Mayfield Gardens

A visit to Mayfield gardens has been a long-held desire of mine, and I was not disappointed after a recent visit with Mr MG. Unapologetically taking many of its design ideas from European gardens, Mayfield is a 65 hectare privately-owned cool climate garden in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales. Upon our arrival, and after paying our entrance fee, we were told to place our hands on the counter to have them stamped as proof of paying and so, obediently foolishly we did, afterwards wondering how many other people had put their hands there that day, and if any of them had Covid. I’m pleased to report that two weeks later, we are as well as we’ve ever been.

There doesn’t always seem to be a perfect time to visit a garden. The visitor is often just too late or a touch too early to see everything at its peak and so it was for this visit. We were a little late to enjoy the Spring bulbs at their best, but a fraction early to see the deciduous trees at full throttle. However there was plenty to appreciate and indeed, admire. A splendid water garden with meandering gravel paths, waterfalls, reflective pools and meticulously built stone walls delighted us as we wandered around. This is the part of the garden that is open all year round.

Because of the Spring festival, we were able to ramble around the private family estate as well as the water garden. Spread out across a hillside, an allée of London planes, streams with banks bursting with new Spring growth and shaded grassy walks beside tree-filled gardens underplanted with hellebores (past their best, unfortunately) all provided interest and enjoyment. There are other aspects of the garden that we didn’t see: a stumpery, a maze which we stayed out of because there were a lot of other people in there; a formal lavender garden, not in flower yet and an orchard. As it was, we spent three hours looking around the garden.

The potager contained beautifully trained espaliered fruit trees.

There were plenty of flowers to admire as well, but I think what I liked almost more than anything were the long views.

Fields of canola surround the property, providing a vibrantly coloured backdrop which contrasts wonderfully with the verdant gardens.

It will be necessary I think, to visit again, at least in Autumn to enjoy what that season has to offer in this lovely garden.

34 Comments Add yours

  1. A splendid trip, but the stamping idea wasn’t clever

    1. Jane says:

      Ha ha, yes, so true.

  2. Heyjude says:

    Gardens are always a good place to spend a few hours, getting ideas for planting combinations, colours etc.

    1. Jane says:

      Yes there were many good ideas there, but everything was very grand!

      1. Heyjude says:

        Yes, it is sometimes difficult to transfer ideas to a smaller garden, which is why I like the one nearest us that has the type of plants and borders suitable for my garden.

  3. Vicki says:

    Love it all and would like to see the scenes again (in every season).

    1. Jane says:

      I’ll do my best!

  4. Beautiful. I love the water picture with the deciduos trees and fabulous sky behind. You most definitely have to report on the autumn colours . . . 🙂

    1. Jane says:

      That’s one of my favourite photos too, Lis. An Autumn visit is certainly on my radar, although at that time of the year, we’ll probably only be able to see the water garden. Or should we go in summer so that we can see the hydrangeas…..?

      1. Ah ~ decisions, decisions! 🙂

  5. Thanks for the tour.

    1. Jane says:

      My pleasure!

  6. It looks glorious! I’m especially impressed by the trained fruit trees, neatness is not my natural state and I am always envious of those who achieve such beautiful precision. As for the rhodies!

    1. Jane says:

      I can’t begin to imagine the thought and patience that goes into creating the espaliers. I’m having trouble training my climbing roses against the fence!

  7. susurrus says:

    Those espaliers are amazing!

    1. Jane says:

      I’d love to see them when they are fruiting.

  8. Kris P says:

    That first photo with the colorful shrubs (Rhododendrons?) reflected in the water is absolutely fabulous, Jane. It’s a beautiful garden and well worth an annual visit (I’m assuming it was a bit of a drive), provided they get their act together on the hand-stamping thing.

  9. Jane says:

    The garden is a couple of hours from us, by road, so we combined the visit with a lovely trip to Sydney. Yes, they are rhododendrons in the first photo, a wonderful shade of red, and I waited quite a long time to take the photos so that it didn’t have too many people in it.

    1. Cynthia says:

      I agree with all the comments you have received. It is truly a worthwhile visit. Was there a lot of walking uphill? You always seem to inspire me to do things and go places.🌺

      1. Jane says:

        Hi Cynthia, although there’s a gently sloping walk to get to the water gardens, the paths there are generally flat. The Hawkins family garden, which isn’t always open, definitely had steep paths and we were very footsore after our three hours of tramping around. I believe there’s a shuttle that takes visitors around to various parts of the garden.
        You can look at their website: https://mayfieldgarden.com.au/

  10. Chris Muller says:

    Beautiful photos of a beautiful garden.

    1. Jane says:

      Thanks, Chris.

  11. What a beautiful way to spend a day. I think you definitely need to visit again in another season so you can share it with us.

    1. Jane says:

      Yes, I’m pretty sure I’ll be making another visit.

  12. Anonymous says:

    Hi Jane,
    We visited Mayfield garden years ago, when it was just getting started, so it was really interesting to see how developed and lovely it is now. I love the water feature, and the espaliers, the silver birches, so many interesting parts to it. If we were closer I would like to see it in early autumn and spring. Here’s hoping we’ll get back there one day.

    1. Jane says:

      I’m glad we waited until it was more established before seeing it. It’s splendid now, and I definitely want to see it in the Autumn. Perhaps even winter, if there was a fall of snow?

  13. Sri V says:

    Absolutely beautiful! 🙂

    1. Jane says:

      Thank you.🙂

  14. Gerrie Mackey says:

    Hi Jane,
    I realise I should have filled out my details before posting…

    1. Jane says:

      Oh, is that who it was! Thanks for your previous comment. I don’t understand why people are having to fill in details as I have unticked that option in my settings. Most annoying.

  15. Such a grand garden, Jane. That in-between time is such a good way of seeing its structure and tempts you to go back.

    1. Jane says:

      Grand is a good word to describe it, Tracy, and the scope for more seems almost limitless.

  16. hb says:

    That looks like a wonderful place to visit. Will probably be better post-Covid-19, when it’s not so worrisome to be out among people. Does look very european in style, but the lawns don’t seem as intensely green as they do in say the UK. Could just be my monitor, though!

    1. Jane says:

      Oh, there’s probably nowhere in Australia that could match the UK for green, but the countryside (and gardens) here are looking quite lush at the moment thanks to some good rain. 😊

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