"Wattle Creek"

I was brought up in a small country town, the daughter of a sawmiller, but Dad had a farm as well. He used to have an excavating business and often did some work on "Wattle Creek",a property near the Murray River, and promised himself that one day he would buy it. "One day" came, and he achieved that goal, but we never lived there. A manager was employed to look after the property and it was run as a beef property.



Then, about 14 years ago, and after a few health scares, Dad decided to retire to the farm. Most people go to something smaller in retirement, Dad went from a quarter acre block to 1000 acres and promised Mum she could have the garden she had always dreamed of.



The original homestead was demolished and a new house built in its place - some of the original trees were kept, and a 5 acre garden was designed.....



Here are a few photos ....

A view of the house and part of the lawn. Note the world's tidiest palm tree - Dad invented a cutter tool to dispose of the untidy dead fronds.

Mum's pride and joy - a Cape Chestnut tree.

My sister lives nearby, so sometimes she and her girls ride over - they come through the deciduous forest and over the bridge Dad built. "Wattle Creek" runs through the garden. There is a hitching rail at the front of the house for the horses.



The formal rose garden - Mum's "sewing room" is the entire second storey of the house - the views from her sewing room's windows are beautiful.

And this is the "Folly" - where we have family Bar-b-ques. They wanted a run-down cottage - "the only time any bricklayer I ever employed built a perfectly straight wall, this time I wanted a crooked one" was the comment.

We love going up there and enjoying the garden, they used to open it for charity so we would all be called on to go and help with manning gates or making cups of tea. That doesn't happen any more, though they are always happy to share. If you are really lucky Dad will turn on the music - he has the whole garden "wired for sound" and it is a magical experience to wander around with the gentle sound of classical music with a glass of wine in your hand in the evening.



As time goes on I will add other photos - 5 acres is a bit to cover in one hit.