A garden lovers’ piece of paradise – a superb spot to stop and smell the roses!

Roses are known for their exquisite beauty, and to see The Heritage Garden in spring when thousands of rose bushes produce countless fragrant blooms is a very special and never-to-be-forgotten experience!

Twenty-seven years ago, world-renowned rosarians Walter and Kay Duncan used their expertise and vision to transform a paddock into an exceptionally beautiful and tranquil garden. Their charming bluestone villa was once Walter’s family home in Adelaide and facing demolition, so they had it dismantled, transported stone by stone to the new site and rebuilt! Now surrounded by garden, it looks as if it has been there forever.

The roses are undoubtedly the superstars, but the garden was planned to be appealing throughout the seasons, and there are also many magnificent trees, shrubs, perennials, and hedges. A long line of 22 arches is smothered with the soft pink heritage rose Souvenir de la Malmaison, and the lovely creamy white Lamarque climbs up the posts of the verandah.

In the surrounding garden, many different modern and heritage roses are supported by a profusion of old-fashioned perennials – iris, lavender, foxgloves, catmint, kiss-me-Kate and seaside daisy perfectly complement the roses. Beyond the house, massed planting of prolifically flowering French roses is well suited to the climatic conditions and creates a staggering spectacle of flowers and fragrance. Old roses scramble over a rustic bridge leading to a quince orchard, and nearby, a path leads through a garden of silver foliage, with vivid pink-flowering plants providing a lively contrast.

There is an elegant pavilion and a stone moon- gate leading to a labyrinth filled with ornamental grasses. The garden is ever-changing, and this year a new path leads from the moon gate through the quince orchard to the little bridge and the front garden.

A superb armillary sphere purchased at the Chelsea Flower Show has been placed in the centre of the labyrinth with a plaque honouring the late Walter Duncan with words from the Bette Midler song, The Rose:a
Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snows 
Lies the seed that with the sun’s love 
In the spring becomes the rose.

Open on Sunday, November 1 only.