Icon - Arrow LeftAn icon we use to indicate a rightwards action. Icon - Arrow RightAn icon we use to indicate a leftwards action. Icon - External LinkAn icon we use to indicate a button link is external. Icon - MessageThe icon we use to represent an email action. Icon - Down ChevronUsed to indicate a dropdown. Icon - CloseUsed to indicate a close action. Icon - Dropdown ArrowUsed to indicate a dropdown. Icon - Location PinUsed to showcase a location on a map. Icon - Zoom OutUsed to indicate a zoom out action on a map. Icon - Zoom InUsed to indicate a zoom in action on a map. Icon - SearchUsed to indicate a search action. Icon - EmailUsed to indicate an emai action. Icon - FacebookFacebooks brand mark for use in social sharing icons. flipboard Icon - InstagramInstagrams brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - PinterestPinterests brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - TwitterTwitters brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - Check MarkA check mark for checkbox buttons.
You are reading

Garden Visit: A Fern-Filled Forest in Australia

Search

Start typing to search...

Search
Birch TreesIssue 40 — Autumn Palette

Garden Visit: A Fern-Filled Forest in Australia

October 27, 2021

Remodelista took us through the guesthouse of Jacky Winter Gardens, an artists’ residence and informal showroom for the work of partner artists. The cottage has undergone a masterful redesign, and the gardens are changing, too:

Photography by Rhiannon Taylor.

Owner Jeremy Wortsman says the verdant gardens and surrounding landscape are what drew him to the site in the first place. Filled with native greenery and bordered by a winding creek, the retreat is located in Belgrave, Australia, just 45 minutes outside of Melbourne.
Above: Owner Jeremy Wortsman says the verdant gardens and surrounding landscape are what drew him to the site in the first place. Filled with native greenery and bordered by a winding creek, the retreat is located in Belgrave, Australia, just 45 minutes outside of Melbourne.
The guest house was built in the early \20th century and was recently remodeled by Sarah Trotter of Hearth Studio. Here, a silver birch tree offers residency for wildlife.
Above: The guest house was built in the early 20th century and was recently remodeled by Sarah Trotter of Hearth Studio. Here, a silver birch tree offers residency for wildlife.
 The gardens have undergone a similar renovation, led by Belgrave-based permaculture expert Miranda Mueller. She was first called to the place by the real estate agent selling the house, who was hoping for a quick garden cleanup to make the property more attractive for sale. At the time, there was no walking path and the garden was buried beneath dense undergrowth.
Above: The gardens have undergone a similar renovation, led by Belgrave-based permaculture expert Miranda Mueller. She was first called to the place by the real estate agent selling the house, who was hoping for a quick garden cleanup to make the property more attractive for sale. At the time, there was no walking path and the garden was buried beneath dense undergrowth.
After the half-acre landscape became Jacky Winter Gardens, Mueller was &#8\2\20;employed to unravel wilderness and tame her just enough that she could be enjoyed for her fruitfulness.&#8\2\2\1;
Above: After the half-acre landscape became Jacky Winter Gardens, Mueller was “employed to unravel [the garden’s] wilderness and tame her just enough that she could be enjoyed for her fruitfulness.”
In the center of the garden, beside the walking trail, is an informal orchard of peach and apple trees bearing Granny Smith and Golden Delicious apples. More edibles including lemons, kiwis, figs, grapefruits, and raspberries grow throughout the property, and a kitchen garden is under development.
Above: In the center of the garden, beside the walking trail, is an informal orchard of peach and apple trees bearing Granny Smith and Golden Delicious apples. More edibles including lemons, kiwis, figs, grapefruits, and raspberries grow throughout the property, and a kitchen garden is under development.
 The property is part garden, part natural bushland, a mix that the owners call “both tranquil and invigorating.” The gardens feature more than 80 types of plants, including bromeliads, rhododendrons, and fan palms. Ferns dominate the mix, including tree ferns, mother ferns, and fishbone ferns—a motif that&#8\2\17;s reflected in the wallpaper inside the cottage.
Above: The property is part garden, part natural bushland, a mix that the owners call “both tranquil and invigorating.” The gardens feature more than 80 types of plants, including bromeliads, rhododendrons, and fan palms. Ferns dominate the mix, including tree ferns, mother ferns, and fishbone ferns—a motif that’s reflected in the wallpaper inside the cottage.
Clematis Creek meanders behind the property; from the residence, you can hear its burble. Wildlife can be spotted here, including wombats, wallabies, the tiny marsupials called antechinus, and sometimes even platypuses.
Above: Clematis Creek meanders behind the property; from the residence, you can hear its burble. Wildlife can be spotted here, including wombats, wallabies, the tiny marsupials called antechinus, and sometimes even platypuses.

Says Mueller, “I share this garden with a tribe of native friends, and have been lucky enough to meet the resident cranky old wombat. He likes to nibble on the lower limb foliage of the fruit trees.”

The garden now has more structure, while retaining its free-form playfulness. Here, a fan palm grows in the shade behind the trellis.
Above: The garden now has more structure, while retaining its free-form playfulness. Here, a fan palm grows in the shade behind the trellis.
Color appears amid the greenery: roses, daisies, and the sedum &#8\2\16;Autumn Joy&#8\2\17; (shown) grow in the garden.
Above: Color appears amid the greenery: roses, daisies, and the sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ (shown) grow in the garden.

Says Mueller of her future plans for the garden, “My mission will remain to honor her wilderness, to plant native screens to help our native friends, with just a splash of color to complement such a pretty cottage!”

 Silver spurflower is another source of blooms.
Above: Silver spurflower is another source of blooms.
Jacky Winter Gardens sits in the Dandenong Ranges, a low mountain range where lower altitudes are covered in temperate rainforest of mountain ash trees and dense undergrowth of ferns. Here, oak trees and a tree fern on the edge of the property.
Above: Jacky Winter Gardens sits in the Dandenong Ranges, a low mountain range where lower altitudes are covered in temperate rainforest of mountain ash trees and dense undergrowth of ferns. Here, oak trees and a tree fern on the edge of the property.
The garden remains green all year—though Melbourne is only a short way away, average summer temperatures in Belgrave reach only about 73 degrees Fahrenheit and the region gets ample rain all year.
Above: The garden remains green all year—though Melbourne is only a short way away, average summer temperatures in Belgrave reach only about 73 degrees Fahrenheit and the region gets ample rain all year.
A whimsical map of the gardens by illustrator James Gulliver Hancock; a poster-size map is given to every overnight visitor.
Above: A whimsical map of the gardens by illustrator James Gulliver Hancock; a poster-size map is given to every overnight visitor.

For more of our favorite gardens Down Under, see:

N.B.: This is an update of a post published April 29, 2016.

(Visited 953 times, 1 visits today)
You need to login or register to view and manage your bookmarks.
Add to Collection
New Collection

Explore Deeper Into These Areas

Previous Post

Apartment Therapy: 11 Garden Ideas to Steal from New York City

October 26, 2021
Next Post

Autumn Colors: A Fiery Fall Palette by Landscape Designer Larry Weaner

October 28, 2021

Have a Question or Comment About This Post?

Join the conversation

Related Stories

Read all recent posts

join us on Instagram Logo

gardenista_sourcebook

Sourcebook for Cultivated Living, sister site to @remodelista
Tag us using #gardenista 🌿🌱

Gardens & Outdoor Living

v5.0

×
Join the Remodelista Family of Websites

Become a Member at no charge

When you register as a free Member of the Remodelista family of websites (Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home), you gain access to all current posts plus 10 archived posts per month, our internal bookmarking tool, and the community bulletin board.

Member benefits include:

  • Access to all posts published in the past year
  • Access 10 archived posts (older than one year) per month on each site
  • Use of our internal bookmark tool, so you can save products, posts, and other pages for quick reference
  • Access to our community bulletin board so you can ask and answer design-related questions
  • Unlimited access to the Product Catalogs, Design Travel sources, and Architect & Designer Directory listings
  • Choose from our ten newsletters to keep up with the latest on the sites

Or Subscribe for Maximum Value!

For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.



Subscriber benefits include:

  • Unlimited access to all three sites
  • Weekly access to subscriber-only content
  • Ad-free browsing environment
  • Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
  • Receive the full-text daily newsletters
  • All features that Members have access to
  • Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99
×
Subscribe to the Remodelista family of websites

For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.



Subscriber benefits include:

  • Unlimited access to all three sites
  • Weekly access to subscriber-only content
  • Ad-free browsing environment
  • Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
  • Receive the full-text daily newsletters
  • All features that Members have access to
  • Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99
×
Sorry! As a registered member you get 10 free posts from our archive (posts more than a year old) every 30 days. You have reached your limit for this 30-day period. If you would like to access unlimited posts from the archive (ad free, too), become a subscriber today, and keep reading as many articles as you want.

Full Access Individual Subscription

Benefits include:

  • Unlimited access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home sites
  • Ad-free browsing environment
  • Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
  • Receive the full-text daily newsletters
  • All features that Members have access to
  • Annual subscribers pay just 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99


×
Sorry! You have reached your limit of three (3) free posts from our archive every 30 days. You can increase this to 10 posts by joining as a free Member, or read unlimited posts with no ads by becoming a paid Subscriber.

Subscribe to the Remodelista family of websites

For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.



Subscriber benefits include:

  • Unlimited access to all three sites
  • Weekly access to subscriber-only content
  • Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
  • Receive the full-text daily newsletters
  • All features that Members have access to
  • Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99

Become a Member at no charge

When you register as a free Member of the Remodelista family of websites (Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home), you gain access to all current posts plus 10 archived posts per month, our internal bookmarking tool, and the community bulletin board.

Member benefits include:

  • Access to all posts published in the past year
  • Access 10 archived posts (older than one year) per month on each site
  • Use of our internal bookmark tool, so you can save products, posts, and other pages for quick reference
  • Access to our community bulletin board so you can ask and answer design-related questions
  • Unlimited access to the Product Catalogs, Design Travel sources, and Architect & Designer Directory listings
  • Choose from our ten newsletters to keep up with the latest on the sites

My Account

Your member profile is powered by memberstack