CRUDEN FARM GARDEN DIARIES

Michael Morrison and Lisa Clausen

Lantern A garden is a work in progress that begins in the mind’s eye of the gardener, and, as the years pass, takes shape in ways he or she cannot predict. Nature is full of surprises, as this beautifully illustrated book about one of Australia’s finest private gardens shows. Cruden Farm, near Melbourne, was a wedding present in 1928 to Dame Elisabeth Murdoch from her husband, Sir Keith Murdoch. In 1971, Michael Morrison took on Sunday morning work in the garden … and stayed. For more than 40 years, he and ‘the Boss’ experienced fulfilment, frustrations and a great deal of fun in the sanctuary they nurtured. He remains head gardener, devoted to keeping alive their shared vision. Morrison’s diaries are more than a record of the triumphs and tribulations of gardening: they provide a touching insight into a friendship forged across the flowerbeds.