that it was

the place to fulfi l my dreams of creating an expansive

garden. It’s fi ve kilometres from town and close to the

hangar, so it’s perfectly located.”

Starting with what Fred describes as a “blank canvas

with a few gum trees”, he set about planning the garden

with the dam as the focal point. “Some might call it a

lake because that sounds more decorative,’’ he says. ‘‘I

didn’t dig a hole, I basically built a wall and fi lled it with

water. I then created the garden around it in two stages,

starting at the front and spreading into the back after I

bought another paddock.”

The homestead, which frames views of the dam, was

designed as a series of pavilions by Sydney sustainability

specialists Christopher and Margaret McClelland. It’s an

object lesson in passive solar design with glazed north-

facing walls to capture winter sun and few openings at

the back of the house to contain it. The ceilings are high

and vaulted and the pitch of the roof is designed to give

plenty of volume. The air conditioning is evaporative, and

encircling wide verandahs have wisteria trained around

them to provide shade in summer and let sunshine in

during winter.

While Fred credits his parents, who were keen

gardeners, as his inspiration, the garden design was

his own, with input from Boorowa landscaper Joseph

Corkhill. “The actual house is symmetrical,” he says. “But

beyond that, nothing lines up. The rest is all circles and

This page:
Whether you call it
a dam or a lake, the
man-made body of
water is central to
the Faheys’ garden.
Opposite:
Various sculptures
and an old farm hut
add visual interest to
the large garden.