Maitland Garden Ramble 2025

O'Briens, Bolwarra - Garden Grove Estate

Garden Grove Estate, located in the picturesque region of Bolwarra, was purchased by Darren O’Brien in 2011. Originally owned by the Worboys family, the property was once a bustling vegetable packing farm over 50 years ago. Since its acquisition, Darren has transformed the estate into a vibrant and welcoming venue.

The original shed has been carefully restored to working condition. At the time of purchase, the property had no gardens or trees. Over time, the gardens have flourished, with the initial plantings serving as windbreaks. Today, the estate features a diverse and colorful landscape.

The Barn at Garden Grove Estate now serves as a charming venue for functions, weddings, charity events, and wakes.

Darren’s mother, Catherine, plays an active role in maintaining the gardens. The estate includes a thriving orchard, a vegetable garden, and a lively flock of chickens that produce fresh eggs daily.

The rose garden features banksia roses, with most of the plants propagated on-site. The grounds are adorned with jacarandas, flame trees, and silky oaks, creating a vibrant display of purple, red, and yellow hues. Bulbs such as daffodils, snowdrops, jonquils, and irises add seasonal charm, alongside a variety of Australian natives and grevilleas.

The orchard boasts a selection of fruit trees, including avocados, mandarins, limes, oranges, figs, and even pineapples.

Both the house and the barn overlook an expansive turf farm cultivating Sir Walter Turf. The garden maintains a traditional 'farm' aesthetic, blending functionality with natural beauty.

Darren O’Brien has generously welcomed the Maitland CWA ladies to prepare and serve Devonshire teas within the Barn. Additionally, the Maitland Garden Club will be hosting a plant stand on the premises to raise funds for their initiatives.

The Hedges Garden

My garden is my happy place.

The front garden has a formal look, with its neatly clipped hedges and topiaries. A dwarf grafted liquidambar takes centre stage, its compact habit and spherical shape drawing the eye. A climbing vine covers the front wall of the house, creating a lush, green oasis that stays cool in summer.

A Buxus hedge meanders around the perimeter of the backyard, with various topiaries featured behind it—once displayed in pots, they now serve as an ideal replacement for a hedge that was removed after 15 years. As is often the case with a garden, ours is still evolving.

The predominantly green space is brightened by groups of containers in various shapes and sizes, filled with seasonal colour. I love creating mini gardens within them, as they add interest and can be easily moved around. Topiaries also feature in containers, adding structure and charm.

Other highlights in the backyard include a centrally located urn, which creates a visual line from the veranda to the arbour, as well as a fountain and a collection of potted succulents.

“Gardening is the purest of human pleasures,” and we look forward to sharing ours with fellow gardening enthusiasts.

Innes, Bolwarra Heights

Nestled in the heart of Bolwarra Heights, the Evol Innes Garden is a vibrant and evolving sanctuary, lovingly cultivated over the past six years. Originally transitioning from a spacious two-acre property, the owner brought with her a deep passion for gardening - evident in the extensive collection of potted plants and cherished roses.

The garden showcases a stunning array of camellias, azaleas, and seasonal blooms, including pansies, violas, ranunculus, anemones, stocks, and phlox. A standout feature is the fernery - once a modest garden shed, now transformed into a lush, tranquil retreat.

The pool area is thoughtfully landscaped, framed by a diverse mix of plants that create a serene and inviting atmosphere. Roses flourish in decorative pots, a tribute to the gardener’s mother - an award-winning horticulturist whose legacy lives on in every bloom.

African violets thrive in sheltered corners, while geraniums and structured hedges provide form and colour throughout the space. Since moving in, the gardener has established both a large garden and a dedicated rose garden, replacing a dense bamboo grove with elegant succulents and the striking Mr Lincoln rose, which now lines the steps with timeless beauty.

For Evol, gardening is not a chore but a source of joy and peace. With expansive verandahs embracing the home, this garden is not only a visual delight but a deeply personal expression of care, creativity, and connection to nature.

Russell, Maitland

A small “eco-urban” garden, this space features loosely themed micro-environments that range from full sun to deep shade. Native and edible plants are favoured, with pre-existing exotics thoughtfully retained for their value in attracting fauna and enhancing aesthetics.

Entering through the tall, hedge-framed “sun-gate”, visitors are greeted by Grass Trees and potted sun-loving natives to the left, and fragrant woody herbs on the sunbaked right. The hedge, acting as a porous screen, is a haven for Blue Wrens and finches, who delight in bathing at the birdbath. In spring, these spaces come alive with colour and the hum of insects.

Following the path around the corner, the hedge gives way to native shrubs and ground covers, then leads through a side gate into a cool, shady passage lined with native rainforest understorey.

The hedge continues along the backyard and side fence, offering our feathered friends safe passage to the sunny vegetable garden, where they forage for caterpillars, aphids, and the occasional worm. Favourite staples—such as sweet corn, snow peas, beans, basil, parsley, and a variety of brassicas—keep us well-stocked with fresh, nutritious veggies. Pesticides are strictly avoided, except in dire situations involving rats determined to devour all our corn!

A narrow strip of native ground covers fringes the rear building ramp and is allowed to seasonally spill into the open lawn. Beneath the landing lies a frog pond and a shaded native garden featuring ferns and orchids. On warm evenings, the call of the Spotted Marsh Frog may be heard, often joined by a chorus of froggy friends. Yellow-striped Skinks, along with other skinks and Blue-tongued Lizards, abound in the backyard—nature’s own cockroach control!

The shady back deck supports a jungle of potted and hanging shade plants, including bonsai native figs, palms, cordylines, vines, and planted aquariums. Wrens often forage here for crumbs thoughtfully left behind by Lulu Dog.

The vegetable garden extends around the western side of the shed, where raised wicking beds and shade cloth create ideal conditions for growing ginger and turmeric in summer. Nearby, a small patch is dedicated to root vegetables and asparagus. Beneath a high bench, a roll-out bathtub is home to millions of worms, quietly converting plant material, kitchen scraps, and cardboard into rich mulch for the veggie beds—rendering the green bin obsolete.

Please exit via the back gate and laneway to enjoy views of all our garden spaces, including the thriving trained citrus trees out the back.

Gibbons, East Maitland

My garden evokes the gardens of my youth in the tropics — the gardens of my mother and paternal grandmother. They were devoted plant lovers whose main artistic expressions were found in their gardens. Their homes were nestled in the heart of lush greenery, surrounded by vegetables, fruit trees, and flowering plants, whether in the ground or in pots.

When I look out my window, I want to see vegetation and flowers. With this love of plants in my veins, I set out to create my own garden. When my husband and I moved into this home 43 years ago, the dream of creating my own garden truly began to take shape. Unlike my mother’s and grandmother’s gardens, however, I envisioned a cottage-style garden. Roses were my first obsession, but after a few years I realised the climate here is not well suited to them.

And so began the ever-changing character of my garden. Many roses were removed, especially after long droughts and rare floods (until recently). Hardy varieties were kept, and small trees and shrubs were planted around the garden’s perimeter. My perennial borders have evolved and thrived over the years, as has my ever-growing collection of potted plants. Today, the garden is a haven for birds and bees — a sanctuary and a gathering place for family and friends.

My love affair with roses was rekindled when a dear friend and great Maitland gardener gifted me her beloved potted roses. I removed most of my canna lilies and created a new garden bed to house these precious plants. I shared with Dorothy Snedden not only a love of roses, but also of garden ornaments. She passed away recently at the age of 102, and I am privileged that a little piece of her beautiful garden now lives on in mine.

Baker, Lorn

My garden is designed in the style of an English garden, created to complement the charm of a federation house. Inspired by the work of landscape artist Edna Walling, I’ve embraced the idea of garden rooms, giving the space both intimacy and character.

More than 50 camellias bloom from March through to September, filling the garden with vibrant winter colour. Neatly clipped box hedging adds structure and formality, while a canopy of trees at the far end provides shelter for visiting birds. Seasonal bulbs, spring annuals, and delicate fairy magnolias ensure that colour and interest continue throughout the year.