Friends of Coal Creek’s Open Garden Weekend provided great value as people took in the splendour of four diverse gardens, three in Jumbunna and one in Korumburra.
Hardy souls ventured out on Saturday despite persistent rain, with Sunday turning on glorious weather to admire the gardens and shop at the Jumbunna Bush Market.
The three Jumbunna gardens opened on both days, with painter and gardener Fiona Bilbrough of Korumburra inviting people to explore her studio and garden on Sunday.
Fiona’s partner Jim, a plumber, creates eye-catching outdoor art, Fiona highlighting a piece made from an old hot water service, the pair combining to design such works.
A weeping cherry tree is dear to Fiona’s heart, having appeared to be a dead stick when the property was purchased seven years ago, many people asking when it would be removed or turned into a sculpture.
“Gardeners have this enduring quality of persistence,” she said of her ultimate triumph with a tree so many people would have given up on.
‘Mon Beau Jardin’ (My Beautiful Garden) is set on the 12-acre Jumbunna property of former professional jockey Kerry Trewin, who once rode a 100-to-1 winner at Stony Creek.
A serious fall in 1998 ended her 14-year racing career and she eventually chose to sell her Cranbourne property and move to Jumbunna where she has lived for about 20 years, her garden taking shape on what were largely open paddocks.
She’s propagated many of her plants from cuttings and trained herself in a variety of skills including topiary, bonsai and espalier.
Just down the road, ‘Swift Heath’ the property of Chrissy and Paul Walker already featured an established garden when they moved there, but the retired couple have continued to display their own creativity.
The garden features Japanese, ornamental, and Australiana sections, pathways, stairways, cabins and plenty of wildlife.
Part of the property was once an access route to a nearby coal mine.
Chrissy describes ‘Swift Heath’ as a “labour of love” and “pretty much a fulltime job”.
Previous owners Reg and Cheryl called the garden ‘Evermore’, having transformed muddy paddocks on a gently sloping hillside, with Paul and Chrissy calling the property home for the past four and a half years.
They were inspired to rename the garden ‘Swift Heath’ due to Chrissy’s ancestral ties to the renowned Irish writer Jonathan Swift, famous for penning ‘Gulliver’s Travels’.
‘Jumbunna Cottage Garden’ has been greatly expanded by owner David Slack over more than 30 years.
He said in the lead up to the open gardens event that he wanted people to see and appreciate what has been part of his life’s work, and even the difficult to please would surely have appreciated the beauty of what he has created.
Further details of David’s garden were provided in the preview of the event in the November 19 issue of the Sentinel-Times.
At the Jumbunna Bush Market, a variety of craft items, some Christmas themed, and plants were on sale, as were scrumptious cakes, Devonshire Teas and other treats and barista-made coffee.
The open gardens event raised around $1,600 towards Coal Creek projects.