COMMUNITY
Sustainable Beauty
words GRETEL MEAD
For third generation horticulturalist Aleisha Lynch, a love for the all things plants and flowers was something that came naturally.
Inspired by her parents and grandparents, she has been able to foster this love of greenery and pursue a career cultivating and managing beautiful gardens around the Barossa Valley.
Now, Aleisha’s own one-acre country garden, with superb views of surrounding vineyards and Barossa ranges, will open its doors in October as part of Open Gardens SA – for the curious eyes of the Barossa to see.
“I grew up surrounded by gardens and nurseries but funnily enough, a career in horticulture wasn’t something I always wanted,” Aleisha said.
“I always thought about different things I could do and explored a few different ideas but I wasn’t really happy doing any of them, so I naturally came back to horticulture.”
A bare site just six years ago, Aleisha’s garden was designed and created from scratch in her spare time while balancing fulltime work and life as a mum.
“It’s definitely time consuming… but it doesn’t feel like a chore, it’s definitely a passion,” Aleisha said.
“When we purchased the house, there was nothing here except for two trees and a weed filled paddock.
“It was a blank canvas and I slowly started designing the garden beds and spaces before constructing them over a period of about four or five years.”
“I like to just do my own thing when it comes to design, I love to play with different plant combinations to create interest with different colour, form, texture and habit.”
- Aleisha Lynch
With a unique design, carefully curated over time, Aleisha’s garden includes colour coordinated perennial borders, Mediterranean style gardens, areas for growing Australian natives, succulents and cut flowers, a greenhouse with an aquaponic vegetable garden and a productive patch with wicking beds and fruit trees.
“I like to just do my own thing when it comes to design, I love to play with different plant combinations to create interest with different colour, form, texture and habit.
“For example, bold, rigid succulents to provide structure with tall vertical grasses to give soft flowing movement amongst a drift of fine flowering perennials,” Aleisha said.
“I also like collecting unique perennials and once they establish in my garden, I propagate more to expand my collection through the garden, which is quite a unique concept.”
With no access to mains or bore water, each area of the garden has been designed to weather hot, dry summers – with plants selected for their durability and drought tolerance, as well as form, flower and foliage colour.
“I’ve only got a rainwater tank to irrigate the whole garden which is very challenging,” Aleisha said.
“So, it is very much gardening for our climate – dry summers and very little water to irrigate with over summer.
“It’s just showing people that you can have quite large gardens which are still sustainable by choosing the right plants for the climate and plants that are drought resilient.”
Wanting to expand her garden even further, Aleisha is now focusing on the seven acres of native Blue Gum grassy woodland which surrounds the house and garden on the property.
“I consider this natural vegetation to be an extension of my garden… where Mediterranean garden design meets native Australian bush.
“The golden wattles and purple chocolate lilies match the garden colour palate perfectly,” Aleisha said.
“I have been getting on top of weed control in that area and starting to re-establish some of the midstorey local native plants,” Aleisha said.
“It’s a long-term goal of mine because there are already quite a few ground dwelling wildflowers there – so, I’ll look at building on that which will be great for more habitat.”
Aleisha’s garden will be open on the weekend of October 7 and 8 with walk and talk sessions scheduled at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. each day.
“I’m looking forward to showing people what they could achieve in their own gardens, even with limited resources,” Aleisha said.
OPEN GARDEN
Orcombe farm
49 Berryfield Road, Lyndoch
7 & October 2023, 10am – 4:30pm
Daily walk and talk at 11am and 2pm each day
Morning and afternoon teas available