Ballarat U3A Gardening Interest Group (GIG) Autumn function 2nd May '23. Kyneton, Malmesbury and Macedon


The rain held, the weather a little brisk, but reports noted that everyone who attended enjoyed the visit to Kyneton, Malmesbury and / or Macedon.

A quick change of venue was found after the visit to Bringalbit was cancelled late in the week due to unforseen issues.  Peter May kindly offered a visit to his garden in Kyneton, then a special opening of Brocklebank by Carl and Adrian was organised and gratefully accepted.  

A big thankyou to Geoff Howard for your work with the new plan, and especially to Peter May who organised the visit to both his home and Brocklebank and Carl and Adrian who walked around their amazing garden answering questions from so many enthusiasts. 

Peter Mays home.  The grapevine over the pergola is an American variety called Glenora.  The Pink flowered succulents are Calandrinia Spectabilis from Chile.  Peter noted that the garden is geared to cold winters, dry summers and is non irrigated, apart from the vegetables.  The garden was professionally planted, however he gave the landscapers the list of plants and trees he wanted planted out.  Wandering around the garden you notice new young plantings that have found a place to sprout and this is encouraged.  














Brocklebank:  What a joy to wander. Carl and Adrian have worked tirelessly to turn a large one acre block of mainly lawn and trees into an amazing structure of vines, conifers, succulents, topiaries and beautiful trees.  There was so much to enjoy!  Brocklebank is now sold, and Carl and Adrian are moving to Brisbane after October to start a new garden of totally different plant types in a totally different climate.  They are very excited of this prospect and are now looking for a one acre block somewhere in the Brisbane landscape.  They have sought and been given permission by Qld Ag Dep to take their cacti plants into Queensland. 















Kyneton Gardens: Peter May covered the significance of the Kyneton Gardens, which are supported by the Friends of the garden.  This garden dates back to 1858 and is among the finest in Victoria's small goldfield towns. Seventeen of the trees have been listed as significant, including the endangered Chilean Wine Palm.

 







Malmesbury: A visit to the Malmesbury Viaduct was undertaken by some of our group. The Viaduct was completed in 1862, at that time it was Australia's longest stone bridge.  It is constructed of rusticated and finely dressed bluestone.  It is still the largest masonry bridge in Victoria.





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