Two beautifully designed Australian coastal gardens in Anglesea will be on display for the public during the second weekend of January.
Open Gardens Victoria will open Sunnymeade and Jamboree on January 13 and 14, with the two gardens only a three-minute drive apart.
Both of the gardens were designed by Ocean Road Landscaping creative director Peter Shaw.
Sunnymeade, which has been Mr Shaw’s home for over 20 years, is an award-winning garden that has been featured on Gardening Australia, Dream Gardens and The Design Files.
After purchasing the land in 2000, Mr Shaw said he and his wife Simone wanted a garden that was easy to care for, fun for the kids and suitable for everyday family life.
“We spent time with the kids when they were little and got them involved,” Mr Shaw said.
“It’s been a very organic thing; it wasn’t textbook (design) or anything like that. And now they all have a creative spirit.
“I feel pretty proud that they’ve picked up some of that and run with it. The garden has definitely helped foster that in them.”
Featuring displays of correas and westringias clipped into spheres, a mounded “hilly” lawn and a Moonah forest, the garden has a “soft, wavy feel”.
Jamboree, on the other hand, is a relatively new garden, having been completed in 2020, but Mr Shaw said it was “full and healthy” despite its young age, featuring low-maintenance, coastal-tolerant flora, much of it native.
“There are maybe eight or nine key plants, a reasonably simple plant palette,” Mr Shaw said.
“It’s a garden that doesn’t take a lot of water or need a lot of care. It’s got a nice rhythm to it; it’s pretty soft and loose, grasses and shrubs.”
In addition to the gardens, both venues have a range of events over the weekend. Visit opengardensvictoria.org.au for more information and bookings.
