Gardens of Glenlyon: WINTER GARDENS WINTER TREATS

What a treat we have in store for garden lovers! Five beautiful gardens, their hidden secrets revealed in late winter, the starkness softened by early blooms of daffodils, ipheion, anemone, hellebore and chaenomeles, to name a few of the plants in bloom.

And the five gardens are:

INDULGENCE Gooch Crt Wheatsheaf

A four acre masterpiece, where masses of daffodils shelter under the tall bare stands of birch. A motley crew of water fowl toddle round the sweeping lawns that cascade into the lake. Winter blooms peep from every corner. Note the mature camellias and the banks of flowering indigenous plants.

WALLABY CREEK Matts Lane Coomoora

Wallaby Creek in Coomoora is elegance personified, with swathes of perennials and a wide array of mature deciduous trees sweeping down to the creek. The knowledgeable observer will recognise some rare plants among them. Note the fountain and the delightful sculptured 'fences' constructed from iron bedsteads.

JENNY'S GARDEN 21 Moyston St Glenlyon

Jenny's Garden is one of the icons of Glenlyon. Hidden behind a beautiful old house circa 1860's, this is a gardener's delight. Packed with rare and unusual plants, the garden sweeps down the slope in graceful curves.

GREENLION Butlers Lane Glenlyon

Perched way above the Loddon River, the garden at 'Greenlion' has one of the most spectacular views in the district. Curving paths around a circular garden lead into hidden corners where blooms of daffodils and anemones delight the eye. The scent of daphne and Chinese honeysuckle pervades the garden.

MRS GOOCH'S GARDEN Goochs Hill

And she's back! Mrs Gooch's Garden sits proudly on top of Goochs Hill. Designed in and around an old garden, this spectacularly modern approach to design delights the senses. A huge ram flies above the bare stems of red and yellow cornus, while mischievous faces peep out of a sculptured trunk of an old pine tree.