Bathurst Spring Gardens: Welcome to old Mill Cottage

Spring has arrived in Australia, and for the first time in almost three long Covid years, we are able to visit open gardens all over the southern states.

Last weekend, the country town of Bathurst, New South Wales, held its Spring Festival.

We don’t live far from Bathurst and Paul and I met at College in Bathurst many years ago, so we have great affection and memories of this town.

Machattie Park in the centre of Bathurst.

There were many open gardens to visit, both in Bathurst, and around the district. We spent so long looking at some of the country properties and gardens that we will have to come back next year for the rest!

Mill Cottage in O’Connell

The owners of the gardens often provide ”a story” about their garden, and this is the beginning of the story of Mill Cottage, in O’Connell near Bathurst.

We bought Mill Cottage, also known as the Garden House, attracted by the historic house, the old garden, and orchard and the lovely setting beside the Fish River.

The original 100 acre farm was taken up by Daniel Roberts in about 1829. Daniel Roberts was born in Wales in 1800 and arrived in the colony in 1826. The 1828 census lists Daniel as being a free settler, a carpenter, aged 28.

Daniel met Catherine Spinks about 1828. She had arrived in the colony in 1820 when she was only 13 years old, with her convict mother, Anne. Daniel and Catherine were married in Parramatta in 1828. They left on horseback after their wedding and arrived in O’Connell, where they settled.

A very long way to travel by horseback…they were tough in those days!

The present owners know there was the stone and brick house here by 1837, called the Garden House. This assumes there was a notable garden from the beginning, maybe tended by the two convicts allocated to the Roberts family.

The orchard

Daniel built a water mill, located about 200 metres upstream from the house in 1833. He saw the need for a place to mill the wheat that the early settlers were busy growing. Local farmers brought their wheat, it was ground into flour, and a sack cost them one penny!

Daniel became a prosperous local businessman and over time the property was sold, and the land around was subdivided.

Here is the impressive rhubarb patch and many other vegetables, well mulched and fertilized.

The present owners have extended and expanded the garden over the previous ten years .

The garden has mainly cool climate plants, bulbs, roses, salvias, hellebores and many other perennials, with a wonderful shady Box elder (maple) tree in the centre of the garden near the house.

We were lucky to have a lovely sunny day to visit Bathurst and surrounds, however, like much of the Eastern states of Australia, Bathurst has experienced heavy rains this year, and the Fish river, (seen in the photo below) was rising.

All parts of the garden have attractive borders of plants, and this gave us a chance to wander through the garden and take time to look at all the flowering spring shrubs.

I didn’t get a chance to talk to the owners of the property, but I did wonder if kangaroos hopped over the fence/gate to eat the abundance of fruit, vegetables and flowers.

We had a wonderful time wandering through this garden and it was a delight to be out and about amongst fellow gardeners. Many thanks to the owners of the property, as it must take an enormous effort to get ready for an Open Garden weekend.

For those who are interested in learning more about the house, Lee Steele’s Volume Two of “Heritage Homes of Bathurst and District” describes this house in more detail.

I have photos for at least one or two more gardens, so I hope you can look out for them.

Copyright Geraldine Mackey: All Rights Reserved

When is a plant a weed?

This pretty flower is called Patterson’s Curse

When I first came to Australia I went to university in a country town called Bathurst in New South Wales. Bathurst is a pretty town surrounded by rolling hills and golden fields. My new university friends offered to drive me to neighbouring towns, to get to know the area.

A field of Patterson’s Curse (photo by Lush Garden Services)

When I first saw a blazing purple and green field I was stunned by its beauty ‘‘Isn’t that a pretty field!”

My country friends were horrified, ”oh no, don’t say that, the purple stuff is Patterson’s curse!

Patterson’s Curse comes from the Mediterranean, some might know it as Salvation Jane, Blueweed, Lady Campbell weed or Riverina Blue Bell. The plant began arriving through mail order catalogues in the 1840s in Australia and was sold as a cut flower in Sydney markets. From gardens it rapidly invaded farms. By the 1900s it was well established as a weed throughout South-eastern Australia.

Patterson’s Curse is toxic to livestock, particularly horses.

Many years later, we don’t have to deal with Patterson’s Curse in our garden, but like all gardeners, we have to deal with our share of unwelcome plants…..Valerium being one of them!

A Valerium plant growing in between rocks in our garden.

Just look at the sizeable root of this plant, working its way under rocks to new territory!

Since Lockdown, we have really had a chance to work on the garden, and, as always, the weeds come first. Some plants, like violets, were welcomed and loved in our garden, at first..

A handful of violets to give to my neighbour, who often used them while cooking. She dipped the flowers in icing sugar to decorate a cake..

During my years of teaching in the Introductory English Centre in Canberra, our Teacher’s Assistant often brought little bunches of violets into office for us, especially on Monday,….in her words ”Monday is always a very unstable day”…and she was right!, We taught five to seven year old students, who had just arrived in Australia, and there were as many languages spoken as there were children.

At first the violets were lovely green borders in our garden, as can be seen on the left of the above photo..
In the above photo the violets are creeping up on the tulips..
and here they are taking over the garden!

Our garden is spread-out, and the violets had tucked themselves behind every nook and cranny. The violet roots are tough and can survive drought. As they so efficiently cover an plant bed, they cover up the soil and prevent precious plants like my Japanese maple from getting enough soil and water.

Paul has spent over a week pulling out violets, and has filled two trash packs with them…. no more violets!

I have long believed the Gardener’s Adage

The best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull it out. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant.”

I hope you are enjoying your garden, your neighbourhood, and your season, where ever you are in the world today. During this very unpredictable time in all our lives I have enjoyed reading blogs from all over the world, a reassuring and interesting way to find out about real people are dealing with the CV 19 roller-coaster!

I have started using Block Editor, so I’m just crossing fingers and hope it is all working!

Copyright Geraldine Mackey: All Rights Reserved.