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Showing posts with label garden retreats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garden retreats. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
I grew up in the Clare Valley region of South Australia. Only a short 90 minute drive from Adelaide, it is reknown as one of the world's finest premium wine growing areas. Although the town of Clare is the focal point of the Valley, scattered around are quaint little villages like Sevenhills, Watervale & Auburn, all holding a special place in my heart. Walter & Kay Duncan's beautiful old stone villa is on a quiet country lane just out of Sevenhills. Walter is a rose grower extraordinaire, & has recently been awarded a World Rose Award at the World Federation of Rose Societies in Vancouver for his contribution & passion for 'Old World Roses.' The Clare Valley climate is perfect for wine & roses - freezing cold Winters & hot, hot dry Summers.
Their home Hughes Park is a gracious old stone villa c.1873. Here are some images of the house & it's gorgeous garden.
The Heritage Cottage is a 140 year old cottage on the property that Walter & Kay have restored. It's now available to book for a weekend away. This post is dedicated to Heidi & she knows EXACTLY why.
Images: The Heritage Garden
Images: The Heritage Garden
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Image Garden VisitOn Saturday Son # 5 (the Landscaper) completed a big job he's been working on for the past 2 months. I drove past the house yesterday & wow, I may be biased but the results are just spectacular. I showed him all the wonderful comments from my previous post on his work & in his own quiet, reserved way he was really delighted - thank you all so much for your lovely feedback. I'll post on his latest project in the next couple of weeks.
We were talking about formal gardens & the subject of Knot Gardens came up. He's had a request from a client to do a small version in a walled, semi-shaded courtyard, so we've being doing some research together. He loves the challenge of precise, formal work & by the speed of referrals he's receiving & his long waiting list, it appears this has become his trademark brand.
Originating in the Elizabethan period, knot gardens are traditionally placed in a courtyard & are designed to look like the pattern in a woven rug or tapestry. Low growing hedges & gravel walkways were used to simulate the interwoven effects of the pattern & clipped trees & shrubs are used to form the central pattern generally in the form of rectangles, squares or circles. Often, perfectly balanced topiary trees are used as a feature in the corners of the design. They are best seen from upper storeys or balconies of a house & they look particularly spectacular from the air.
Because of their precise layout and reliance on geometric shapes, knot gardens are traditionally high maintenance, as the hedges and plants must be constantly trimmed and pruned. Traditionally, knot gardens use one type of hedge only to border the walkways, & it's generally Buxus because it's easy to shape. Then various types of plants, shrubs, flowers or herbs are used to fill in the various compartments. In Elizabethan times, knot garden compartments were often filled with colourful medicinal herbs.
Because of their precise layout and reliance on geometric shapes, knot gardens are traditionally high maintenance, as the hedges and plants must be constantly trimmed and pruned. Traditionally, knot gardens use one type of hedge only to border the walkways, & it's generally Buxus because it's easy to shape. Then various types of plants, shrubs, flowers or herbs are used to fill in the various compartments. In Elizabethan times, knot garden compartments were often filled with colourful medicinal herbs.
Image Rafter Tales
Image Garden Visit (Little Moreton Hall)
Image House to Home
Image My House & Garden (Hatfield House)
Image NGS
Image Magical Heritage of Essex (Layer Marney House)
Image UK8 (Sudeley Castle)
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
All images HimmelrommetWith the media awash with the Catholic invasion of Australia & as I've somewhat lapsed in recent times, I've been feeling guilty (an inherent part of being a Catholic!) about my lack of appropriate religious commitment.
Father Murphy always said "When all else fails go on retreat", so maybe that's what I need to do. However, no small austere cell-like room up at the Monastery @ Glen Osmond for this girl. I figure a nice little cottage in the Clare Valley near the Sevenhills Winery (owned by my mob the Jesuits specifically for producing altar wine) will be more my style!!
There is a lovely chapel on the Sevenhill property (for some Millie meditation) & I think some simple interior design style as pictured would be needed in the cottage to ensure my retreat was up to the appropriate standard required for my successful return to the flock!!
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