Glencoe garden paradise

Wilson Lane garden on show as woolshed fundraiser

Carol Grbich has a passion for gardening and she is set to showcase her hard work on November 12 and 13 as part of the Open Gardens SA scheme.

Open from 10am to 4pm both days, not only will Carol’s sprawling garden be on show but there will be a sale of potted roses perennials, quince products and botanical cosmetics, as well as barista made coffee and sweet and savoury snacks.

For Carol, gardening in Glencoe, which is where her 35 Wilson Lane property is situated, has been the pure joy.

“It comes from the luxury of having a property that has beautiful volcanic soil and endless water, maybe too endless currently,” Carol said. “I once lived in the Adelaide hills where the land was so rocky and full of clay that it was a miracle when anything survived…it made gardening so unrewarding.”

Not that the garden was the first priority when she made the move in 2010 – there was a 1910 semi- derelict homestead to renovate – but after that it became all about the garden.

“Once we had made the house habitable we looked at some very overgrown paddocks to see if there was any natural shape to the land or any previous gardens and found three almost circular bits of land and we decided to go with those for a start,” Carol said.

And so began her passion project – slowly at first – but now she has the stunning garden of which she always dreamed.

“Two had trees; a large golden elm and a birch and the third had been a horse breaking paddock and once the circular theme was established we tried to turn large areas of compacted driveway into gardens,” Carol said. “It took a couple of years to persuade anything to grow. Eventually with much compost and mulch the gardens followed. Then we started shifting the fences of the sheep paddocks until we felt we had enough garden. An original wood lot and an organic orchard have been left in place but they do supply us with wood, loquats, feijoas, cumquats and crab apples, plums and other fruits.”

Of course, creating and maintaining spectacular garden areas takes work with Carol spending around six hours in the garden – weather dependent – many of those hours removing weeds..

“My favourite job is pruning roses of which we have around 200, and the excitement of new buds in spring,” she said. “My least favourite job is picking up and carting the branches of the golden willow trees of which we have around 60 in a willow tree walk. They are fragile and break every decent wind and are usually tangled up in plants. It’s one of those unrewarding jobs like army punishments where you dig a hole then shift the pile of dirt to another hole and so on.”

But in the end, the 14 acre property is Carol’s pride and joy. New lawns and garden beds have been added, together with the willow walk planted with golden willows from cuttings, as well as the flowering cherries that line the drive and the bush garden planted mainly with natives and succulents.

Approximately 200 roses, around 100 bearded irises, perennials and collections of lilacs and wisterias create a spectacular spring display, their flowers adding a delightful fragrance to the garden. The trickling water of a lion head fountain adds gentle sound and for winter warmth there is a substantial limestone fire pit. Several guinea fowl roam the garden helping to control insect pests.

Given a choice, Carol does have a favourite spot in her garden paradise.

“My favourite spot is the elm tree garden,” she said. “It has a lovely golden canopy and an understory of perennial polyanthus and cyclamen and is cool in summer and full of flowering colour in winter.”

Proceeds from the November 12 and 13 Open Garden at The Glen will go to the Glencoe Woolshed Heritage Restoration.

“I have been a member of the National Trust for seven years and as the Woolshed is only a few paddocks away I became fascinated by it,” Carol said. “The Glencoe Woolshed group have spent a lot of time raising money and undertaking working bees to restore it to its original 1863 condition.”