Open Gardens SA is delighted to present the October program of open gardens for 2023. Open Gardens SA is a not-for-profit organisation opening privately owned gardens to the public.
All gardens open from 10am until 4.30pm on the dates listed. General entry to each garden is $10, and $8 for Open Gardens SA Members and for those with a Commonwealth Government Pensioner Concession Card or Health Care Card. Under 18 receive free entry.
Visitors are encouraged to bring cash as EFTPOS facilities are not always available.
OCTOBER 2023
07 – 08 October
Clair de Lune – 217 Skillogalee Creek Road, Watervale.
This garden will open jointly with nearby Skilly House Garden: $15 for both gardens (no concessions). Cash only.
Clair de Lune sits high on a hill with sweeping views over the garden to paddocks with grazing sheep, beautiful bushland and the rolling Skillogalee Hills in the background. The planting in front of the house combines both native and exotic plants – gravel paths lead through beds mass planted with silvery cushion bush, a contrast to the lovely lime coloured weeping foliage of Acacia cognata.
Extra Activities: Clair de Lune: dumplings, other delicious Chinese food, dessert made from produce organically grown in the garden. Plant sales. Pottery demonstration and sales.
Size: 1.3ha, 3 acres.
Please note: Not suitable for wheelchairs; dam on the property. From Leasingham turn into Wakefield Road, follow for approx., 5.3km, turn right into Skillogalee Creek Road and follow for 2.1km. Clair de Lune is on the left.
Skillogalee Creek Road is a narrow, winding, dirt road - please drive carefully. Parking will be available in paddocks 250m from the garden.
Skilly House Garden - 294 Skillogalee Creek Road, Watervale.
This garden will open jointly with nearby Clair de Lune: $15 for both gardens (no concessions). Cash only.
The Skilly House Garden sits in an idyllic setting dotted with majestic big old red gums. However, with the natural beauty of the site come extras - kangaroos, rabbits and deer, all with similar taste in plants as the owners!
Extra Activities: Skilly House: light lunch and refreshments. Stalls selling seedlings, wooden garden products (wicking beds, worm farms etc) and felted crafts. Live music.
Size: 0.6 ha, 1.5 acres.
Please note: This garden is not suitable for wheelchairs. From Leasingham turn into Wakefield Road, follow for approx., 5.3km, turn right into Skillogalee Creek Road and follow for 2.9km. Skilly House Garden is on the right.
Skillogalee Creek Road is a narrow, winding, dirt road - please drive carefully. Parking will be available in paddocks next to both gardens.
Orcombe Farm - 49 Berryfield Road, Lyndoch.
Orcombe Farm is a 1-acre country garden with superb views of the surrounding vineyards and Barossa Ranges. Within the garden there are beautifully colour-coordinated perennial borders, areas for growing Australian natives, succulents and cut flowers, a greenhouse with an aquaponic vegetable garden and a productive patch with wicking beds and fruit trees.
Extra Activities: Morning and afternoon teas. Walk and talk at 11am and 2pm each day. Plant sales by Barossa Nursery.
Size: 0.4ha, 1 acre.
Please note: Not suitable for wheelchairs; hydroponics tank.
Tickle Tank - 24 Hill Street, Mount Barker
Tickle Tank, the charming and unique home of talented sculptor and artist Irene Pearce has delighted and inspired thousands of visitors over the years. Once the storage tank for the water supply to the surrounding town, Irene bought the property in 1998, and with great vision added several smaller tanks, transforming them into a quirky and comfortable home. The bright colourful garden is wrapped closely around the tanks and although tiny, is crammed with clever ideas, surprises and whimsy.
Extra Activities: Morning and afternoon teas. Raffle. Plants, garden art, painted pots and leadlight.
Size: 450sqm.
Please note: Entry payment cash only. This garden is not suitable for prams and wheelchairs. The garden has a small pond as well as steep slopes, steps and uneven paths.
14 – 15 October
Churston - 94 Day Terrace, West Croydon.
An oasis for the soul with garden rooms and special spaces. Churston is a great example of a climate appropriate garden. The garden has a mix of cottage colour, classical style, fruit and vegetable production intermingled with creative ideas and artistic whimsy. Waterwise Mediterranean plants abound; salvias, alstroemeria and justicia as well as species with flowers attractive to native bees and beneficial insects.
Size: 950sqm.
Please note: this garden is not suitable for wheelchairs, and there is a fountain in the garden.
St Mary's Vineyard - 563 V&A Lane, Penola.
The delightful country garden at St Mary’s Vineyard with its hundreds of roses and many dry-stone walls is a fitting location for the annual Limestone Coast Plant and Trade Fair. Established in 1937, the Mulligan family have created an impressive property, with the garden taking centre stage.
Extra Activities: Limestone Coast Plant and Trade Fair - artists, plants, garden arts, food stalls, wine tasting, children’s activities.
Size: 5 acres, 2ha.
Please note: There is a frog pond and a beehive. Please also note that if using GPS or similar, the address may show as 563 V&A Lane, Maaoupe or Wattle Range East.
The Bower - 10 Fourth Road, Belair
The garden is a haven for nature - wildlife abounds thanks to the use of natives and a clever garden design incorporating climate compatible plants and multiple garden rooms. Despairing at the lack of visual interest in the back garden, the owners employed a garden designer to transform the space which now includes an exuberantly planted stone retaining wall adjacent to the lawn, a gazebo surrounded with a moat for the frogs, wicking beds and a large range of fruit trees.
Extra Activities: Tea and coffee (but no seating due to garden size). Walk by owner at 11am and 2pm each day. Plant sales by Tupelo Grove. Orchid potting demonstration by Orchid Club SA at 12.30pm both days.
Size: 1000sqm.
Please note: This garden is very steep and is accessed via stairs; it is not suitable for prams and wheelchairs. It has an unfenced pond and a fenced pool.
The Running House Garden - 381 Glynburn Road, Kensington Park
Hidden away behind an old stone wall, a high hedge and the dense canopies of established trees, this lovely, leafy garden is both secluded and peaceful, the perfect setting for the elegant 1880s villa. The clever planting along the front boundary creates a sense of an oasis within suburban Adelaide. The property has distinct garden ‘rooms’, some classic in style with lovely old roses and perennials, others more contemporary.
Extra Activities: Morning and afternoon tea.
Size: 1500sqm.
Please note: There is a fenced pool and a large water bowl.
21 – 22 October
Bostonvista - 125 Howard Avenue, Boston (Port Lincoln)
From a vacant block just eight years ago, Bostonvista has matured to become a beautiful and interesting garden with fabulous views over undulating farmland to Boston Bay and Boston Island. With stone unearthed in the excavation for the house, the owners have built 163 metres of stone walls and an amazing entrance of mosaicked steps which lead down from the home to the garden, where beds of roses, bearded iris, rosemary, lavender, poppies, succulents and natives create a blaze of colour.
Extra Activities: Morning and afternoon tea. Plant sales.
Size: 2.5 acres, 1 ha.
Please note: Wheelchair access but slight slope and areas of gravel and a small pond; there are also bees.
Crabapple Cottage - 1 Jean Street, Leabrook
A colourful cottage garden surrounding a picture-book pretty straw bale house designed for sustainable living. There are ornamental and productive plants including 13 fruit trees, a frog pond, small lawn and entertaining area packed into the 700 square metre block. A white picket fence separates the densely planted verge from the front garden, both areas crammed with an abundance of annuals, perennials, roses, iris, lavender, gardenias and the crabapple tree that gives the cottage its name.
Extra Activities: Morning and afternoon teas. Plant sales. The garden owner will sell her award-winning marmalade, jams, etc, and other craft items.
Size: 500sqm.
Please note: Not suitable for prams and wheelchairs. Please park in Rochester Street, rather than Jean Stret, as it is a small cul-de-sac. There is a shallow pond.
The Garden at Wilpena Street - 41 Wilpena Street, Eden Hills
This romantic English-style garden was created from a bare, sloping corner block with nothing more than a disused tennis court. After 10 years of planning, planting and paving, now there are lawns, borders, patios and a pool. A formal rose garden includes David Austin roses in pinks, whites and yellows contained by clipped box hedges. Beautiful stone walls and steps lead to a green-and-white themed garden with hedges, climbing roses, a goldfish pond and a fountain.
Extra Activities: High tea on the lawns. Plant sales.
Size: 0.5 acres, 0.2ha.
Please note: This garden has a pond, a beehive and some steps.
28 – 29 October
Ashgrove Iris Garden - 53-55 Albert Street (Corner Randell Terrace), Gumeracha
Ashgrove Iris Garden is a relaxed, pretty, one acre country style garden with meandering pathways, plenty of garden seating and many old-fashioned plants. There are around 200 roses and mass planting of over 900 named varieties of bearded iris providing a lovely show of colour each spring.
The garden owner was named ABC Gardening Australia Gardener of the Year in 2013.
Extra Activities: Sale of irises. Artist-in-residence with artworks for sale. Nearby Kenton Park opening same weekend. Gumeracha Market on same weekend (Sunday only). Coffee van (Saturday only).
Please note: The garden has two large open ponds and some steps.
Size: 1 acre, 0.4ha
Kenton Park - 437 Torrens Valley Road Gumeracha
Kenton Park is a beautifully maintained country property with a charming historic house and a very pretty flower-filled garden. Behind the house, wide stone steps lead from the lawn up a slope through terraced garden beds, some lined with hedges and others edged with soft mounds of seaside daisies. A rare opportunity to see this idyllic property.
Extra Activities: Walk and talk at 11am and 2pm both days. Display of vintage cars and trucks.
Please note: There are a river and pond and beehives, as well as steps and gravel paths, not suitable for wheelchairs.
Size: 1.5 acres; 0.6ha.
Visit the website for more information about open gardens. Please visit the website regularly for updates to the program.
Open Gardens SA - Promoting the enjoyment, knowledge and benefits of gardens and gardening.
Website: http://opengardensa.org.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/opengardensa/