FROGMORE

VICTOR I LE R DE RD ERG, LE R DE RD ERG, VICTORIA Owners Jack Marshall and Zena Bethell have been creating a very personal and exciting garden near Trentham in Victoria, while experimenting with ideas and inspiration drawn from overseas. Frogmore is envisaged as a space with long walks, bordered by hornbeam and English box and punctuated by gardens with distinct styles and colours. The Formal Gardens are their version of Monet’s ‘paintboxes’ where, each season, they experiment with colour themes. These twin borders are most spectacular at sunset — it’s then you can appreciate their true painterly feels. The Prairie Garden is an interpretation of the New Wave planting evolving in Europe and the United States, yet to be fully embraced in Australia. Our harsh climate prevents us from growing many of the plants commonly used in prairies, so this is an experiment to see what species will grow in our conditions and which plant communities will thrive.

You can best appreciate the long borders of Frogmore at sunset. This shot, taken at the end February, showcases the abundance of flowering annuals and perennials, including Agastache, Crocosmia, Penstemon, Helenium, Rudbeckia and Verbena bonariensis.