A stunning hills garden filled with choice plants suited to the cool microclimate

St Ann's is a magnificent two-storey home set in an acre of outstanding, manicured gardens, creatively planted with a selection of choice trees and shrubs that flourish in the cool Adelaide Hills’ microclimate.

The original stone home, described as a shepherd’s cottage, was built around 1860, expanded in the following decade, and then transformed in Victorian times into a grand and gracious fourteen-room mansion. At one time a private school, over the years St Ann's has been home to several prominent citizens, including two Members of Parliament and several local doctors.

Teddy Bear magnolias, meticulously clipped topiary, and hedges add a touch of formality to the Orley Road entrance garden.  The land slopes downwards, and behind the house, a long balcony overlooks the garden, with the tops of numerous established European trees visible across the way, including a majestic 180-year-old Lebanese cedar and a 120-year-old blue cedar. These trees, some believed to be among the oldest in the Stirling area, along with many of the early plantings, have been retained and skillfully included in the current layout.

From the house, a long central set of steps and a path lead down through several tiers and terraces, each with its own distinct character.  On the sunnier side, a series of lawned garden rooms is enclosed with layers of hedges that create quiet, contemplative spaces. Adjacent in the dappled shade beneath the canopies of the big old trees is a ‘wilder’ woodland garden with winding paths and many varieties of rhododendrons, camellias, daphne, maples, magnolias, and cercis underplanted with sheets of bulbs and hellebores. Hedges define the areas, some clipped into waves, while others are cloud-pruned. There is an elaborate parterre garden, a charming summer house, and a Japanese-inspired area with a fishpond.

St Ann's is a stylish and spectacular Adelaide Hills garden – elegant, enticing, green and gorgeous!