There's a story behind every rescued palm and tree in this garden packed with exotic and unusual plants

When Rob and Carolyn acquired their two-acre block eighteen years ago there was an old house, a mature gum tree and a claret ash, a few rosebushes and surrounding bushland.

Twelve years ago, after demolishing the former dwelling and having lived onsite in a shed and caravan while the family’s new home was being constructed, Rob turned his attention to creating a garden.

Passionate about rescuing plants that were destined for the chipper or landfill, Rob with his digging equipment sought out an eclectic mix from across greater Adelaide. Now the garden has numerous rooms surrounding lush patches of lawn.

Dozens of gigantic dragon trees, tall date palms, cocos palms, ponytail palms with huge elephant foot-like trunks, bottle trees, leafy Abyssinian banana palms, cycads, tree ferns and other species provide shade for under-plantings of more delicate and younger ferns, palms and flowering borders.

Rob has constructed walls and used found objects including an old red phone box to create fascinating focal points. He has laid kilometres of irrigation pipe which carry reclaimed, mains or rainwater from several huge tanks to all the plantings.

Each garden room is unique but is underpinned by consistent plantings of some species. There is a story behind every rescued palm and tree; Rob can tell how he came across it and managed to remove it from its original location, enabling each plant to thrive in its new and nurturing environment.

For a glimpse of Rob’s garden before the open date, it will be featured on Gardening Australia on Friday June 5th 2026 and the show will be repeated on Sunday June 7th.