Hascombe is a nineteenth-century
hill station
A hill station is a town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The term was used mostly in colonial Asia (particularly in India), but also in Africa (albeit rarely), for towns founded by European colonialists as refuges ...
garden located at
Mount Macedon in
Victoria,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. The 11 hectare garden, located on Alton Road, is regarded as one of Victoria's finest and is listed on the
Register of the National Estate
The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heritag ...
.
History
R.L.J. Elery, the original owner, constructed a villa on the site in the 1870s. The garden was significantly expanded by R.S. Whiting who blended his design with the natural landscape of the creek and its backdrop of
blackwoods and
tree fern
The tree ferns are arborescent (tree-like) ferns that grow with a trunk elevating the fronds above ground level, making them trees. Many extant tree ferns are members of the order Cyatheales, to which belong the families Cyatheaceae (scaly tree ...
s.
In the 1930s the owner at the time, S.Ricketson installed a log cabin, tennis courts and a
Douglas Pine plantation. The garden was further developed by Sir Thomas and Lady Ramsay from the 1930s to 1989 when the garden was purchased by Paula and
Lindsay Fox.
[
]
Layout
The garden consists of a number of terraced levels with stone retaining wall
Retaining walls are relatively rigid walls used for supporting soil laterally so that it can be retained at different levels on the two sides.
Retaining walls are structures designed to restrain soil to a slope that it would not naturally keep to ...
s. A system of pathways and steps link the various levels.
Planting
The garden has a holly and linden walk, hedge
A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced shrubs and sometimes trees, planted and trained to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area, such as between neighbouring properties. Hedges that are used to separate a road from adjoini ...
s comprising '' Pittosporum'', ''Viburnum
''Viburnum'' is a genus of about 150–175 species of flowering plants in the moschatel family Adoxaceae. Its current classification is based on molecular phylogeny. It was previously included in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae.
The membe ...
'', ''Ilex
''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The speci ...
'' and '' Eucryphia'' species. A "Picking Garden" displays a range of colourful flower varieties, while the "Woodland Garden" showcases spring bulbs.
References
{{coord, 37, 23, 25, S, 144, 34, 59, E, region:AU-VIC_type:landmark, display=title
Gardens in Victoria (state)