Gaythorpe garden
34 Fordyce Road, Olinda
Saturday 1 February, 2020 toSunday 2 February, 2020
10.00am - 4.30pm
Entry $8 Students $5 Under 18 free
This is a spectacular one hectare hillside garden in the Dandenongs. The owner Simon Gaythorpe has created a beautiful garden full of interesting plants including rare and exotic species having been inspired by a garden that his grandparents had created decades earlier.
The beautifully landscaped grounds display his design philosophy, where a wide diversity of plants means that there is something in flower through all seasons. This is highlighted in the informality of meandering, often almost concealed, pathways and wonderful deep herbaceous borders, many with a sunny aspect and including a variety of perennials.
A vegetable garden where many things are allowed to self-seed is a joy – if a little bit wilful – and there is an extensive berry orchard. Foxgloves are a continuous theme throughout the garden. On a larger scale, there are mature trees throughout including a Dove Tree (Davidia involucrata), certain Magnolia varieties and Rhododendron grande.
To Simon, the informal and natural design evokes a sense belonging and soulfulness in the garden.
Simon’s garden featured in the ABC’s Gardening Australia in 2007 (Series 18, Episode 2), see: https://www.abc.net.au/gardening/factsheets/a-romantic-garden/9427508
Other activities and places of interest in the local area include:
- Visit the National Rhododendron Gardens
- Visit Karwarra Australian Plant Garden at Kalorama
- Buy native plants at Karwarra Nursery or at Kuranga Nursery in Montrose
- Take children to the Olinda Children's playground at the Old Golf course next to the Olinda Football Oval
- Go for a walk in the Dandenong Ranges National Park
- Visit Proserpina Bakehouse in Sassafras for great bread and pastries
Please also note:
Eungella garden will also be open this same weekend in Olinda through Open Gardens Victoria; see: https://opengardensvictoria.org.au/Eungella
