As a child one of my favourite movies was the whimsical Secret Garden.  I just loved the idea of having my very own garden hidden away from the world, where I could just be and enjoy the beauty that surrounded me.  I feel like I have found the imaginings of my childhood in Alowyn Gardens.  Let me take you on an amazing journey from a simple looking nursery to scenes so beautiful and diverse it will impress many a green thumb.

The humble shack style café leading to a small nursery is just the tip of the iceberg that is Alowyn. There is no beating around
the bush here, you head to Alowyn Gardens to see… the gardens (all seven acres of it).  I would describe my visit as stumbling upon an Oasis in the heart of the Yarra Valley, one so diverse you are sure to see anything from French Formal to Australian Bush.

This is where I find myself at a loss.  How do I express to you the wonderment I felt strolling beneath the wisteria,  the adoration I have for perfectly trimmed hedge work and my desire to own a yard bordered in green and pruned to satisfy my critically ‘formal garden’ personality?  How do I describe the freedom felt when passing through an arch in a hedge to encounter the ponds surrounded by iris’s and lawn either side to run through, lay on or just sit and take it all in?  This is a place I find so beautiful and yet so hard to write about.

I want to unveil the center jewel of the Alowyn crown and have you stand in front of it and marvel at the restraint of the designer.  The fountain stands tall above the circular hedge defining it, encircled by roses bursting with buds and preparing to dazzle the cascading beauty with their blooms.  From this centre piece runs the pièce de résistance – archways laced with vines, ladened with green foliage and dripping with purple pearl like strands, making the most amazing isles to meet your beloved under and exchange your promises of lifelong love to each other.  This is a place where romance is found and poetry is formed.

With views of the Great Dividing Range, vineyards and lush greenery abundant when hopping around this beautiful part of the world, it was refreshing to my soul to be immersed in what I find so special about the Yarra Valley.  There is a deep desire to walk within the beauty that I am blessed to witness with every visit.  A desire to jump the barriers, ignore the signs and wander through the vines.  At Alowyn Gardens I have finally been able to surround myself in the view.

Please note there is a $10 cost to tour this beautiful garden.