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"She seemed to come suddenly upon happiness as if she had surprised a butterfly in the Winter woods"
(edith wharton)


Wednesday 28 January 2009

and to Dromana to visit Heronswood

continuing our journey.

I am a member of Diggers Club. A club for gardeners. They own two properties in Victoria, where they propogate Heirloom plants and seeds and sell them to members. I was lucky enough to be able to visit Heronswood. A gorgeous stately house surrounded by gardens... it was a joy to be able to walk around for an hour or two.. I was missing my own garden!

the house itself is surrounded by gorgeous cottage gardens. Old screen doors and vintage cane furniture on the verandah reminded me so much of my home in Woodford.
sweeping lawns
......

paths leading to secret, hidden areas.

herb gardens -


and wonderful ideas for vegetable gardens...

before I left for our trip, I booked into the restaurant that is located in the grounds of Heronswood. Fork to Fork. All vegetables used are grown either at Heronswood or at the other garden St.Erth.

I chose a vegetable platter. a choice of about 12 different heirloom vegetables.. I chose carrots, zucchini & peach... oh my. The taste of each vegetable was exquisite. Each different. All char-grilled & drizzled with olive oil. the carrots were topped with sage. a glass of wine as well and a very civilized time we had.
we left Dromana to cross the bay. from Sorrento to Queenscliff on the ferry

my gorgeous guy. And the bike. it was quite cold by now, drizzling.

then on to Lorne... next will be a ride along The Great Ocean Rd. Through some of the most magnificent coastal scenery.

here at Inglewood - well the weather has been hot. My garden is suffering which breaks my heart. But I am doing my best to keep my plants moist. Lots of mulching and watering when I can. Have been harvesting lots of tomatoes, zucchinis and cucumbers. The pears are getting bigger and I think I have the birds foiled with my nets. One can only hope.


21 comments:

Tracy said...

Lovely photos....I love the one of the green path leading to secret hidden areas! xx

Dessa said...

What a charming place. Thanks for taking us along for the tour.

gma said...

Heronswood sounds lovely. The pictures are beautiful. There is nothing as delicious as veggies fresh from the garden. Glad you had such an enjoyable time.

Anonymous said...

Robyn those gardens are beautiful...sigh wish mine was its dry and going wild!!

did you know that st erth is in cornwall too,there is a train station there that connects to the main line to london and then the rest of the way its a tiny country spur line... just thought you may want to know - so the cornish connection is there!!
was the family there from cornwall?

thanks for all the fairy advice - made one yesterday.... just LOVE it and making another 2.

Lisa said...

Gorgeous pictures, and it's fun to "meet" your handsome husband.

Anonymous said...

Robyn hope your elderly friends and aquaintences are doing O.K in trying circumstances which includes the heat. I am so glad you managed to get away when you did and do this trip.We left our time living on the Mornington Peninsula via this route and I was a bit sad to have to come back to the responsibilities facing us in South Australia. Driving the car onto the ferry kind of finalized leaving that part of Victoria for me. I didn't feel too talkative, but perked up eventually on the other side.Your road trip looks like fun with excellent company!!

amelia said...

I am so enjoying your trip!!

The veggies look so tasty I wonder how they made them? Grilled or roasted?

Genie Sea said...

What a gorgeous place! Heronswood looks like a slice of paradise!

The veggie platter made my mouth water, and it's too early in the morning to be hungry!

Your garden is in good hands despite the relentless weather! :)

and pssst... your guy is gorgeous! :)

Kim said...

What a beautiful house and garden :)

hope you are feeling brighter today, take care

Kim x

Suzie Ridler said...

Those veggies looks absolutely divine! Your guy looks rockin' with the bike. I miss our motorcycle. It's so much fun, isn't it?

I am so sorry to hear about the heat, I don't know how you or your garden bears it. I thought winter was bad. Hold on, I hope the rains are coming for you.

Tori said...

Those are beautiful pictures! That house is gorgeous... and who wouldn't love to walk in those gardens?

Good luck with your garden. =)

Sheila said...

The lunch looks delicious, something I would have ordered.
The grass is so green, the garden look good. I love visiting places like this.
hugs
xx

Paula - Buenos Aires said...

Such a beautiful place!
Your garden will thank you all the care you bestow on it. :)

Tinker said...

What beautiful gardens - and that plate of veggies is making me hungry! It sounds like you and your handsome hubby had a wonderful time on your trip.

Hope you get some better gardening weather soon. Though I'm getting anxious for spring and planting again - I'm not much looking forward to the heat of summer...
Stay cool~XOXO

Suzie Ridler said...

Oh Robyn, I still can't believe the temperatures where you are! I wish I could cool you down with the freezing rain and crazy wind we're getting here.

It's funny how the contrast of dark hair makes us feel better and that we pretty much have the same hair colour now, very cool! You are lucky you daughter is a hairdresser...wow!

I look forward to hearing from you when you're ready. :)

J C said...

Oh gosh, Heronswood is beautiful, awesome! I know you loved visiting there. And in that very last pic you posted, that tree trunk sort of looks like a stylized heron, don't you think? Standing silently, ultra still, watching.....

xoxoxo

laoi gaul~williams said...

oh my lovely i have had a lovely time catching up with your posts~what wonderful reading!
and nice to see your joe too :)
xoxoxoxo

Bimbimbie said...

Oh lucky you ... I've got several plants growing in my garden that came from Heronswood*!*

Kathryn Knoll said...

Love your colorful a vivid sharings about your bike trip. I could just taste that plate of veggies! You're awesome!

Ali said...

the gardens & building at Heronswood look wonderful as does the delicious meal you had for lunch.

Sorry to hear that your own garden is suffering ~ can you put up temporary shade for your plants?

Wendy said...

What a charming looking place. Like your pics. The vegetable plate looks yummy.