Hunter Valley Gardens – Part 1

/ Garrulous Gwendoline

‘A love of gardens enhances lives and brings with it an appreciation of nature’s beauty. Gardens also provide a counter to the many pressures of day to day living. The spiritual experience of getting back to nature and into gardens is very rewarding.’

Bill Roche

Sunday 20th March 2022. After a leisurely start to the day and breakfast we farewelled Bill’s brother and his wife ‘until next time’, and drove the short twenty minute distance from Branxton to the Hunter Valley Gardens at Pokolbin. These were established from 1999 onwards by founder Bill Roche who had long held an ambition to build a garden that would be enjoyed by generations to come, and upon retiring decided the time was right to see that vision come to life. “The Garden was planned out to feature 10 differently themed display gardens, with over eight kilometres of pathways, made for easy walking. A team of 40 to 50 gardeners worked on the Gardens for over four years. Bill was amazed by their dedication and commitment to the project.” The garden was officially opened on 10 October 2003.

Armed with the above map, clear skies, and enclosed walking shoes (in case there were still puddles from all the recent rain) we set off to explore what was on offer, in what, for Australia, is the very beginning of autumn (fall). International readers might keep in mind that for the east coast of New South Wales that is not synonymous with falling leaves of russet and gold as the weather is temperate. The Gardens include 6,000 trees, 600,000 shrubs and 1,000,000 ground covers, and green was the dominant colour for much of this visit. Annuals were being planted in some beds, others were lying fallow awaiting plantings.

It’s been a challenge to decide which of the hundred or so photos we took on the day to use. To add appeal for the many children who are brought to these gardens, a temporary display of mega creatures was on show. I left Bill to photo those (shoot seem the wrong word to choose under the circumstances), and will include a sample at the end. For now, I will take you along as we discovered the layout. Most descriptions below are from the website.

Note: I’m still struggling with photo montages since WordPress upgraded their system. It might be necessary to click on images to see their full view.

  1. The Indian Garden “carries aromas of India, having Curry plants filling the garden with their scent when you enter through the 160-year-old antique Indian Gates with two bronze elephants standing guard. Paths accompanied with Lilly pilly hedges lead to a mosaic of pebbles and ground-covering plants and a garden design, containing Purple Ajuga and Variegated Dwarf Agapanthus.”

2. Nearby, crossing green Chinese slate, we entered the Chinese Garden “through a traditional Moon Gate flanked by two bronze Temple Guardians. Incorporating traditional elements of rugged rocks, raked decorative gravels and slow growing grass, this garden features Conifers, Camellia Sasanqua, Azaleas, Bamboo and many edible fruits including Cumquats, Mulberries and Persimmons.” (no photographs).


3. Influenced by the garden designs of France and England, the Formal Garden is “bordered by Manchurian Pear Trees with their beautiful white flowers and dramatic bronze foliage in Autumn. Features include a variety of topiary and finely manicured lawns, specimen trees of evergreen Magnolia Grandiflora Little Gem and 3000 bushes of Chameleon roses.”
This evocative shot is courtesy of Bill

4. Wandering on, we found ourselves in front of a sculpture dedicated to “a loving grandmother“. Standing in the heart of the Rose Garden these bronze statues depict Imelda Roche and her thirteen grandchildren, and pays respect to the beautiful bond between grandmothers and their grandchildren. I was very taken with it. In the first photo below, I tried a face-on close up of the little girl on the right who is running towards someone with her arms outstretched. My attempt is horribly out of focus so I won’t upload it, but trust me, her expression of delight is adorable, as is the concentrated stance of the little girl painting her grandfather’s portrait in the second photo below.

There are “35,000 rose bushes and over 150 different varieties of roses across the whole Garden site” and apparently they are at their best around October-November. Varieties include Double Delight, Charles De-Gaulle, Freesia, Fragrance, Marlena, Bonica and Blue Moon; and a very special one: Rosa Imelda, a yellow one commissioned by Bill Roche for his wife, Imelda.

One of the unique features of the Rose Garden, which we did not immediately pick up on, is that it is corkscrew shaped – to highlight the connection with the Hunter Valley vineyards as well as offering maximum views of the roses. You can get a small sense of this in the below photo.

5. My photos of the Sunken Garden have failed to capture the size and perspective. Standing below, on the level where the topiary ducklings admire the view, one looks up to the 10 metre/ 32 feet high waterfall surrounded by trees that I suspect would be familiar to American readers. In the height of its season glory, the base would be ablaze with flowers and roses, and these would line the path up to the pergola at the top of the waterfall. Looking back down from there, one would see a kaleidoscope of colour.

This part of the garden is popular for weddings, and I can picture the groom waiting as his bride comes down the walkway covered with wisteria. Or the two of them walking back towards the three nymphs holding up a basket of plenty (my words – not the website’s 🙂 ) In lieu of actual the flower, I offer here a photo of a tortuous wisteria trunk 🙂

We were half-way around the garden at this point, and I think it a good idea that I split this post in two and finish the other half separately. If you would like to see professional photos showing off the plantings in all their resplendent glory, you can link through to the official website at https://www.huntervalleygardens.com.au/. Each garden has its own page.

And just for fun, here is a slideshow of some of the megacreatures that Bill photographed. This is a small sample of the installation that will remain in place during April. As well as pre-historic animals there were insects, ladybugs, fossils and mythical creatures, ensuring the children remained engaged during their time in the gardens. They are also open at night (separate booking) and these sculptures are then lit with specialty lighting.

Footnote: Imelda and Bill Roche introduced the Nutri-Metics Skin Range to Australia in 1968, acquired the entire business from its California founder in 1991 and sold in 1997. Imelda Roche was named one of the world’s 50 leading female entrepreneurs in Paris in 1997 (Source: National Portrait Gallery of Australia).

35 thoughts on “Hunter Valley Gardens – Part 1”

  1. Pingback: Hunter Valley Gardens – Part 2 | The Reluctant Retiree

  2. Such a beautiful garden . And those are incredible sculptures of those children . So many beautiful varieties of roses . I am a gardener and I love gardening . Here in Nova Scotia some of my plants are starting to bloom . Thanks for sharing this .
    Anita

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  3. I love gardens like this, though there may not be another quite “like this.” Thanks for providing such a great grasp of a place I’m unlikely to visit.

    I’m hooked by “3000 bushes of Chameleon roses.”
    I’m amused by “shoot seem the wrong word to choose under the circumstances.”
    I’m charmed by the grandchildren statues and all their depicted energy.
    I’m happy Bill found his niche for contributions, most of all your pairing of the out-of-focus background followed by the fountain in full focus; very fine photography!

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    • I’m thrilled you jumped on board with a comment, Doug, and that you liked the gardens. Loved all your perceptive and amusing comments.
      We both experimented with the depth of field option on our cell phones, with varied success. I quite liked Bill’s attempt. You would have loved the energy in the little girl running towards a grandparent, but my attempt was too out of focus to do it justice.
      And the chameleon roses change colour as they age, so the one bush looks like a rainbow riot. Very pretty!
      I have the text written for the second part, but only just back on deck after Easter so all the photos yet to be selected. Hope you enjoy that post too. x Gwen

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  4. I love these photos and your descriptions! Thanks so much for all the detail–since I’ll likely never make it to this garden. I was particularly taken by the intentional inclusion of various kinds of gardens (by country, not just by ‘style’). On the whole, despite the beauty of so many vistas, my favorite photos are the giant insects and animals of all kinds, and the sculptures of children and grandma! Lovely, and well worth a slow walk through your photos.
    Elouise

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  5. Wow, they do look like an amazing and thoughtfully designed set of gardens. A couple of things that struck me straightway reading your post was the effort to include all generations and especially children even if the dinosaurs were only a temporary installation. So often visiting gardens can switch youngsters off, but I think here it might be the opposite. And, secondly, it is so good to read about the conscious inclusion of scent, particularly for the Indian garden and, I see, at the same time smoking is prohibited across the whole site. I guess that’s possibly fire risk, but a bonus for the rest of us. Your photographic tour is delightful, an impressive team effort.

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    • Hi Agnes, apart from the reasons you outline, I think the smoking ban is because this garden could be defined as an outdoor park/children’s playground and therefore come under the government ban applying to smoking in those areas. But, yes, whatever the reason – it’s a great bonus for the rest of us!
      I’m going to have fun documenting the next five gardens, and one of them is specifically for children. But as you know, it takes time to assemble the photographs, so I may not get it published before easter. x Gwen

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    • How lovely to hear from you Denise, and I hope you are both keeping well. They are fabulous gardens, and maybe you should time a visit over to the east coast for Christmas when they put on a spectacular evening light show. We’d love to see you!

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    • Hi Karen, and at Christmas, they do a special light show in the evening. People come from all over to see it (but not me yet). Maybe I’ll get some time to do Part 2 tomorrow. If not, it will have to wait until after Easter I suspect. Pity. x Gwen

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  13. We visited the gardens in May 2021 (must have been between Covid lockdowns). The creatures were there and while they would be fun for kids the roars they were emitting did detract from the overall ambiance. My husband has relatives in Pokolbin but it was only when we visited with a group of friends that we discovered the gardens. You have certainly described it in great detail.

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    • Hi Linda, and thanks for commenting. They must have these creatures in storage and bring them out from time to time as this display started some time in March 2022. They weren’t roaring on the day we visited, so perhaps there was some similar feedback.
      I’m conscious some of my overseas followers are garden lovers and would not have the opportunity to visit these, so I took that detailed approach. The second part will be similar.
      Linda, it was you planning a trip to Lake Conjola pretty soon, wasn’t it? It’s still very wet down this way. I have a part of the bedroom carpet permanently lifted while we wait for the east coast low to pass. When the wind comes from that direction, there is a pesky window leak.
      Our Wollongong beaches are a completely different shape to before. Not sure what it looks like further south, but I saw Lake Conjola copped 55mm of rain on Thursday.
      I guess you are keeping your eye on the situation. xx Gwen

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