Monreale's Gardens
A place of magic each season
Spring - A flower show that is a blaze of colour, a large variety of rhododendrons and azaleas.
Summer - On balmy afternoons guests enjoy a picnic hamper by the pond, and feed the trout.
Autumn - A magnificent display of colour from our majestic English trees.
Winter - Romantic season - Smoke from chimneys, the haunting English trees shrouded in mist.
Monreale's gardens create an all encompassing atmosphere for guests. There are lawns, walks, many bridges, secreted nooks and tree fern grottos that provide solitude for quiet contemplation.
The historic gardens
Monreale's gardens have been a feature in Sassafras since it began as a B&B in the early 1900's.
Originally the gardens were confined to a half acre area adjacent to the country house, and were connected by a number of quaint brick pathways that allowed visitors to explore the gardens displayed of the large variety of rhododendrons, camellias and azaleas.
The gardens were also interspersed with many varieties of English cottage garden flowers that appear all year round in surprising shapes and colours, in clusters or little pockets here and there.
Each spring seems to bring out a new special flower that has not appeared before.
Today most of those plantings survive as large plants and excellent examples of mature plants.
The gardens also have the remnants of a aged apple orchard, with only a few surviving the ravages of time, but still producing enough green apples to feed the rosellas and possums that live at Monreale.
We have discovered a minimum of 40 different camellia species, which produce abundant flowers from winter through to spring presenting astounding colours, shapes and of size of flowers
The same can be said of the great variety of azaleas and some very large rhododendron tress.
All of the plants are mature and to a large extent seem to be drought resistant as the harsh dry spell of this year seems to have made them flower even more profusely.
Monreale creates "two acres of new water gardens"
In 1998 Cheryl and Karl arrived at Monreale as the proud new owners, and built four architect designed cottages. They discovered the property had a bore with a bountiful supply of water so they designed a water feature theme as the background. Leaving the original gardens undisturbed they cleared the remaining two acres of very basic scrub and replanted a special water garden theme as a backdrop for the cottages.
Building report from Cheryl and Karl
We reshaped the remaining two acres into our fantastic "water garden" feature and reinstated the rain forest feature of the surrounding forest that had been gradually lost by the previous owners.
Our water for our man made creek is supplied from a bore which is pumped into the creek via waterfalls that meander through our trout ponds through a recycling feature that returns the water back to the ground. This insures that whilst we have a plentiful supply of water, we are nevertheless mindful that we do not unnecessarily waste our good fortune and water supply.
The water is pumped from a aquifer that is some 60 meters below ground, and provides chilled clear water that is ideal for trout. Whilst the ponds are only 1.5 meters deep, the cold moving water seems to make an ideal setting for rainbow trout.
We have thirty trout that live happily in our pond's, the fish survive as fish do in the wild apart from a weekly feed of fish food we provide them to ensure their total well being.
The creek feeds the top pond that runs via little brooks to the other ponds.
During spring we are visited by a number of black ducks and wood ducks who raise their offspring in and around the water features.
We also planted over 100 English trees that include wonderful specimens of Chinese Elm, Twisted willow, and a vast number of Japanese Maples and Manchurian pear.
All are now 20 feet tall, having beginnings no more than a meter in height. Clearly the rain forest climate has meant that they not only grew, but simply exploded in growth.
The large range of Sankaki Japanese Maple with their flaming red bark in winter are a major feature after the brilliance of the autumn festival provided by the other English trees, especially the various colours of the Japanese maples and the vivid red of the aged Oak trees.
We are now also finding that a great number of spring flower varieties are also popping up in unexpected parts of the new garden, which is surprising as the area had been rough bush prior to our arrival.
Tree Ferns
We have replanted over two hundred tree ferns through out the new gardens, recreating the natural rain forest setting that must have been part of our Sassafras gully.
Our cottages are literally hidden from view, as the tree ferns have now grown to maturity with fronds that are measured in meters, providing that magical feeling of secrecy and romance.
Mountain Ash
Monreale is surrounded on all boundaries by a natural rain forest that has maturing and towering mountain ash. The majesty of these trees is something to behold, the size and scale leaves you breathless. It is hard to imagine how they would have been 100 years ago before they were cleared to make timber for Melbourne's development.
Guest Comments from Gregor and Gail Robinson
The extraordinary gardens and rainforest surroundings are so serene that we instantly feel relaxed and stress free. On departure we have emerge with a brimming smile and offer a ready hug of thanks to the hosts for the hospitality received.
The tree fern lined trout ponds provided an additional romantic experience for us, on a balmy afternoon we enjoyed a delicious picnic hamper by the pond. The gardens are distinct point of difference, with its water gardens that feature a permanent meandering creek.
We relaxed on the porch of our cottages and all we could hear was the murmuring and soothing sounds of water music and the quiet of nature.
Photographs
A garden to remember - we are often asked by guests to help them take their couples or group photos with our gardens as the backdrop, these photos then become keepsakes of their visit to Monreale.