A large garden with lovely views over vineyards to distant hills

In a slightly elevated position on a quiet country road, this garden looks out over a picturesque agricultural patchwork of vineyards, grazing land and gum trees to the distant Mt Lofty Ranges.

A long garden bed in front of the house is dotted with many varieties of roses – from the big, blowsy flowers of the modern types to the soft, pretty old-fashioned look of David Austins, the roses are a vibrant and fragrant feature.

Showy salvias, lavenders, gaura, daisies, agastache, grevilleas, and many other exuberant perennials intermingle and add to the bright, colourful display, designed to evolve through the seasons.

The garden to the side has a Mediterranean feel, with gravel paths and hedges of rosemary and teucrium edging beds filled with a mix of silver-leaved plants, succulents, and a variety of bird-attracting natives. A raised pond planted with water lilies and enclosed by a hedge is one of several water sources placed to attract birds. Trees, including a grove of birches, several crepe myrtles, and eucalypts, create shady spots and several seats, one beneath an arbour smothered with a climbing Banksia rose, providing sitting spots with lovely views of the garden and its surrounds.

Handy to the house and sheltered by a hedge of eremophila, raised beds are planted with a variety of vegetables and herbs, and there is a small, covered orchard. Several fig trees have been espaliered, and five rows of Grenache vines provide sufficient grapes for the family to enjoy making its own very drinkable wine and port!

Orcombe Farm in Lyndoch is open this weekend, too.