Wombat Gully – a Native and Rose Garden

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115 Coxs Creek Trail (17 km along Coxs Creek Road)

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Wombat Gully is a sustainable house and conservation property. You will find lots to entertain you, including a native plant nursery and native gardens, a formal walled rose garden, vegetable garden and chook house and an artist’s studio.

The poured earth house has 40cm wide walls which provide insulation and indoor temperatures of 20 degrees (without air conditioning or fans!). Solar power is used exclusively and there is a composting toilet. Note the fire retardant plants and a fernery. Also the art work and other artistic features, including mosaics.

Saturday & Sunday 11am: Demonstation – propagating native plants from seeds and cuttings. Saturday & Sunday 2pm: Sustainable house tour. Devonshire teas available.

Native plant nursery – plants for sale.

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Coomber – Two Classic Australian Country Gardens

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Both properties are located 5 minutes from Rylstone on the Cudgegong Road, between Rylstone and the Castlereagh Highway

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It’s no surprise this garden won The Sydney Morning Herald Garden Prize in 1967. Sweeping lawns dotted with well-established trees, such as golden elm and desert ash, are bordered with lush garden beds (planted three years ago) to provide a gentle, shady retreat. An edge of Elina roses – a subtle cream – frames the house. This garden is being renewed in a grand style. One can imagine a table set with white linen and Royal Albert ‘country roses’.

Morning & afternoon teas and lunch will be provided by the Rylstone Hospital Pink Ladies, as will the produce table.

Sunday 11am: Fiona Ogilvie talk – Using autumn and winter to prepare a garden for a harsh environment.

Windy Hill Nursery.

Alex Schiebner sculptures.

Coomber Guest House

This garden also has the charm of an English country garden, with sweeping lawns under shady trees bordered by colourful garden beds. The original trees were planted by Tim and Helen Evans in the 1960s: pin oaks, lindens, English elms, liquidambars and plane trees. The garden sits beautifully in a farming landscape providing a 360° view of soft hills and fertile paddocks.

The guest house provides attractive accommodation for 12 people and has a pool, cubby house and chooks.

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Hazelgrove – a native parkland

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a veggie patchThis beautiful parkland retreat of one and a half acres is a haven for wildlife. A mixture of native and hardy introduced species have been chosen for texture and colour and placed to suit soil and drainage, demonstrating a lovely mix of native and exotic in a waterwise environment. Bonnie and Peter are meticulous in their maintenance and enjoy the process of developing their garden. The raised home veggie garden is constructed from recycled water tanks and provides produce for delicious eating and home processing. There is a small hothouse for propagating seeds for veggies and native plants.

Stalls: pickles and jam, treasure table, plants and seedlings, leather goods

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Horse Gap – An Australian Country Garden

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DSC08926Situated on Dunville Loop Road, most of this garden was planted by Jim and Merran over the last 40 years including a 40 year old wattle at the entrance. It is the outlook (a surrounding landscape of paddocks, hills, and sandstone cliffs) as well as the garden, which establishes this as an Australian Country Garden. It features many native plants, including a patch of bush, with yellow box, Blakeley’s red gum and a grove of grey gums.
DSC08896Some unique elements include a dry stone wall which was the inspiration for the Lizard Garden , and the “wedding rock” (three weddings have been held in this garden). There is a secret sunken paved garden with a still pond and peep hole and a water feature with ferns and gold fish A fully enclosed orchard with raised vegetable garden and chook run completes the productive area.
KandosGardenFair_Horsegap3The house was built in 1938 entirely of concrete from the footings up.
There will be a plant stall both days.

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Springvale – A Sculpture Garden and Courtyard

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With a backdrop of mature Kurrajong trees, rocky outcrops and rolling hills, Ludwig’s garden and courtyard is an enthralling outdoor assembly of contemporary sculpture on a grand scale.

DSC08845Ludwig Mlcek is an accomplished professional sculptor who works in metal, stone and timber. In collaboration with Rylstone Sculptures Inc., Ludwig initiated and convened the October 2015 Rylstone Sculpture Symposium. He has participated in the famous Bondi ‘Sculpture by the Sea’ on three occasions. You will be able to glimpse but not enter Ludwig’s impressive workshop studio.

DSC08872His garden, which is also home to a miniature pony, features a converted meat house (now an accommodation unit) with an intricately carved wooden door. There is a stone fruit orchard and vegetable gardens.

Over the weekend Ludwig will offer occasional walking/talking sculpture tours.

Sculptures for sale.

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A Terraced Town Garden with Remarkable Kandos Views

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KandosGardenFair_BuchananSt2Kandos Serviced Apartments is a low maintenance ornamental garden featuring white offset with pink. This garden without lawns was designed and planted in the last four years.

Gum trees shade the western wall of the buildings and provide shady retreats. Winter blooming white irises and summer blooming white iceberg roses ensure some floral interest all year round.

 

DSC08986Mary’s garden design complements the two modern, serviced apartments she has built on the steep site. She was inspired by the idea of creating and urban creek bed to deal with site drainage.

Stalls: white irises, after garden wear, grass heads and sparkling spring water.

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Kandos Gardens Fair 2016- and so it comes again…

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On April 2 and 3 2016, Kandos will again showcase its gardens in the CWA Kandos Gardens Fair. And this time around we can promise it will be bigger and better than ever.

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Historic country cottages with Winton outside Rylstone

Over the weekend a dozen gardens will be open to the public – all diverse. From “in town” gardens to working properties, artist homes, newly established gardens and even a Convent. In addition, there will be lots to see and do.

We are so excited to announce that Costa Georgiadis, yes, from ABC Gardening, will be coming, as well as gardening writer, Fiona Ogilvie, who writes for The Land and Diego Bonetto, a “wild food forager”. All will be available and at gardens throughout the weekend.

In addition we have a Saturday Market, art trail and so much more for keen gardeners, including workshops and talks. A full program will be available shortly.

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Converted community halls offer surprises to every visitor

This time around, Kandos CWA are sponsoring the event and are actively involved in the organisation. The theme is “Gardening in a harsh environment” and the gardens will showcase how wonderful and different gardens can be established and flourish in an area with limited water, bitter frosts and real summers.

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Expansive country properties with resilient natives and handmade drystone walls

You’ll hear and find out lots more between now and 2 and 3 April but we would love to see you so put the dates in your calendar. We recommend taking the weekend to explore the full program and see all the gardens – in which case, book in accommodation early. The local Rylstone and Kandos website has lots of accommodation information.

We will see you all on 2 and 3 April 2016!

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St Dominic’s, the Good Samaritan Convent

A Focus on Sustainability

A theme for the 2013 gardens is sustainability. All gardens on show will highlight various aspects of sustainable gardening practices, which is so important to our environment and particularly in rural areas.

Features of gardens will include:

  • efficient use of water
  • incorporation of  native plants
  • recycling of materials
  • use of non-toxic pesticides
  • use of organic fertilisers
  • composting
  • mulching
  • dry weather tolerant plants
  • worm farms
  • vegetable gardens
  • fruit trees
  • herbs for cooking and medicinal use
  • chickens and coops
  • native birdlife
  • weed control
  • animal and insect life
  • plant reproduction
Drawings by Bev Duff

Drawings by Bev Duff