Monday, April 30, 2012

A fine day out

Well, when I say fine, I didn't mean the weather.

I, like my friend over at Kelly Green, had the good fortune last Monday to visit the gardens of interior designer, Stuart Rattle, and landscape designer, Paul Bangay as a fundraiser for a local kindergarten.  The weather was not ideal - it rained, it hailed, it shone (briefly, just before we got on the bus to go home), but what a treat it was to see those gardens at the peak of their autumn flourish.

Michael, Stuart Rattle's partner,  bounced onto the bus, dripping, and gave us a quick talk about their garden before we braved the rain and scuttled into the cosy kitchen for morning tea.  Stuart has a charming and interesting garden, in which he clearly has done much of the work. His passion is evident and Michael's knowledge of the huge variety of plants was extensive.

It was actually hailing when we got to Paul Bangay's garden, which is newer and also very interesting. There were miles of tapestry hedge...
the ubiquitous box,
pleached hornbeams,

a flourishing veggie garden,

and a lovely view.
It was generally very structured and had lots of garden rooms and over time will probably grow into the landscape a bit more.  I think I liked this spot the best
which was a bit more open and flowing and suited the country landscape, with the towering gums in the background.

All in all a wonderful day which was beautifully organised, and I have returned home inspired to get into the garden.

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