Millthorpe Garden Ramble 2026

When we moved in nine years ago, we faced a big job; If only we could have started with a blank canvas. Concrete paving covered everything (we're still finding more), and ivy, blackberry, and privet were taking over. The driveway ran through the middle of the small backyard.

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We've tried to build a garden that ticks lots of boxes: part native garden, room for vegies, space for the kids to run around, habitat for birds, bees, and bugs, as well as outdoor spaces that are enjoyable for us to live in and protected from unfavourable weather.

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As it turned out, the challenge of gardening inside our yard was not enough, so we expanded out onto the verge. Being on a corner lot, we felt it was important that our garden also contributed to the streetscape. The garden is still a work in progress (is a garden ever finished?), but we have enjoyed the process so far and are now starting to enjoy the fruits of our labour. We are loving our blossoms, the colours and texture of the foliage and the movement of the grasses.

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**STALL**: Redfrog Gifts - Jewellery

35 Crowson Street

**3 Stabback Street**

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Purchased in 2022, this small garden has slowly evolved from a bare patch of lawn and a row of agapanthus into an inspired English-style cottage garden.

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In a cosy corner of the garden, lavender hedges provide fragrant structure. At the same time, the red currant tree displays magnificent scented blossoms. Garden beds are filled with foxgloves and budding roses.

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Pots of colourful spring bulbs are scattered throughout, and an ornamental grapevine provides shade for the alfresco area and a perfect frame to this little piece of paradise.

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**3A Stabback Street**

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My garden is a work in progress, having started three years ago with a blank canvas and a yard full of dead lawn tufts.

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I broke the soil down with cardboard and mulch, and today I'm having success creating a cozy, messy environment featuring trees, roses, and lavender, surrounded by a lush laurel hedge.

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Scattered amongst the garden are pots of fragrant herbs to complement the other plantings.

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In a very small oasis, I aim to create a tapestry of blooming plants and trees to enjoy.

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**STALL:** Dahlia workshop 10.30 and 2.00 Saturday only, Rob Slarke from Central West Dahlia Society.

3 & 3A Stabback Street

The "Birchgrove" garden is a continuation of the original garden which we inherited when we moved in a little over two years ago. It was love at first sight, and we set about expanding the original vision with our own ideas.

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The property is about 5 acres, and while the gardens are not fully complete, the stages we have completed have created a garden to walk through on grassy pathways lined with birch, colourful bulbs, and grasses. The original gardens are filled with iceberg roses and formal hedges.

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All this is combined with superb views from the house's elevated position, looking over Millthorpe and west to Orange.

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**STALL:** Iron ornaments by Phil

1187 Millthorpe Road (Access and parking on Glenorie Road. Please don't park on main road)

Our small four-room double brick home dates back to the 1890's. We purchased it in mid 2016, and the transformation began promptly. In 2020, we extended the home to fit our family of six, which kicked off the next phase of our never-ending landscaping project. This year we created a new BBQ area.

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We have applied significant effort into maintaining the heritage style whilst redeveloping the property to a modern standard.

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We love spring and summer flowering perennials. Our garden explodes into bloom at Christmas, but we have something to interest you in all seasons.

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We hope you enjoy seeing the growth and evolution of our home.

32 Crowson Street

Most of the garden is only about one-and-a-half years old, although a couple of perennial borders are slightly older.

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The garden is mostly perennial. We have also planted at least 140 *Buxus* balls throughout the garden, with a handful of larger topiary pieces. There is also a Japanese-inspired garden that leads you down to the dam.

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The orchard was planted two years ago and features a variety of apples, cherries, peaches and nectarines, plus many other stone fruits. We also have a 20 x 10 metre wide 14-bed veggie patch.

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We have just planted a topiary walk with 18 *Buxus* balls and two large *Buxus* topiary pieces. We'll also be planting some larger conifers that I will cut into new topiary pieces, taking inspiration from the Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue in the UK where I have been working this year.

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**BBQ:** Blayney High School Fundraiser

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**STALLS:** Shokunin Store - Japanese Tools, Connie Farm Flowers (Sunday only)

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**TOILET**

80 Pittman Drive

Entering through the lynch gate, the hedge gives way to a view of Mt Canobolas on the horizon. This is what drew us to purchase this property in 2015, when it was a house with a weeping cherry, nine tree saplings, and standard roses as the nucleus of what is now the garden you see.

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It was a bare canvas for us to develop various garden elements: cottage garden, walled garden, orchard and vegetable garden, dry creek bed and circular driveway. We created the house footprint by excavating the hillside, which we terraced with rocks collected from various properties. The area incorporates Lipstick Maples, lilacs, and dogwoods, underplanted with an eclectic mix of perennials, succulents, and native plants that provide colour year-round.

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The dry creek bed was a bare swale drain which has been lined and planted out. The walled garden created a relatively wind-free area for outdoor living. The orchard and vegetable garden have been a challenge with either feasts or famines of fruit and produce. The inner fenced cottage garden provided an area for the grandchildren to kick a ball without damaging Grandma's plants too much. The front teardrop driveway features a mix of weeping cherries, maples, ash, and gingko trees. Enjoy!

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**STALL:** Trish Berry Mosaics

Millthorpe Garden Ramble 2026

3 & 3A Stabback Street

32 Crowson Street

35 Crowson Street

1187 Millthorpe Road (Access and parking on Glenorie Road. Please don't park on main road)

44 Charles Booth Way

80 Pittman Drive