A Broadford couple are paying tribute to early pioneers, with a creative garden that also brings joy to neighbours and wildlife.
Under a year ago, Bernie and Stuart made Mitchell Shire their home and quickly got to work revamping the overgrown cottage garden.
The hard-working couple are no strangers to creating outdoor living spaces—careful design and planning has contributed to their success.
“We walked around the neighbourhood to learn which species are doing well in our area,” she said.
The research has served them well with only two plants which didn’t make it.
Their theme includes a dry creek bed with wooden railway sleepers serving as a bridge crossing. A total of 90 native species were purchased, and the post and rail fence allow for passers-by to peek in and see the 24/7 bubbling water feature garden art.
The absence of a lawn depicts the hardships farmers faced during droughts.
Bernie said every stone was laid by hand to avoid breakage, and it was back breaking work. Native species the couple chose to highlight their inland creek is the Acacia Cognata, Grevilias, Correas and Myoporum to invite magpies, bees and butterflies to the garden, and blue tongue lizards and skinks love sunbaking on the earthy coloured river pebbles.
“We love the quiet lifestyle here,” Bernie said.
“The community is relaxed, there’s wider streets, fresh air, and less traffic. We hope to start a home-based business down the track to sell plants – the ones that are show cased in our garden.
“My husband will do home deliveries, and we hope it will be a wind down, post-retirement hobby.”
In the meantime, Bernie hopes locals will enjoy seeing something different and take away ideas for their own gardens.
