Woodville Garden
and Parkland
The house is set in the centre of a working farm and is approached by long avenues through parkland planted with specimen trees
including Sequoia, cedar, pines, cypress and a recent addition the Wollemi pine. The resident flock of sheep grazes the pasture land, a
scene unchanged for two hundred years.
A laurel shrubbery to the front of the house is also planted with colourful flowering cherry, Paulownia, Crinodendron, and Catalpa, and
leads down to the double tennis courts which in turn leads to the water garden. Started in 1963 by Peter and Irene Roche and planted
under the embankment of the old New Ross to Macmine Junction Railway, the water garden is a tranquil haven of shade and
water-loving plants: ferns, hostas, Arisarum proboscideum (the fetching mouse plant), Clematis, Astilbe and trilliums, as well as Cornus
controversa and others. A series of dropping pools are shaded by majestic oaks and a Metasequoia glyptostroboides (the dawn
redwood).
The Victorian walled garden at the rear of the house is 0.5 hectares in size with conservatories, vegetable garden, fruit trees, herbaceous
borders and lawn. A striking feature of the garden is the original box hedging proudly maintained by the present owner and enclosing
different plantings. First to feature in spring is a Magnolia soulangeana followed by a spring border of snowdrops, crocus & narcissi.
In May the iris border comes into full bloom, a nearby bed is devoted to blue flowering plants including Chatham Island forget-me-not
(Myositidium hortensia). Later the roses present a striking and colourful display contrasting with the box hedging while the reds, yellows
and oranges of later summer put in an appearance. Rosa banksiae ‘Lutea’ flowers in the contemplative garden, a sunny corner and
vantage point.
This is a plantsman’s garden and also a most productive vegetable patch providing an abundant supply of fresh fruit and vegetables for
the household. The greenhouses designed by Messenger and built by P J Roche in the 1880’s house grapevines, peaches and nectarines
as well as exotic and tender flowers plumbago, red and white nerines, vines and an old asparagus fern. A large bed of Crambe maritima
(seakale) beloved of the Victorians is maintained as are beds of globe artichoke and asparagus.
The garden was extensively planted with several varieties of apple, pear and cherry, which carefully pruned and espaliered on frames and
against the walls of this sunny garden, provide visual structure and a rich harvest.
The dairy walk, so called because in the past it was the route taken from farmyard to the dairy in the basement of the house, features a
blaze of Embothrium coccineum flowering vigorously in May following on witch hazel (Hamamalis mollis), rhododendrons, camellias and
azaelias producing spectactular and colourful effects in early summer.
