An elegant park-like garden with mature deciduous trees in all their autumn glory

After the devastating loss of their beautiful Georgian house and garden in the Port Lincoln bushfires in 2005, Lindy and Richard spent three years searching for a place to rebuild their lives.

Eventually, they found Hilltop in Stirling, a large garden with many mature trees, a lake and some fine stone walls. The garden was initially developed by Alice Howard, the granddaughter of Sir John Downer, who established Glenalta, the garden just north of Hilltop. In 2008, they moved in, and Lindy immediately set about removing some of the declining trees and shrubs to create long vistas and improve the balance between open space and secluded corners.

Tall October Glory maples line the entrance drive, which winds gently through the trees and opens to the striking Dutch Colonial house. Formal lawn terraces, stone walls and paths lead down to a little Italian pond with its charming bronze fountain. An informal woodland garden wraps around the sunken lawn and features deciduous trees known for their beautiful autumn colour underplanted with shade-loving plants.

The courtyard garden links the front terrace to the back terrace and the garden room built in 2020. A small Dutch garden is being developed with abelia, rosemary, iris, lamb's ears, Dutch box and a sundial, which was one of the few garden ornaments that survived the Pt Lincoln bushfire. At the other end of the long pergola is a Japanese-inspired garden with a pond and a lawn surrounded by sycamores, laburnum, Chinese elm, Dawn redwood, and weeping Greenstead cypresses.

Through the garden gate is another peaceful, large park-like garden leading down to the lake and a stand of candle bark gums with an underplanting of native shrubs and grasses.