Elaine’s Secret Garden by Julie Shelton
For the last 27 years, Elaine Armstrong has tended her 40-acre property on a Bellthorpe hillside, coaxing the forest back to its natural state and planting thousands of trees and plants around her house. Julie Shelton walked through this peaceful garden to find out what motivates its creator.
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T’S NOT AN EASY PROPERTY to get to, with its barely noticeable driveway that leads to a long and winding track overhung with branches and lantana. Then, when it seems that I might have taken a wrong turn, the eucalypt forest clears to reveal unfamiliar trees and suggestions of intriguing landscaping behind the hedging. As I get out of my car, a large wallaby glances at me sideways and bounds away, seemingly irritated by the invasion of her privacy. Elaine greets me shyly, her blonde hair pulled back into a loose ponytail and bright blue eyes shielded behind no-nonsense glasses. Extending her hand, I notice her fingernails are very short and ingrained with soil. The tell-tale sign of an inveterate gardener… We immediately head for the garden – partly because another shower looks imminent and partly because, I suspect, it’s where Elaine feels most comfortable. The entrance, while an old section of the garden, is still being built – testimony to the organic way in which this project has been undertaken. Here the visitor is reminded of the
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biblical significance of gardens. “That’s Adam eating the apple under the influence of the snake, representing the destruction of nature,” explains Elaine. “Eve is holding a posy of flowers. This yin-yang is an ancient theme in gardens.” Elaine reveals that she made the Adam and Eve carvings, first in clay in order to make a latex cast into which concrete was poured. The mouldy weathering of the concrete makes them look centuries old. We meander over to one of the garden’s many ponds, where a single lotus flower adds a splash of colour. Behind us, beyond the formal garden boundary, is Elaine’s latest project. “This was all scrub, wattle and lantana,” she defines with a wave of her hands. “I’ve planted banksias, bottlebrushes and grasses because I’m turning the area into a wren, finch and honeyeater habitat. I’m just waiting for them to realise it.” Back inside the border, we continue the tour. Elaine’s garden features a number of discrete areas connected by mossy paths and stone steps.
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“It’s constantly changing,” she reflects. “It’s becoming more natives, grasses and wildflowers.” Whimsical sculptures, collected objects and artistic ensembles nestle in harmony with sensual rocks and feature plants, while heavily perfumed plants, such as flowering Melaleucas and Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow, provide olefactory focal points. Mosses and fungi are everywhere – all the moss has grown naturally and makes the garden look older that it is. In one grotto, a small patch of Australia’s largest moss has established itself under a canopy of ferns. Similarly, delicate native flowers, such as baby bluebells, have selfsowed all over the garden. Located in various places are thoughtful tilts of Elaine’s hat to agrarian poets and authors: a tribute to Wordsworth rests under a magnificent wisteria; a framed poem by Dylan Thomas (“Let Me Escape”) decorates the blue and ochre gazebo. The effect is delightful. Dodging a shower, we retire to Elaine’s rustic home, which features large open areas overlooking magnificent views of garden and forest. She lives alone here,
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