It is nine years since Gloucester Garden Club visited Anne and John Williamson's garden in Barrington and much has changed.
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The property was bought in 2008 and was little more than a bare paddock with a couple of large trees. The house was built in 2008 and Anne has designed a lovely park-like garden in the seven acres surrounding it.
There are spacious lawns, a covered orchard, large vegetable beds near the house, a well-stocked fernery and much more.
A rock filled natural watercourse guides water coming off the Bucketts into a large dam.
A lovely autumn April day was an ideal time to visit and we thank Anne and John for sharing their park with us.
Guest speaker was Shannon Aylett who is developing Rocky Hill Nursery in Johnson Street, Gloucester; part of the industrial area.
The nursery is open every day except Thursday and Sunday from 8am till 3pm and boasts a wide range of pot plants, bedding plants, veggie seedlings and more. These are mostly grown on site so locally hardened off.
It was interesting to hear about some of the challenges involved in setting up a nursery. Finding a point of difference, growing plants at the wrong time of year to have them ready for the next season, trialling different varieties to suit our area to name just a few.
Shannon also went on to answer questions that members had previously sent to him. It was a very interesting and entertaining morning.
The Flower and Fruit and Vegetable competitions were well supported.
Peter Hazell came in first in the Flower Competition with his very colourful vanda orchid, second was Sue Costigan's zinnia and third Robyn Frank's dahlia.
First place in the Veggie Competition was Ailsa Erskine's pineapple guava; second Dot Harris's pumpkin and third Peter Hazell's table gem squash.
Evol Green, Helen Evans and Gloria Noble were the lucky raffle winners with Helen Evans winning the lucky door prize and the membership draw going to Trudy Sambach.
Our next meeting; the AGM is on Wednesday 22nd of May in Gloucester Pioneer Garden.
Zone coordinator, Mal McKinley will be our guest speaker exploring the range of available fertilisers and their best uses. If raining, the meeting will be at the Uniting Church Hall. There will be NO competitions but rather several awards will be given. We look forward to welcoming you and your friends.
