105 Priors Road

The Patch VIC 3792

The Garden:
This low maintenance property is set in the rich volcanic soil of The Patch Valley. From the grassy terrace next to the house an overview of the garden reveals extensive dry stone walling, rockeries and lawned areas with an ever changing seasonal display of colourful trees, shrubs and flowers. Magnificent magnolias, camellias, azaleas, and rhododendrons compliment the bulbs and annuals that appear.
The upper garden is populated by a mix of native and exotic vegetation. Several waratahs including a white one grace the garden, whilst dogwoods and viburnums share spaces with Japanese maples of the broadleaf and fine leaf varieties. Liliums appear throughout summer. Rockeries are also in abundance with rockery loving plants tucked into generous niches giving a colourful display all year around even after the bulbs have died away.
Beyond the upper lawns and gardens we descend beside dry stone walls along paths that weave their way through an ever changing variety of plants suited to each areas exposure to the sun, to finally reach the creek at the lower reaches of the block.
This meandering creek that runs the breadth of the property flows all year around. It provides habitat for platypus, fish, snake neck turtle, freshwater crayfish and myriad of other small aquatic species. It marks the bottom edge of the garden, where growth becomes more native with deep shade provided by gums and an under story of Northofagus, rainforest timber and tree ferns. Here the paths are fringed with ferns and ground covers, with the occasional rare orchard and lily peeping through the growth. Walls drip with Maiden Hair fern, fuchsias and flowering cacti.
Orange Clivia, pretty pink and purple Astrilbe, and bright green Hostas give splashes of colour to these shaded areas. A gigantic lily Cardiocrinum giganteum, originally from the Himalayan mountains blooms beautifully here and perfumes the entire garden during summer evenings. A rare American swamp cypress Taxodium distichum towers above the garden changing colour throughout the seasons and totally defoliating in the winter. Its 'cypress knees' can be seen as little humps appearing in the surrounding vegetation and even making their way down to the stream. These strange little mounds and the gentle follage around them have encouraged children to label this area the fairy garden. It is made complete with a wombat hole and resident wombat.
Not far away water trickles under and over a fallen tree ferns and cascades from waterfalls. It swirls gently into tranquil pools where the flow almost seems to cease. Rare birds burrow into the banks or build nests in the tree ferns. At night the undergrowth rustles to marsupial footfalls.
This wondrous garden was originally created in 1971 by avid gardeners Grace and Bill Maxwell. They were keen collectors of rare plants from around the world, and a number of species have naturalized here. Although this is a large garden, it is low maintenance. A couple of weeks in spring and the occasional blissful weekend there after seems to keep it under control. No poisonous sprays are used here and very little fertilizer. Mulching keeps the gardens water needs to a minimum. You can sit back and enjoy the beauty and tranquility here or feel the thrill of plunging your hands into the rich warm earth.
The House:
The brick veneer house is built to blend into the hillside allowing the light and air to be captured mornings and afternoons. The main living section of the house is orientated north west, overlooking the garden and Bob Mann's Hill with grazing cows and Cattle Egrets. The setting is a protected one passed over by hot northerly winds, shielded from westerly summer sun and cold winter southerlies. In winter the kitchen and lounge are filled with warmth and light as the sun reduces its arc in the sky.
Although this is a modest two bedroom dwelling, the builder (an engineer) has created a solid construction. The present owners have double insulated the ceiling making it more energy efficient. The comfort of living in this home is unmistakable as is the atmosphere of happiness that exudes here.
The horseshoe circular driveway offers extra parking in a parking bay at the top and several pull in areas close to the house.
In the cradle of the driveway is an organic vegetable and herb garden with an orchard containing cherry, apricot, and pear trees. Apples, peach and nectarine grow close by. For those of Permaculture p