Sunday, October 26, 2008

A Gardener Goes Away (3): The Garden at Corynnia Station


The garden at Corynnia Station is mainly the work of Julie Armstrong. When she and her husband Bruce moved to the property, the 'home paddock' was a soul-destroying, dusty mess of superannuated equipment. Only a stand of pines and some peppercorn trees had withstood the neglect of the previous tenants. Now, there is a peaceful, green stroll garden that provides a pleasant backdrop to the 1940s farmhouse, and a contrast to the red soil and heat of the paddocks.


Tough ground covers add interest to the root zone of the established trees seen at right in the photo above. Euphorbia wulfenii at the back, with low-growing Wormwood and Forget-Me-Nots in front:


A Native Frangipani (Hymenosporum flavum) in full bloom both tones with the citrus and draws us beyond the household orchard:


I kept stopping to look at the beauties of individual plants. (Can anyone identify this one for me?)


Julie's eye for colour extends to the house as well. Now go back to the top photo and look at it more carefully...


At the front of the house, Julie has built this formal Round Garden. The terracotta statue set amid its green garden is a softer, gentler evocation of the red soil that surrounds the whole.


More photos of the garden may be seen at Outback Beds' page about Corynnia Station.

6 comments:

tina said...

It is just beautiful. I love the statuary. Sorry I can't help you ID the plant.

Anonymous said...

It looks like a variety of Dietes / wild iris.
It sounds like you've had a good holiday (although I will have to come back and read all these posts later as I've got to get organised for school pickup/ swimming lessons etc)!

quu said...

Wow, I have always loved Australia and I would like to see more photos!

I wish, that I could someday visit your country. :)

Interesting indeed :)

Hugs from cold and snowy Finland

Quu

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful garden! I agree that that flower is some sort of iris, but I have no idea what sort.

Kate

han_ysic said...

The flower is Dietes Grandiflora. I think that it is native to South Africa but grows well in our climate in Australia. Gorgeous gardens.
You can also get Dietes Bicolour which is brown and yellow, also pretty and the leaves are narrower than the grandiflora variety

Chookie said...

I am still puzzled about the flower -- yes, it looks like a Dietes grandiflora to me too, except frilly. I have the ordinary kind. Maybe this is a cultivar rather than a separate species? D. bicolor doesn't have a space in my garden at the moment; that yellow shade is tricky.

Quu, lovely to hear from you! I think Finland would be as amazing to me as Australia would be to you. Let me know if you get your wish!