Mudgee’s gardeners have achieved the impossible, nurturing their gardens through drought and frost. Here’s what I saw when I visited the gardens recently.

Gem Manor’s poplars are coming into leaf. Weeping cherries smothered with white blossom gracefully frame views across the lake to the hills beyond. Spicy fragrance of stocks and lavenders fills the air. There’s a promise of lovely irises to come. Hundreds of rose bushes are clad with healthy new leaves, first flower buds soon to follow.

At the Community Garden, fruit tree flowering has commenced, led by the espaliered quince, already beautiful. The berries are back and the entire garden has a scattering of colourful flowering annuals. Bees enjoy winter veggies left to seed. Spring and summer crops are in and greenhouse microgreens will be producing soon. The water-saving wicking bed will be given an overhaul on the 19^th-20^th so visitors can get a good look at how they’re constructed.

Milroy is alive with bright spring bulbs. Azaleas and camellias are magnificent. Hellebores are everywhere. Irises (Dutch and bearded) are beginning. Cannas and hippeastrums, peonies and tree dahlias are making their move. Several varieties of fragrant viburnums are enchanting, as is the “bridal veil” broom. The fairy garden and charming statuary give a special touch to this farm garden.

The Charlesworths’ original crabapple tree is laden with deep pink blossom. The landmark lavender hedge is in full bud and the wisteria is coming out along the verandah. Scattered drifts of blue flowers link all areas of the garden- triteleias, bluebells, borage.  Sweetly flowering cottage style perennials- petunias, alyssum, violas- provide charming focal points. The very old oak tree in the back garden is coming into leaf and will provide a shady oasis come open day.

Through the Windeyers’ front gate you’ll find a cottage garden with camellias, cherry blossom, hellebores, sparaxis and more in delightfully unruly profusion. Iris buds are full to bursting. Ajuga’s tiny cobalt blue flowers are sprinkled throughout. Gorgeous pale yellow banksia rose cascades over an archway. Naturalised blue-and-white violets peep up from the paving. The fragrant chocolate vine’s fragile blossoms are a rare treat. Deciduous trees have begun work on their leafy canopies which will transform this garden into a shady wonderland come October.

In the Boland garden, trees are in full command, from the geometric variegated cypress to the sensuous trailing tresses of the weeping willows. Planting several varieties of ornamental Pyrus (flowering pear), has achieved an extended flowering period of these beauties. The new foliage on the grove of Simonii poplars is lush with spring’s vitality, and forms a vibrant counterpoint to the nearby lake with its gravel pathway and garden seat the perfect spot for contemplation.

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Inside the remarkable house of Gorah and Elly Singh Mann is a breathtaking display of art works- paintings, sculptures, ceramics and more, collected from 170 countries. A huge collection of Aboriginal Desert art has been acquired over 40 years, including significant works by Eddy Harris and other artists from Papunya, Broken Hill and the Central West. Blue Mountains artist David Hill’s colourful landscapes are well represented. There’s room after room filled with exotic lamps and glass sculptures, rich Chinese tapestries, ornaments and furnishings and ancient porcelain. This collection is a must-see for anyone with an interest in painting and the decorative arts.

Gorah and Elly have generously agreed to open this collection for viewing to visitors to this garden during the Mudgee Garden Spectacular. Complement your tour of the beautiful gardens at 39 Hill 60 Drive with this unique opportunity to view this collection.

Entry will be additional to the Garden Spectacular Ticket Fee and will be $5/person and additional funds raised will be donated to Mudgee community organisations.

Our activity preparing for the 2019 Garden Spectacular is now ramping up as the event draws closer. It is shaping up as even better than the inaugural event in 2018. With six new gardens as well as the opportunity to visit a rarely opened specialist art collection at the “Gem Manor” location this will be an event not to be missed by anyone with an interest in gardens or art. Or come along and enjoy a great lunch or morning tea provided by the CWA at the rural location at “Milroy”.

The Brochure for the next Mudgee Garden Spectacular is now available. An electronic copy can be downloaded from here or copies are available at many Mudgee businesses and also at Mudgee Tourism Office in Church Street, Mudgee.

Tickets are also now available for sale on-line  for entry to all gardens on either the Saturday and/or Sunday of the event. Tickets can be purchased on-line form this link.

Thanks to support from the Mudgee and the wider regional community this inaugural event has been successful with around 700 visitors over the two days.

The event will run again in 2019 on Saturday / Sunday 19th and 20th of October 2019. There will be a different set of Mudgee gardens on display in 2019 so put the event in your calendar now.

Come back to this site for regular updates on the next event and we hope to see you there.

The inaugural garden show on the weekend was a success. Many thanks to the garden owners and the volunteers. The gardens were well attended by visitors on both Saturday and Sunday.

Apart from promoting gardening for a healthier lifestyle, this project also supports charitable causes such as CanAssist, Riding for the Disabled and NALAG.

Please let us know how we went by completing this simple survey. Click the link below.

https://goo.gl/forms/Ufe3KaUyGU7znqZr2

Author: Jane Munro.  

After an exceptionally harsh winter, our spectacular gardeners are hard at work preparing for the open garden weekend of the 13^th and 14^th of October. I visited the six gardens this week for a status update.

All of our gardeners had put in the hard yards before winter, mulching extensively, and that has paid off with frost damage mitigated to the maximum extent.

Hillgrove House Garden

At Hillgrove House the perennial shrubs and trees are looking elegant and serene. The native garden is preparing for flowering action. Delightful splashes of colour from flowering ornamentals add points of interest without distracting from the integrity of the garden as a whole. The formal rose garden is in excellent shape. The roses have been pruned, mulched and well fed. Fresh glossy foliage is appearing with promise of abundant blooms come October. The native plantings have progressed and should be at their peak flowering in October as well.

The Moffat Garden

At the Moffatt garden, the native plants are thriving side by side with a selection of exotic ornamentals. I’m impressed with how light and shade are balanced in this garden, enabling a variety of plants to flourish and bloom beneath the canopy of stately eucalypts. The unusual colours of some of the natives’ flowers are striking against their silvery foliage. Sprays of native orchid buds are appearing, and the new, bright green fronds of the birds nest ferns and kangaroo paws, are popping out of the earth everywhere.

Oakey Creek Garden

The Strachan garden at Oakey Creek is bursting with spring bulbs, creating a favourite, classic garden vista with naturalised carpets of bright golden daffodils under bare deciduous trees. Deb has planted many varieties of bulbs with different flowering times, so the gorgeous display and will continue in waves over the coming weeks. Ornamental fruit trees are in full robust bud. The many varieties of hellebores are demurely displaying their pretty faces in the shady garden areas, while vibrant pansies and ranunculi are showing off their bright colours in the sunnier spots.

The Toole Garden

Claire Toole has continued her formidable gardening schedule, adding new plants and other interesting and inventive features to complement the existing design and taking the garden from strength to strength. You will be captivated by the birch walk with its pebbled pathway and archway, and the lovely simplicity of the brick edged garden beds which have been continued in some newly planted areas. The atmosphere is utterly relaxing, and you will enjoy your journey through its wide open spaces, inviting pathways and hidden places.

The Livingstone-Blevins Garden

The Livingstone-Blevins garden is emerging from winter with beautiful displays of hellebores and snowdrops. Dozens of irises are sending up spikes of fat buds and the well-pruned roses are preparing to take off with their foliage springing into life. In the shaded front garden, tender begonias have survived the harsh winter under their heaped mounds of protective mulch, and their green shoots are reaching skywards. The deep blue foliage and bright blue flowers of the Ajuga groundcover create a rich carpet under the crabapple tree which is will soon be displaying its splendid pink blossoms.

The Shearstone Garden

Shearstone’s garden is looking unexpectedly green and spring is in full swing. The trees are coming into leaf and all the various groundcovers are forming lush carpets along pathways and retaining walls. The dry stone walls are looking magnificent, their rich colours enhanced by the spring sunshine. Brightly coloured flowering annuals are dotted here and there. The whole garden has survived the winter very well and that seems to have given it a head start coming into the growing season.

Buying your ticket.

Visitors to the Mudgee Garden Spectacular can purchase an entry ticket at the gate of each garden during the event – we accept cash only.  Tickets for all gardens or any individual garden are available.

You may also choose to buy your ticket online. This facility is available now.

In a club meeting last week, Chair Garry Connelly unveiled the brochure for the Mudgee Garden Spectacular.

To download the brochure, please click here.

Many thanks to Outback Press, Coolah NSW for donating the printing of the brochure.