An easy 1.5hr drive southwest from Sydney is the charming Red Cow Farm Garden. It’s a cool climate garden filled to the brim with incredibly well thought out plantings that delight the senses at every turn.
Red Cow Farm Garden began life in the early 1990s when Ali Mentesh and Wayne Morrissey purchased the 2.5 hectare site. At the time it was nothing more than a rundown old cottage sitting in a bare paddock but the pair saw potential. Neither had a lot of gardening experience but Ali threw himself into learning as much as he could about garden design and developed a masterplan for the garden before construction began. It took quite a few years to then build the garden as they worked on various sections but having the masterplan meant that the end result is a superbly designed, cohesive garden.
Red Cow Farm Garden works as a series of interconnected garden rooms. All up there are twenty different rooms which are separated by tightly clipped hedges, dense plantings, walls and other structures. Each room allows you to be completely immersed in its little world, to enjoy the plantings, before moving onto the next room.
I’ve been lucky enough to visit the garden at different times of the year and have always been delighted. Early spring sees a riot of colour from peonies, tulips and other spring flowering bulbs planted throughout the garden. Crab apples burst into blossom along with other shrubs and trees, followed by lush new foliage. Then from late spring through summer and into autumn the garden is filled with roses, clematis and many other perennial flowers working their magic. From mid autumn the deciduous trees turn orange, red and golden before they start to drop their leaves. Winter sees the woodland floor erupt with crocus, snowdrops and hellebores whilst the air is filled with the fragrance of witch hazel and magnolia blooms.
As mentioned there are twenty garden rooms to explore at Red Cow Farm Garden so allow yourself a few hours to see them all. Some of my favourites are:
Abbess’ Garden
A structured space defined by garden beds of clipped English box (Buxus sempervirens) which overflow with roses, foxgloves, salvias and other perennials. Intersecting the gravel paths is a bronze statue of a kneeling angel.
Beech Walk
A long-grassed walk surrounded on either side by deep perennial borders and enclosed by a tightly clipped beech hedge (Fagus sylvatica). The borders are filled with roses, shrubs, perennials and bulbs. There’s a richness to the plantings that will captivate you as you slowly meander down the lawn.
Lake and Woodlands
Both can be enjoyed from many angles offering delightful vistas across the water and down shaded pathways. Up close they’ll enchant you with primulas, hydrangeas, hostas and an exuberant rambling ‘Albertine’ rose growing on the bridge to the island in the lake.
Whilst Red Cow Farm Garden is filled with many horticultural treasures it’s clear that roses take pride of place. There are over 1,500 roses planted throughout with a strong emphasis on fragrant heritage varieties, like ‘Souvenir de la Malmaison’, and the contemporary David Austin roses which have that ‘old-fashioned’ look about them. These are all interwoven with other plants for an overall cohesive design. On a warm day their perfume fills the air from garden room to garden room.
Learn more about Red Cow Farm Garden by visiting their website www.redcowfarm.com.au