It was a very foggy morning on Thursday 22ndMay when we met at Chambly for our 9am departure into the city to Parliament House, but the sun soon peeped its head out and we were treated to a beautiful Melbourne autumn morning. Our first stop was for morning tea at the Fitzroy Gardens. For those of us daring enough to brave a wander over the wet grass to the Conservatory it was a lovely, and warm, treat.
We then made our way to Parliament House where we were greeted by 4 gardeners to show us around. The gardens are surprisingly extensive and the original layout done in 1856 is believed to be designed by William Guilfoyle, the director of the Botanic gardens at the time. The bowling green and tennis court were added in 1885, so are among the oldest in the state. They are still in use today. The plant selection is dictated by varieties in use in the late 19thcentury.
A particular point of interest is the bowling pavilion built in 1885 with its delightful hand painted windows.
The emphasis of the gardens is on foliage colour and texture, winding paths and large expanses of lawn. A master plan has been developed for the ongoing management of the gardens to ensure the original design is restored and maintained.
With glimpses of both St Patrick’s Cathedral and St Peter’s Anglican Church through the majestic trees it is a true sanctuary from the bustling city beyond the fence. Sadly, we had to tear ourselves away from this beautiful oasis and head to the Malvern Vale Hotel for lunch.
After a delicious lunch we set off to Rippon Lea for a tour of the house and a wander through the extensive gardens. Unfortunately, as it was getting late we did not have a lot of time to explore the gardens, but we did have a very interesting guided tour of the house.
The ‘Lombardic Romanesque’ house was built in 1868 for the Sargood family, updated in the late 1800’s and modernized again in 1938 in ‘Hollywood’ style by its last owner Louisa Jones, who also added the swimming pool and ballroom.
In order to water his European style garden, Sargood constructed a storm water harvesting, collection, storage and recycling system which pumped water from the surrounding suburbs into the lake and then to the garden. The National Trust is reinstating this system and the garden will return to being a self-sufficient water user.
