Open Gardens in Adelaide this Summer

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Posted 2015-09-30 by Steve Hudson ⇒ follow

Sat 20 Feb 2016 - Sun 21 Feb 2016

It's summer in South Australia which means bright sunny days, extensive greenery and another series of classic gardens for all of us to visit and enjoy. Open Gardens SA, in conjunction with local Adelaide gardeners, have arranged to open another eight city and hills gardens for everyone's pleasure and inspiration.

**31 Oct – 1 Nov : Kurralta
23 Kurralta Drive, Burnside**

As part of every classic home, there is a classical garden, and Kurralta is no different. Built in 1843, the heritage listed Kurralta remains in its original state, while the garden has undergone various transformations as it adapts to our changing climate. Dry stone walls circle around old cypress trees, a stand of Casuarina, quandongs, roses, silver foliage plants, a huge Gymea lily, succulents and fruit trees. The arches on the western façade are covered by climbing roses in bloom, with an olive grove to remind visitors of days gone by.

**7-8 November : Narrinyeri
32 Old Mount Barker Road, Crafers**

Alongside one of the former busiest roads in the Adelaide Hills, this garden has a range of trees, shrubs and flowers to suit the environment. A tunnel of 70 mature oaks provides shelter to a bed of perennials, shrubs and trees including crepe myrtles, liquid ambers, apples, cotinus, weigela and Japanese maples. The garden is rounded out with some rhododendrons, camellias, azaleas and pleasant array of box hedges.

**14-15 November : Garden of Excentrix
1 Shurdington Road, Crafers**

A garden owned and nurtured by an artist is an absolute treat with greenery and colour matched only by the brilliance of creative artistic talents. At the Garden of the Excentrix, Lynn Elzinga-Henry has drawn together an array of blue and white ceramic tiles, colourful glass birds, stainless steel cornucopias and garden sculptures carefully placed amongst a tapestry of flowers and foliage. With trees and hedges being pruned for shape and structure, and a productive organic garden, this garden is dressed to please.

**28-29 November : Kinclaven
56 Waverley Ridge Road, Crafers West**

Kinclaven is an old home of the 1880s, featuring classical statuary, fountains, and an elegant oval lily pond. With trees planted over 130 years ago including Atlas Cedar, Copper Beech, Golden Cypress and Weeping Elm, the garden has a grand standing within the local community. Borders are provided by multi coloured perennials, while the rose gardens, lawn terraces, wisteria arbour, and a more recently established succulent and cactus garden add additional features and talking points within this Hills garden.

**28-29 November : Seafield Garden
25 Seafield Avenue, Kingswood**

Elegance and formality within this garden creates a feeling of country living despite being within the suburbs of Adelaide. Pavers and circular garden design are complemented by rusting wrought iron and barbed wire to help to capture a true rural feel. A fountain over the pool adds to the ambience and provides a delight to the senses. Plants have been carefully selected to match the era of the late 1800s sandstone cottage and to minimise water use and maintenance, while garden ornaments are scattered throughout to sit comfortably amongst the cottage garden plants. atmosphere.

**17 January : Glenalta
55 Old Carey Gully Road, Stirling**

Giant Lombardy poplars, estimated to be over 160 years old, are the key talking point of this Hills garden which has undergone a complete renovation over the last two decades following a few years of disrepair. Formal lawn terraces and wonderful collection of mature deciduous trees which provide a shaded woodland in summer and a blaze of autumn foliage in late April helped return to the garden to the list of the grandest gardens in Adelaide. In the height of summer, the perennial gardens are filled with colour and perfume from liliums, dahlias and roses providing a great afternoon out for all visitors.

**6-7 February : Joe's Connected Garden
6 Argent Street, Elizabeth Grove**

Many years back, neighbours Joe and Rosanne discovered a mutual passion for the ideals of permaculture, and between them they have amassed an amazing collection of temperate and sub-tropical trees and a large collection of vegetables. Ornamental shrubs and trees have been discarded in favour of fruit producing trees, all of which are normally fully laden in early February. Visitors can expect to see lime, lemon, figs, loquats and apples while the amazing hedge that has been pruned from a Lilly Pilly has visitors bedazzled for some time.

**20-21 February : Flightpath
Wilton Terrace, Torrensville**

Being located in the flight path of Adelaide Airport is no excuse for a great garden, and Flightpath at Torrensville provides a great example of what can be done. Olive and pomegranate trees provide a striking feature in the front garden, while the rear of the property is an excellent example of a productive and sustainable garden on a suburban block. Oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit are grown together with apricots, pears, plums, figs, quinces and passionfruit, all of which are complementing the interesting varieties of chillies, tomatoes and capsicums. A small hillock in the rear garden sees Australian natives and some Mediterranean water wise exotics like germander, westringias and echiums growing, while succulents are also known to feature in unexpected places.

Open Gardens SA is a not-for-profit organisation encouraging and supporting gardeners across the whole of South Australia to enjoy. For further details on these gardens and more, refer to the Open Gardens SA website or their [LINK=https://www.facebook.com/opengardensa]facebook page.

[/LINK]All photos in this article are courtesy of Open Gardens SA.