Cycles Of Life A Mornington Peninsula garden that nurtures body, soul and family ties.
On Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, one couple has cultivated a garden that taps into their cultural heritage and nourishes family and friends, body and soul.
‘The garden is filled with much love. I look around and think of people and memories.’ Mary
Mary and Harry Loucas’s garden abounds with nourishing food and memories. In the vegetable patch are cheery edible flowers – zinnias, marigolds and scented geraniums – that remind Mary of her grandmother’s garden in Cyprus. In another corner stands a carob tree, a species synonymous with her grandma’s village, a gift from a late cousin. Nearby is a macadamia tree planted in memory of Harry’s much-missed uncle.
“My garden is full of beautiful memories and love,” says Mary. “So many trees and plants have been given to me and continue to remind me of special people in my life, past and present.”
As a child, Mary loved being at her grandmother’s side, harvesting food. Her yiayia’s vegetable patch was simple, containing flowers, herbs, rocket – “things that people considered weeds,buttheyallwentintothespanikopita”.Shealsoremembers digging up kolokasi (taro), a key ingredient in a famous Cypriot casserole that is still one of her favourite dishes. By the age of eight, when she came to Australia, Mary had an abiding belief in the interconnectedness of growing food and gathering family around the table to share it.
Mary and Harry moved to their one-hectare property at Red Hill, in the middle of Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, 11 years ago. Both had arrived in Australia from Cyprus as children, and met as adults in Melbourne. They raised their family in the city, settling in the suburb of Balwyn, where Mary had a big garden. But she always hankered for the country. Theircurrentproperty,named‘Alambra’afterHarry’schildhood village, was in a sorry state when they bought it. “The garden was an overgrown mess, but we knew we could turn it into something beautiful,” says Mary. “We renovated the house and worked on the garden one step at a time.” They installed water tanks and irrigation, and started mapping out a vegie garden.