"Dream garden"

I visit the garden of my dreams.
Sunday, 14 April 2019     

Meadow in the garden of Pamela Wallace in Sydney

In my younger years, I used to fantasise about having a garden of a few acres, where I could fulfil all my dreams of planting favourite trees and shrubs, creating colour-themed borders in broad brushstrokes, and including every single plant I had ever wanted to grow. Suffice to say, this fantasy was never realised and I remain in suburbia. It was a great pleasure, therefore, last week to visit a garden in Sydney's north-west, where Pamela Wallace has created, in just five years, a magnificent garden on five acres, which is, quite simply, my dream garden, full of many of the plants that I dearly love.

Surrounded and sheltered by towering gum trees on the perimeter of the property, the garden is formally designed in generously sized, sweeping borders around the house then graduates to more informal areas beyond, including a woodland walk, a garden hugging the dam, and a meadow garden of grasses and self-seeding annuals. Being able to create such different features is one of the wonderful aspects of having an acreage garden. In this garden, they all fit together like pieces in an enormous jigsaw puzzle! It's impossible to do justice to this beautiful garden in its entirety in this blog, so I refer readers to Pamela's very comprehensive description in the Garden Ramble section of our website. I decided instead to focus on the seasonal highlights I so enjoyed during my visit, and to talk about some of the opportunities and challenges of gardening on acres that I gleaned, which, as it happens, also have lessons for all gardeners.

At this time of year, the deep flower borders around the house are in full bloom and just a joy, showing that autumn in Sydney can be the very best time of year for gardens. The borders are themed in colours of blues, pinks, purples, whites and silvers near the front of the house, with golden foliage in some areas for contrast. Stars of these borders now are tall shrubby salvias in all their glory, including inky-blue 'Anthony Parker', velvet purple Salvia leucantha 'Santa Barbara', white-and-mauve 'Phyllis' Fancy', deep purple 'Amistad', blue 'Indigo Spires' and white-and-purplish blue 'Meigan's Magic'. Joining them are the profuse blooms of many shrubby Plectranthus, including purple and white forms of tall Plectranthus ecklonii and the lower-growing Cape Angels series, including a most unusual form with white-variegated foliage and white blooms.

In a garden of this size, these plants have the scope to spread to their full width and show their natural form - unlike in my garden where they are squeezed in amongst other plants! The effect is truly breath-taking. Purple is a favourite colour for Pamela, and the salvias and Plectranthus plants are complemented by several robust specimens of Tibouchina 'Jazzie', which grows to around 2.5 m in height and is smothered in rich purple blooms for an extended period: a plant I have never seen before except in pots at nurseries, which give no idea of what a wonderful shrub this is. Roses of many colours are used extensively in the garden and are in the autumn flush at the moment, and like the Tibouchina and dahlias, their floral form provides a contrast to the spires of the salvias and Plectranthus, and they also play a vital role in the various colour schemes of the borders where they are grown. Roses grow well in this part of Sydney, perhaps due to the cooler winters and lesser humidity in summer.

Though there is an amazing palette of many plants in the garden, many of them rare, repetition of the plants in different borders, and in combination with diverse plants provides a sense of cohesion, important in a garden of this size - but also for any garden, I feel! Borders at the side and back of the house introduce hotter colours of reds, oranges and yellows in various shades. I enjoyed the contrast of blue and purple salvias and Plectranthus with rich golden foliage, such as golden Duranta, gold-variegated Euonymus, gold-leaved zonal Pelargonium and yellow-variegated Iresine here. When the deciduous trees begin to colour up later in autumn, this adds another layer of hot colour to contrast with these blue and purple flowers.

Foliage is central to the garden and provides much of the colour and texture that makes the borders so beautiful to behold, giving ongoing interest throughout the year as seasonal flowers come and go, something for all us gardeners to remember! Melianthus major (including a very desirable dwarf form); purple-leaved, shrubby Euphorbia cotinifolia; various grasses; many brightly hued coleus varieties; and a most unusual gold-variegated leaf Strobilanthes persicifolia (syn. Strobilanthes anisophylla) were just a few of the plants that caught my eye. Repetition of key foliage plants - such as silver and lime Helichrysum petiolare, velvety silver Plectranthus argentatus, silver and purple Persian shield (Strobilanthes dyeriana), Alternanthera 'Little Ruby' and its new cousin 'Little Maroon', and crimson and yellow-veined forms of Iresine - provides another thread of unity through the garden.

In a large garden like this, low-growing foliage plants also play an important part to carpet the ground under trees and between shrubs in an attractive way whilst also suppressing weeds, to reduce maintenance of such areas. Low-growing Plectranthus fill this role in dry shade admirably, particularly glossy, round-leaved Plectranthus verticillatus and Plectranthus ciliatus, which both grow into wide rugs and are a mass of dainty white bloom in autumn. The variegated form of Plectranthus parviflorus is also an excellent groundcover and has delicate spires of blue flowers for much of the year. Tradescantia pallida 'Purpurea' and forms a pretty tapestry weaving amongst the other plants, with rich purple leaves is also so useful to fill bare areas quickly.

Having space also allows the scope to display large pieces of sculpture to good effect, and Pamela has some lovely pieces in the garden. She particularly likes spheres, and has some beautiful pieces cleverly positioned, such as the three spheres nestled between lime Helichrysum petiolare (pictured, left), and a stunning metal pear in the centre of the courtyard garden.

Creating new garden beds in such a big garden is a challenge, especially on heavy clay soil. In this garden, all the borders that Pamela has made have been achieved by first layering newspaper on top of the existing grass where she wants the new bed to be, and piling compost, manure and shredded prunings on top. After about six months, the soil is ready for planting. The surface of all the established garden beds is kept covered with a layer of shredded prunings mixed with duck manure, to keep moisture in, reduce weeds, and feed the soil, helping to manage the task of looking after a big garden. The lush growth of the flourishing plants is a testament to the effectiveness of this approach, which I have recently adopted, and can be used in any-sized garden.

The garden is still evolving - Pamela often enlarges garden borders and has plans for new areas to create in the future. Her hard work, knowledge, enthusiasm and passion for gardening are reflected in this stunning garden: my friends and I came home utterly inspired with ideas for our own plots!


 Reader Comments

1/10  Pamela - 2158 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Monday, 15 April 2019

Oh Deirdre!! You made me cry reading your blog.It was indeed a huge delight to welcome you and the other gorgeous ladies to my garden and as we all appreciate theres nothing like having other passionate gardeners to share your obsession with. Im SO impressed with the detailed notes you took as you wandered around.I will treasure this blog for a long time. Your ability to express my passion, dedication and vision can only be achieved by a likeminded gardener and a beautiful writer.Thank you!!! Thank you so much for our visit last Friday -- it was such a joy to see your superb garden and to hear all about how you have created it. Deirdre


2/10  Valerie - 2121 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Monday, 15 April 2019

What a beautiful garden! Your description of it reads so well. I especially enjoyed the Salvias, Plectranthus and the different foliage plants. I did have an earlier look on Garden Ramble which was well worth it too. This garden has such lovely colour and texture combinations while maintaining a gentle, flowing appearance. It must have been a delight to visit. Thanks, Valerie - yes it was truly a joy to visit the garden, especially at this time of year when all the salvias, plectranthus etc were in full bloom. Deirdre


3/10  Jan - 2130 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Monday, 15 April 2019

Beautiful colour and softness. Regards, Jan Thanks, Jan. It was a wonderful place to visit. Deirdre


4/10  Adelina - 2477 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Tuesday, 16 April 2019

I love the use of purples and blues in the garden. Pamela has created a truly lovely garden. Having a large garden was a dream of mine, we finally achieved this when we moved to a property in the northern rivers area of NSW. I have enjoyed changing my existing garden from tropical to incorporating the plants that I love, which include many of those that you describe in your article. But it is a heck of a lot of work but fun everyday. You sound as if you have made a beautiful garden, Adelina. Yes it is a lot of work but the rewards are wonderful, especially at this time of year. Deirdre


5/10  Sue - 2074 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Tuesday, 16 April 2019

A lovely read and a lovely garden by the look of it. Read the Ramble as well and can see the attraction of having the room to display all the things you love. A lot of hard work for Pamela, but it must feel satisfying to be able to enjoy and share it now. Very inspiring. You must have been an enjoyable day. I honestly felt I was in a wonderful dream during the whole visit! Pamela is an inspiration. Deirdre


6/10  Ned - 2256 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Wednesday, 17 April 2019

WOW, what a great article, Deirdre...THANK-YOU!!I look forward each month to seeing what you have installed for me. Pamela, you are living many peoples dream. Just wondering, does Pamela have this wonderful garden open to the general public at anytime during the year? And how would we be able to find out? It would be a delight to see it evolve. Thanks, Ned. You can leave a message on Pamela"s ramble page - see the link at the start of the blog to get to that page. Deirdre


7/10  Margaret - 2122 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Saturday, 20 April 2019

loved Pamela"s garden - it was a privilege to visit - not only was the garden full of interesting plants of all kinds, but Pamela was a generous hostess, a down-to-earth gardener, so willing to share her ideas, knowledge and plants. Thank you, Deirdre for your excellent blog and thank you to Pamela for inspiring us all. Thanks, Margaret. It was a delightful outing. Deirdre


8/10  Bob - 2567 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Monday, 22 April 2019

RE bird of paradise in your latest blog I have both the small and large variety in my backyard with both producing many flowers to enjoy. The local cockatoos love the seeds produced by the large one that are up over 6m from the ground so do not get cut off when they start to die back. I have clivias underneath it and the orange display looks wonderful when they flower together. Thanks, Bob. I like the sound of your planting and the clivias growing underneath. The strelitzia is in flower for a long time! Deirdre


9/10  Ned - 2256 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Tuesday, 23 April 2019

Great... Thank-you Deirdre for that information. I will look at the link to Pamela"s ramble page.. It will be good to know if and when Pamela has her garden open again.. Can"t wait... you wet my appetite with your wonderful description Cheers Ned


10/10  Pam - 2159 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Monday, 05 August 2019

Deirdre, you may be pleased to know that Pamela"s garden will be open Fri 18th to Sun 20th October 2019, 9.30am to 4.30pm each day as part of Galston Open Gardens. There will be 9 gardens, all on acreage, in Dural, Galston and Arcadia. Tickets are available on the open days at the gardens, and outside the Galston Club, 21 Arcadia Rd, Galston. $5 for one garden or $25 for all 9. All proceeds to charities. Details on your www.myopengarden.com.au Thanks so much for letting us know. I will post a reminder closer to the time. Deirdre


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