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THE GARDEN |
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as featured in "Burke's Backyard" magazine, Sepember 06 issue, titled "RAINBOW FARM"
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| BOOKINGS The Rose Patch B& B was only opened in December 2003, but the gardens were started in 1987. The inspiration for a B& B came from people who were visiting the garden and mentioned how much they would love to wake up in the morning with the fragrance of roses in the air and the view over the gardens while having breakfast on the verandah. Until 1987 this 4 ha garden was part of the Kethel's dairy farm and the only existing plants besides blady grass and bracken fern were a clump of Callicoma in the gully and a mature Tallowood and an Ironbark. What had been difficult terrain for farming turned out to be an asset for the creation of an interesting garden with hills lending themselves to natural display areas. The existing gullies were deepened to create shady walks and the spring-fed natural swamp was turned into the blue water-lily lake (and of course the important water supply for the garden).
Besides the gardens, there are 8 ha of natural bush, and walkways have been created to give visitors easy access to view the koalas, look out for native orchids and spot natural elk and birdsnest ferns in massive trees, or simply admire the diversity of a natural environment. Birds of all shapes and sizes live here and flit about. Spine-tailed chowchilla, Whip bird, Lewen honeyeater, Rufus fantail, Firetail, Golden whistler, Yellow robin, Black bitten, Black faced monarch, Willy wagtail, Superb blue wren, Rosella and King parrot, Satin and Regent bower bird and many more. Early in the morning is the time for the Lyrebird. It has been given the name because its large tail is bent like a harp or lyre and it has the unusual gift of imitating the song of other birds. It has been known to make the sound of a chainsaw or recorder. Standing amongst the tall trees, you can experience how the first settlers felt! (But you don't have to wait for the ships from England to came in to be fed). Ian developed an interest in Old Heritage Roses and was shown the craft of budding and breeding them. Hundreds of perfumed roses were planted with the help of the whole family. All roses have their names and origin displayed. One of Ian's other hobbies is bird photography and many bird attracting species were planted. Every year the bird clubs from Coffs Harbour and Nambucca Heads are visiting to take stock of the existing bird population. Then the daylilies arrived and from October to April they are a sight to see, especially the “Rainbow“. Thousands of daylilies were planted on a hillside in the colours of the rainbow. Ian has been doing his own hybridizing and every year there is a lot of excitement, when the new 'babies” start to flower.
The house was added in the late 90's and since Ian's marriage to Ulrieke in 2000 a water garden was established at the house, and the red bridge and dry river bed added. Gardens come to life when shared and this one needs time to explore. By staying a night, you have a chance to hear the lyrebirds calling in the morning, hear the frog chorus, see the mist rise and the sun set behind McGrath's Hump with the last rays illuminating the red bridge.Take time to smell the roses! We also sell roses, hippiastrum and daylilies. Please ask for our daylily mailorder catalogue.
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| BOOKINGS Your Hosts: Ulrieke & Ian Kethel Phone: (02) 6655 0685 Mobile: 0431 210 699 |
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