The Open Garden Weekend  held on the 8th and 9th October 2011 was a great success attracting hundreds of visitors to Harden-Murrumburrah. Our local businesses benefited from the influx of visitors.

The owners of Sunshine Woods and White Gables rasied an impressive $2,580 supporting Open Gardens Australia and their charity, The Harden Hospital Auxiliary.

Thank you to the community of Harden-Murrumburrah and the many visitors from around the region who attended and supported the gardens of Willow Springs, Stocks Native Gardens, Sunshine Woods and White Gables.

Open Gardens Australia is constantly looking for new gardens to join the network. We know there are a number of fantastic gardens that we have personally sighted in the Harden shire and we would encourage those gardeners, experienced or not, to contact  the program to have their gardens listed.

Here at Country Living Murrumburrah we would like to establish a network of local gardens and have them listed on this website. So join us and let’s showcase the beautiful gardens surrounding our town.

Current Garden Listings;

1. Sunshine Woods

A delightful cottage garden filled with colourful and fragrant flowers, fruit trees, vegtables and herbs. Meandering gravel paths and arch ways link rooms including a Mediterranean dry garden, a formal garden lined with pencil pines, and a outdoor dining area. Restored 1898 ripple iron-glad cottage. 1ha (2.5ac).

Extras: 1898 Cottage open for viewing

Address: 344 Albury Lane, Murrumburrah

Directions: Travelling west through Harden on Burley Griffin Way/Albury Street, turn left into Vernon Road, left into Albury Lane.

2. White Gables

A white picket fence fronts a delightful cottage garden filled with with roses, erigeron, lavender and violets. Well designed back garden features clipped lavender hedging and a low stone wall enclosing a paved area. Good planting of olives, pittosporum, crabapples, almonds and quince. Vegtable garden. 0.1ha (0.3ac).

Address: 163 Clarke Street, Murrumburrah

Directions: Travelling west through Harden and Murrumburrah on Burley Griffin Way/Albury Street, turn right into Bathurst, travel under railway bridge and turn 1st left into Clarke Street.

3. Stocks Native Gardens

Display garden featuring more than 600 Australian species, many rare and collectable, seen at the height of their spring bloom. Drought-tolerant, frost-tolerant and bird attracting plants are a particular specialty. Banksia blechnifolia, Grevillea magnifica, Lechenaultia biloba, Pimelea physodes. Billabong. 2ha (5ac).

Extras: One-Kilometre walking trail through informal bush garden.

Address: Lot3 Simmonds Road, Harden

Directions: From Burley Griffin Way in Harden take Jugiong Road for 2kms and turn left into East Street, right into Simmonds Road.

4. Willow Springs

Lovely Cottage garden featuring a spring-fed lake with water lillies. Giant willows provide structure for curving borders abundantly planted with roses, shrubs and perennials. Rose clad summerhouse over looks blossom-filled garden and surrounding country. Rustic ornaments and structures. Finalist in Your Garden ‘Garden of the year’ 2001. 0.8ha (2ac).

Address: Barwang Road, Harden

Directions: Travelling west through Harden on Burley Griffin Way/Albury Street, turn right into Stair Street at fire station; travel under viaduct and turn left into Barwang Road; garden is located a further 3 kms on the left.

**Description of all gardens reference from Australia’s Open Gardens 2011-2012 magazine page.49.

For more information on Open Gardens Australia click on the links below.

Footnote: The Australian Open Garden Scheme is not affiliated with this website however we would like to acknowledge Kelly Noonan the Co-Ordinator ACT & Regional NSW of the Australian Open Garden Scheme for allowing us the use of their logo on this website soley as a direct link, thank you.