Lambley Nursery and Gardens…

In September, we did a trip through Victoria, and visited Lambley Nursery, which is featured in my favourite gardening book, Australian Dreamscapes.

David Glen, a highly respected nurseryman and owner of Lambley Nursery has been a passionate gardener since his childhood in England. However when he moved to the harsh windswept plains of Central Victoria, and opened a nursery, he soon realised he would have to re-think his garden and plants.

we decided to use plants that would not only survive our hot, dry summers and cold winters, but could survive on very little water. Extremes are the new normal now and every season is unpredictable.”

Lambley, in the Great Dividing Range, Victoria has temperatures that range from -6 degrees (C)  (21F) in winter to 45 degrees (C) (113F) in summer. The nursery, and every section of the garden are surrounded by thick hedges to protect it from the winds that frequently sweep across the plains.

Our Canberra climate is similar, so we were very interested in the nursery and gardens and hoped to buy some plants for our own garden. We began in the enclosed dry garden…

….. what a treat to see such colour and texture in a garden that receives so little extra water.

Although David specialises in dry climate plants, as you can see from this garden, this doesn’t necessarily mean only native or cactus plants, but plants from all over the world that have a similar climate. David researched plants from places like Turkey and California, tested and propagated them.

 

After the dry garden, we strolled around this beautiful property, following wide paths, hedges and pines leading from vegetable gardens to spring bulbs to fruit trees…..a sight to behold!

The paths and hedges leading to garden ”rooms” were reminiscent of Monty Don’s garden (as seen on BBC Gardeners’ World).

These gardens are full of tulips, poppies, more flowers, vegetables, fruit trees and beds resting before new planting begins..

 

 

The nursery is extensive, and we were guided by their seasonal catalogues. Lambley is one of the few places in Australia that propagates a wide range of frost hardy and drought tolerant evergreen and deciduous plants and shrubs, and their online business is very popular.

As you can imagine we spend a lot of time buying plants…. the heart always rules the head, and I hope we can fit them all into our garden now…..but that will be for another post.

It would be wonderful to have this nursery nearby if you were starting a big garden as we were years ago.

The countryside around Lambley is picturesque, with wide skies, long stretches of farm land amongst the gently rolling hills.

As we drove  away we watched a farmer and his family gently herding some sheep along the road, (unfortunately I didn’t get a photo)…the youngsters were riding quad bikes very slowly, and the little boy was being shepherded by his mother…

What a very different life he will have to our little granddaughter, being brought up in the city of Melbourne, not far away.

The church at Ascot, close to Lambley.

www.lambley.com.au

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog, and I hope you are enjoying your season where ever you are in the world. If you are a gardener in Australia, may the sun shine and the rain fall.