Looking West to East up the Wisteria Walk - Alowyn Gardens, Yarra Valley
I spent a delightful Saturday with the Famous Flickr Five+ Group in the Yarra Valley, where we visited the picturesque Alowyn Gardens, which I had never heard of before, before having luncheon at the Yarrawood Winery.
The Alowyn Gardens are just outside Yarra Glen, east of Melbourne, in wine making country. The Alowyn Gardens started as weed and blackberry infested paddocks that were formerly part of a horse stud. The land was cleared in 1997 before revitalisation of the soil was conducted. Two years later in 1999 the first tree was planted. Today the Alowyn Gardens are well established, and provide an informative and educational experience for visitors. It has been designed with shade and comfort in mind. Plant names are on view to educate visitors about the gardens. The gardens have one of the largest Japanese Wisteria arbours as their centrepiece. Off it visitors may wander through seven very different styles of gardens, from the formal to the informal, European to Australian. The Native Garden is based on Australian plantings and features a dam and wetland area for animals, including a profusion of frogs and a great deal of birdlife. The Display Garden is a collection of courtyards and small gardens featuring collections of interesting plantings. The idea of the Display garden is to demonstrate what can be achieved in small spaces. The Edible Garden as the name suggests, shows that kitchen gardens can be beautiful as well as functional with rows of fruit trees, vegetable and medicinal gardens and a number of edible flowers that are both tasty and beautiful. The Birch and Casuarina Forest offers a woodland with enchanting hidden dells and contains a historical miner's hut. The Perennial Border contains herbaceous plants which are tough and hardy, survive with minimal work and are able to cope with Australia's hot summers and cold Yarra Valley winters. The Parterre Garden is based on the 15th Century French Renaissance design principles of low formal hedges formed into patterns. The French Provincial Garden is the largest of all the gardens and is surrounded by avenues of Chinese Elm, Crab Apple and Canadian Maple trees. It has large lawns, and a long water feature that runs the width of the garden.
Looking West to East up the Wisteria Walk - Alowyn Gardens, Yarra Valley
I spent a delightful Saturday with the Famous Flickr Five+ Group in the Yarra Valley, where we visited the picturesque Alowyn Gardens, which I had never heard of before, before having luncheon at the Yarrawood Winery.
The Alowyn Gardens are just outside Yarra Glen, east of Melbourne, in wine making country. The Alowyn Gardens started as weed and blackberry infested paddocks that were formerly part of a horse stud. The land was cleared in 1997 before revitalisation of the soil was conducted. Two years later in 1999 the first tree was planted. Today the Alowyn Gardens are well established, and provide an informative and educational experience for visitors. It has been designed with shade and comfort in mind. Plant names are on view to educate visitors about the gardens. The gardens have one of the largest Japanese Wisteria arbours as their centrepiece. Off it visitors may wander through seven very different styles of gardens, from the formal to the informal, European to Australian. The Native Garden is based on Australian plantings and features a dam and wetland area for animals, including a profusion of frogs and a great deal of birdlife. The Display Garden is a collection of courtyards and small gardens featuring collections of interesting plantings. The idea of the Display garden is to demonstrate what can be achieved in small spaces. The Edible Garden as the name suggests, shows that kitchen gardens can be beautiful as well as functional with rows of fruit trees, vegetable and medicinal gardens and a number of edible flowers that are both tasty and beautiful. The Birch and Casuarina Forest offers a woodland with enchanting hidden dells and contains a historical miner's hut. The Perennial Border contains herbaceous plants which are tough and hardy, survive with minimal work and are able to cope with Australia's hot summers and cold Yarra Valley winters. The Parterre Garden is based on the 15th Century French Renaissance design principles of low formal hedges formed into patterns. The French Provincial Garden is the largest of all the gardens and is surrounded by avenues of Chinese Elm, Crab Apple and Canadian Maple trees. It has large lawns, and a long water feature that runs the width of the garden.