Photo – Eve Wilson, courtesy The Design Files

Our garden in the Melbourne suburb of Surrey Hills has been a family affair in many ways.

Firstly it was designed by Rick Eckersley, my husband Ross’ brother, a well respected garden designer.

Twenty five years ago when Rick first designed the garden it was created as a series of rooms. As we had three young boys, we wanted spaces in the garden for exploring and play; somewhere to kick a footy, a cubby house and sandpit.

Later in the life of our garden as our family grew up, ‘the rooms’ were recreated and more attention has been placed on areas for family and friends to gather for dining and socialising or relaxing.

10 years of drought also required the need to reassess plantings and replace many water hungry plants with more dry tolerant varieties and the lawn has been replaced with gravel.

Gardening is a very peaceful and rewarding pursuit for our family.

It’s a great metaphor for life really – you nurture plants, watch them grow and bloom; prune and cut back when required; watch the beauty of plants, then when they finish flowering, die off.

Observing and reflecting on how a garden evolves, changes and never remains the same has a very meditative and calming effect.  Gardening is also very rewarding and satisfying, when you work hard planting, weeding, pruning, and raking, and then see the reward for your efforts.

We receive much pleasure from our garden and there’s nothing more enjoyable than being there with family and friends.

We have participated in the Open Garden Scheme and enjoyed sharing our garden with hundreds of visitors over the years to raise funds for charity.  

Our children enjoy our garden too and chip in when bigger projects are undertaken, like planting, mulching, laying gravel or seasonal cutting back.

Both Ross and I come from farming families – where as children, contributing to the many jobs required, was simply part of our lives.

I think our kids too have grown up surrounded by and immersed in beautiful gardens – of their grandparents, Rick’s and ours, so it’s been part of their lives and are happy to pitch in when required.

Gardening is a great way to relax, appreciate changes in seasons – and to the environment and connect with nature and provides every one with a sense of enjoyment and achievement.

Gardeners enjoy learning from each other – on how certain plant groupings complement each other; ideas on drought tolerant plantings; colour palettes; and swapping cuttings.

Photos below by Eckersley Garden Architecture