We had a very enjoyable afternoon, albeit a soggy one, at Vicki Brook’s lovely garden at Gretel Farm
Vicki Brook wrote:
The last remaining dairy in the district, Rose Vale was bought by Kerry Packer in the 1970’s, renamed Park Properties and planted with macadamias. The 1895 house and 5 acre block were named Gretel Farm (after his mother). Packer sold it to Chris Morgan in the late 1980’s.
From the paddocks surrounding the house, Chris created garden beds and pathways, planting trees and developing a rainforest around the old dairy bales, shaded by the Moreton Bay fig. The Gretel Farm garden in those days was essentially a cottage garden, but the next owner couldn’t keep up the intensive work needed. After only two years, plants were pulled out, grass grown where there had been beds and the grounds left in disrepair. Overgrown with weeds and debris and an enormous mountain of rubbish, I bought Gretel Farm!
Since moving here in April 2010, I’ve spent much time restoring the basic garden while adding my own themes to reflect the sub-tropical environment of the Northern Rivers. A programme of heavy mulching with newspaper and wood chips dealt with unwanted grass and weeds and continues to do so. It was fun learning about specimens suited to this climate, largely through Bangalow Garden Club members. Two cedar seedlings were my first planting; I’m always amazed by their size. All trees have grown enormously since I bought Gretel Farm, creating significantly more shade and covering the soil with matted networks of roots. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to find a sunny spot to plant a cheery annual! The Moreton Bay fig suffered substantial limb loss as the result of a fungus, taking out the dairy bales as huge branches weighing many tonnes fell on it in November 2021.
Major work includes the gazebo built to host wedding ceremonies (no longer held), and the swimming pool, carefully squeezed in between plantings of magnolias. A second orchard was added to the land below the swimming pool. Mowing large areas of unused grass seems a wasteful activity, so I decided to reduce the mowing area on the eastern and southern boundaries (although a section remains for car parking). In 2021 a second rainforest was planted here with tube stock sourced from Firewheel Nursery. The growth has been rapid. The driveway, lined with native plantings, links to plantings in 2021-2023. A path through the rainforest joins the native plantings in a spiral, culminating with Peter Nielson’s sculpture of a native pomegranate flower.
Several years ago, I installed a Flow Hive near the native plantings, yielding delicious honey. My young grandson is the hive-master! There’s also a native hive in the orchard. Three heritage-breed chooks lay eggs with delicately-coloured shells. Throughout the garden, sculptures purchased from local artists contrast with exotic figures in front of the gazebo of a Javanese husband and wife, traditionally placed at the bedside of newly-weds. However, not every sculpture at Gretel Farm is in a recognisable, traditional form! The large pots in the circular bed of the front drive and near the back of the house, and other pots scattered around, were designed by my gardener, George. Since 2012, George has been the mainstay of helping me develop the garden to where it is today.
