A garden to delight the senses and inspire the cook
“Balabudgee”, 1544 Ulan Road, Frog Rock
Author: Jane Munro
There’s a rich profusion of ornamentals and edibles scattered throughout this garden, delighting the senses and begging the question, what’s for lunch?
A pebbly path leads through an archway in a wall, which opens out into a garden wonderland. There’s so much to look at, where to start?
Neat circular stone borders surround beds of brightly coloured bush roses, catmint, while corrugated iron raised beds support a lush variety of kitchen garden plants, herbs and calendulas. Between these run pebble paths, through plantings of irises, stone fruit trees and echiums.
Close to the house grow irises, gorgeous pink cannas, sacred bamboo, various dark-leaved salvias, buddleias, small-flowered dahlias, their dark stems topped with orange and hot pink blooms, and profusely flowering perennials
Thriving mature apple trees are underplanted with pretty pink yarrows, and sky-blue easter daisies. White clematis twines its way over the pergola.
Looking to the north, vibrant beds filled with roses, leafy green vegetables, catmint and alyssum, contrast with the visual serenity of paddock grasses, grey-green swathes of distant stands of eucalypts, and the hazy blue-grey of the mountain range which forms the horizon.
The order of the house garden gradually gives way to natural randomness. An atmospheric native garden has been left to its own devices on the western side, with low-key colour contrasts provided by occasional succulents. When we visit, a tea tree variety is covered with dozens of brown and black butterflies. A small orchard of olive trees complements the muted greys and greens of the natives.
Further away from the house, where the garden merges with the paddocks, mixed informal groupings of natives are side by side with free-growing clumps of startlingly blue plumbago and delicate spikes of bee lavender.
Also not to be missed, the elegant chicken coop, and the state-of-the-art, five-bay composting system.
Food will be available here- and it’s a lovely spot to settle in for a picnic lunch.
