WILD AT HEART

THROWING OUT THE RULE BOOK WAS ALL IT TOOK TO ACHIEVE THE GARDEN OF A VICTORIAN COUPLE'S DREAMS

- BRITTANY SMITH

SEEDS OF CHANGE This gorgeous garden on the Mornington Peninsula is just one example of the lasting influence Clive Blazey has made to Australian gardening. After more than 40 years of working tirelessly to introduce the public to heirloom seeds and organic gardening, in 2019 Clive was awarded an Order of Australia medal for his service to horticulture, conservation and the community.

Rolling hills that are brimming with a delightful mish-mash of plants set the scene at Heronswood House and Garden on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, welcoming seasoned green thumbs and beginners alike.

Lovingly crafted by Clive and Penny Blazey, who purchased the property in 1983, the grounds are a homage to English cottage gardening.

While the pair are the founders of The Diggers Club, Australia's largest gardening club, they're well aware that their garden is a support act to the main event at this historic homestead. "The most appealing thing at Heronswood is the house," says Clive. "The garden is simply the apron to this magnificent Gothic revival house." Designed by architectural director and garden designer Edward La Trobe Bateman in 1871, the building is made of locally quarried granite and limestone, something the Blazeys kept in mind when it came to planting on what had been a "quite primitive" landscape.

"Blues are an important colour in the whole scheme of things, with the blue bay and blue sky," says Clive. "But it's the grey foliage that knits the garden together. It picks up the limestone and granite, it links the sea and the sky and is also a contrast with the green of the lawn. It's a subtle colour that webs everything together."