The lyrically named Glenmore House and Garden is a charming residence built in 1840. It consists of a residential building, outbuildings, a garden, a vegetable garden, a rose garden and many decorative flower beds. 25 years have passed since Larry and Mickey Robertson came across an old dilapidated house in search of a country house. Now their estate is a unique historical site that demonstrates the beauty of the Australian rural lifestyle.
To celebrate this big anniversary, they opened the garden to all people as part of the “Open Gardens Australia” event, which is held every year. Groups of people visit numerous residences for several days or weeks at their own discretion.
This tradition is very interesting from a world point of view, because sometimes walking in a foreign city inside your country or abroad, you want to look into the homes of ordinary people, see their gardens, what grows there and how it works. And such an event as “Open Gardens of Australia” helps people to better learn the peculiarities of certain regions of the country, gain experience and generally have a very entertaining time.
Showcasing the beauty of their garden, the Robertsons also engage in a conversation about the idea of creating from scratch and with zero experience. Their home is a fascinating story and a wonderful testament to the fact that constant work can lead to such joyful results.
Despite the fact that 25 years have passed in the constant care of the land and renovation of the house, this family cottage is a manifestation of the soul and a mirror. In it, they see their reflection, and this makes them truly happy.
How to find Glenmore House?
The Glenmore estate itself is located near the town of the same name in the southern lowlands of Camden (1 hour drive from the capital of Sydney). Larry and Mickey use it as a cottage, and they live in the city. Most often, the Robertsons spend the entire summer outdoors, enjoying the flowering phase and hand-grown vegetables.
The Australian warm season, however, lasts all year round, for 6 separate months in the dry season of the country requires special attention and constant watering. The rest of the Robertsons come here when they can or when they want to take a break from the hustle and bustle of the city.
In his garden, Robertson decided not to stick to a certain style of decoration, as he did not quite understand why he should limit himself to any part. When they have free time, they are just happy to implement the ideas that came to mind, taking care of their plot.
In a sense, their garden can still be called Australian because of the choice of plants and the architecture of the building. They wanted to create a place for a cozy life in nature, so that everything around was pleasing to the eye.
How did it all Start?
Many years ago, Larry decided to experiment-to put common, native plants on both sides of the main entrance to the house. You can see them in the photo above. At the time, this idea seemed too extravagant to Mickey, and now she sees that it has led to the fact that their garden can become really interesting and original. So now the Robertsons understand that there must be a perfect balance between creativity and practicality to create a garden that is both comfortable and unique.
Mickey shares his thoughts about working in the garden: “The worst thing about decorating a garden is that it is almost impossible to implement some very interesting ideas. For example, I always wanted to have tubs of flowers hanging under the window on the outside. But, unfortunately, our house does not allow this. Then we came up with the idea of putting a bench under the window, on which we put the pots. I liked this option over time, liked it even more — because it is ours!”.
Larry likes to tend the flower beds at the farm buildings, where perennials grow themselves. This idea of minimal intervention is something he tries to implement wherever possible.
“It is very important to make the cottage comfortable in the first place. When the house has enough sheds, shelves, tools, benches and beds, the rest is solved by itself. But if even a small job takes a lot of time to organize-everything becomes a burden, even to pull out a few prickly weeds. You don’t even know where the gloves are! And to find them, you need to spend at least 15 minutes of time. We have everything in its place, and on the site in the right place, we even built a small shed, like a box. It has all the tools we might need at any time, ” says Larry.
Features
Despite the fact that the Robertsons got a very old farm building, the constant care is paying off. Many of them are over 40 years old, and they still look like they just had their roof changed. Around one family, tries to use the space well, for example, I respect neatness in any work. For example, the pots at the back wall of one of the sheds are strictly on the Ticker. So even a large concentration of small objects looks more neat.
At some point, the Robertsons became very interested in trellis growing, and in the wake of this passion, they made a tunnel leading to a resting place – a small bench. There is such a structure in the middle of the garden, which means that it is more useful — as soon as you want to relax, you do not need to go through the whole place for some “recreation area” that you are trying hard to keep in beauty, like a front flower bed. Here you can feel free and in work clothes.
In addition to the usual garden plants, the Robertsons love succulents, which are placed in pots throughout the garden. For Australia, this is an even more understandable choice, as they do not require frequent watering.
In a small barn, the Robertsons have set up a spacious dining room — here all family holidays are celebrated. 3 tables, each of which can accommodate six people, were taken from the neighbors when they wanted to throw them away. The Robertsons decided that if this thing could still work, let it work. We covered them with tablecloths and put them in the right place.
Then, under the awning, they hung a variety of seashells on colorful ribbons, which they themselves collected on the beach in Sydney. This beauty not only reminds you of the sea in such a hot valley, but also gives you wonderful memories of a family vacation.
The main entrance to the Robertson house has not been worked on for a long time and only in recent years have they begun to landscape this part of the site. Also, in the European style, there is a convenient access area, which really helps when relatives and friends come here. Moreover, there is a bench and geometrically unpretentious planted large plants. This makes the care of this place minimal, but the beauty and care are noticeable.
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