Spring is just around the corner and it’s a great time to visit beautiful open gardens to celebrate the arrival of warmer days and sunshine! Open Gardens SA is delighted to present the early Spring program of open gardens for 2024.
All gardens open from 10am until 4.30pm on the dates listed. General entry to each garden is $10 and $8 for Open Gardens SA Members and for those with a Commonwealth Government Pensioner Concession Card or Health Care Card. Under 18 receive free entry. Visitors are encouraged to bring cash as EFTPOS facilities are not always available.
August 2024
24 - 25 August
Rob’s Rescue & Replant – 15 Argyll Walk, Bellevue Heights
An extraordinary garden filled with an eclectic mix of exotic plants! Gigantic old dragon trees, ponytail palms with trunks that resemble an elephant’s foot, bottle trees, palms, cycads, succulents, spiky plants and ferns rescued from demolition sites have been replanted to create an eclectic mix of bold shapes and fascinating foliage.
September 2024
7 - 8 September
Fifty Shades of Green - 23 Netherby Ave, Netherby
The garden features a well thought out selection of tough Mediterranean climate plants – both Australian natives and exotics chosen for their shape, the texture and colour of their foliage and their low water requirements.
15 September (Open Sunday ONLY)
Al Ru Farm – 1016 One Tree Hill Road, Sampson Flat (One Tree Hill)
Inspired by visits to gardens all over the world, Ruth Irving has transformed 10 acres of Al Ru Farm’s grazing land into a charming, charismatic country garden. The garden meanders from one area to another, each with its own distinct feel and colour palette.
28 - 29 September
Y Creigiau - 20 Keyneton Road, Eden Valley
An impressive show of bulbs beneath many trees welcomes spring with a lively display. In September, the delicate fresh green leaves of the deciduous trees at Y Creigiau start to emerge, and beneath them, clumps of bulbs will begin their colourful spring show. The name Y Creigiau, meaning ‘the rocky place,’ is Welsh and was inspired by the rocky terrain of the 2.5-acre sloping Eden Valley block.
October 2024
5 - 6 October
Moorakyne - 4 Sturt Street, Robe
Moorakyne is one of Robe’s fine old historic homes. Built in 1853, the twelve-roomed limestone house and several charming outbuildings sit in a prime position on an acre of coastal land. A stylish new garden that harmonises perfectly with the superb old historic limestone home.
Toolache – 20 Sturt Street Robe
Since 2015, Anna Leake has transformed what was a windswept coastal block into a pretty, eclectic and thriving garden packed with an extensive range of plants, sculptures and whimsical pieces of garden art. The charming old church building known as The Kirk forms a backdrop to the garden which Anna named after the now extinct Toolache wallabies that once inhabited the area.
The Glasshouse Garden - 18 Fourth Avenue, Belair
The Glasshouse Garden is on an elevated hillside on a corner block with views through stringy barks to the lower foothills. Terraces were formed to use the slope, and several informal garden rooms were created. Entry is from the side road, and a winding path, flanked by several ‘Chanticleer’ pear trees, leads down to the front of the house to a small, pretty rose garden known as ‘The Terrace'.
Rosenthal Gully – 2 Rosenthal Road, Bridgewater
A pretty, all seasons’ cottage garden with masses of beautiful blooms. The trees and shrubs planted in the early days now form a year-round framework, some also producing masses of beautiful blooms. In early spring the front garden features a 35-year-old Magnolia soulangeana, camellias and azaleas which shelter a vibrant mass of iris, aquilegias, bluebells, anemones, forget-me-nots with blue and pink ajuga.
Brooker Garden - 31 Park Terrace, North Quorn
A productive garden with many raised beds growing a wide range of organically grown vegetables. Soil improvement and worm farming assist in garden health. Fruit trees, some native plantings and roses and ornamentals are located at the front and side of the house.
6 - 7 October
Indigo Blue - 28 Basham Beach Road, Port Elliot
A creative and beautifully laid out coastal garden with plants suited to the environment. When garden designer Elizabeth Ganguly retired to Port Elliot, she used her professional experience, creativity and ingenuity to meet the challenge of establishing a garden in coastal conditions. Indigo Blue is just 400 metres from the sea and has superb views over farmland to the coast.
12 - 13 October
Watendlath - 11 Hillview Road, Strathalbyn
An inspiring modern Australian country garden. Diana McGregor is a landscape designer and husband Michael’s hobby is building stone walls – the perfect combination of skills to create a truly spectacular garden! Together over the last 10 years they have transformed Watendlath from what was a battlefield-like barren site to a beautiful, thoughtfully planned and planted country garden.
TickleTank - 24 Hill Street, Mount Barker
Once the storage tank for the water supply to the surrounding town, Irene Pearce bought the property in 1998, and with great vision added several smaller tanks transforming them into a quirky and comfortable home. Over time she has decorated both inside and outside with intricate mosaics. The bright colourful garden is wrapped closely around the tanks and although tiny, is crammed with clever ideas, surprises and whimsy.
Visit the new website for more information about open gardens. Please visit the website regularly for updates to the program. Follow Open Gardens SA on Facebook and Instagram.
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