A Garden Of Delights
A beautiful country garden and its tireless owner proves that gardening keeps us young of mind and strong in body
“The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just on the body, but the soul.” Alfred Austin – English Poet Laureate
ONE of the joys of my Chronicle Garden Competition Liaison role is visiting wonderful gardens and meeting the incredible gardeners who tend these wonders of nature and human effort.
Every now and then I end up in a garden that not only delights because of its structure and plant range, but also because of its extraordinary owner/s.
One such horticultural delight I have visited over the past few years is the expansive country garden of Shirley Cronk in Pechey, a few kilometres outside of Crows Nest.
Shirley and her late husband Lloyd moved to this block in 1981 after purchasing it from Lloyd’s mother’s estate, mainly because of its position and good water supply. Their initial plan was to grow proteas for the cut flower market, but the site proved unsuitable for this endeavour. They then looked at growing the spinning gum, Eucalyptus gunnii subspecies gunnii (formerly E. perriniana) for its stunning juvenile foliage, but its preference to grow in the cooler climate of Tasmania didn’t transfer well to the often-high temperatures and humidity of Queensland.
Lloyd decided to start collecting Heritage and historically significant roses around 1989, and the bones of their twoacre garden began to take shape. At one stage Shirley estimates that there were around 1000 roses growing on their property!
Lloyd’s passing in 2014 saw Shirley continue to tend the garden on her own, something she continues to do to this day. She has entered the Chronicle Garden Competition since 2018, and this year was awarded Regional Garden Reserve Grand Champion, Rural Residential First Prize, Small Space Garden First Prize, Over 70s Garden First Prize, and Acreage Garden First Prize, all this from a gardener who is proud to say she is in her 80s, and keener than ever to continue in the competition!
Shirley’s garden is best described as an eclectic country collection of annuals, perennials, roses, shrubs and small trees, set in large beds across the 2 acres she currently tends.
One of the most outstanding trees you’ll see in her garden is a 40-odd year-old weeping mulberry, around 3-4m high and 5m across, which can be described and gnarled yet beautiful!
Dotted throughout the beds are many dark-leaved ornamental plums, usually sporting pink flowers on deciduous branches in September and wonderfully contrasting foliage amongst the taller annuals and perennials for the rest of the year.
A couple of hundred bearded irises are also scattered around the two-acre garden, many with the most exquisite shades and tones you’ll see in this genus. Other perennials include asters, lavenders, grannys’ bonnets, ornamental garlics, Euryops “Golden Glow”, and various spring flowering bulbs, to name a few.
Annuals planted this year included the very numerous self-seeded larkspurs and Chrysanthemum paludosums, petunias, pansies and violas, snapdragons, stocks and primulas.
The early spring judging with George Hoad AM, and subsequent visit during the usual 10-day Competition Garden viewing “week”, showed Shirley’s garden at its best for viewing these annuals, perennials and ornamental trees and shrubs.
However, I’ve recently been able to visit this garden during early November, and to say the roses have now come into their own would be an understatement!
The collection of Heritage, Alister Clark, China, Musk, Rugosa, Gallica, Miniature, Hybrid Tea, Tea, Scotch, Noisette, Reithmuller (a local rose breeder of renown) and Moss roses were all out in bloom from mid-October onwards, revealing another dimension to this garden that visitors during September rarely see. Honestly, I was blown away by the number, variety, but particularly the beauty of many of these roses. Lloyd’s penchant for collecting historically significant roses has resulted in one of the most outstanding private rose collections in our region, indeed our country. Shirley’s favourite rose is “Dainty Bess”, a modern Hybrid Tea with soft pink petals and maroon stamens.
I’m currently working with Matthew Dolley of The Grove Country Gardens Pittsworth, an avid rose collector and grower as well, to help Shirley re-identify, document and tag the roses in her extensive gardens in an effort to keep many of the rarer and more collectable varieties and species in circulation. We’ll be calling on the expertise of local rose growers as well to help in this endeavour, as I will admit I’m still learning about the massive number 0f varieties and species in this stunning genus.
I, with many others who have met her, am in awe of Shirley’s work ethic, energy and enthusiasm for gardening, and can only hope I’m still as active and alert as this amazing lady in my later years as she is today!
Garden Cuttings: Check my Facebook page – Wellsley Horticulture – for photos of Shirley’s garden and many of her roses. You won’t be disappointed!