Like so much this year the original plans to open Dale Frank's Botanic Gardens in the grounds of the historic Hambledon Hill (c. 1864), homestead at Maison Dieu were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Now the event, which was to take place in March, will now be held on Sunday, November 1 from 9:00am until 1:00pm. Entry is free.
Entering the driveway and heading towards the Hambledon Hill homestead your eyes are met by two contrasting sights.
To the left on the rise are some wonderful old specimen trees including a Moreton Bay Fig and two Hoop pines no doubt planted by the earliest residents in the house.
To the right is the extensive new plantings undertaken by artist Dale Frank who purchased the 50 acre property in 2008.
You could be forgiven to think you have entered another world as you wander through the natural walkways in the garden with many desert species on display - cacti and succulents along with Queensland Bottle trees are joined by rarer yuccas.
There is also a grove of Chinese Elms -a tree that is extremely drought tolerant and also a beautiful specimen tree.
James Smith who works alongside Mr Frank said many of the trees in the garden were 'rescued' from development sites in Sydney.
"Dale has many contacts in Sydney as people know he is keen to plant mature aged trees on the property so if they have some that need to moved to develop the land they come to Hambledon Hill," he said.
"We take special care of them when they arrive, sometimes they need staking until the roots are firmly in the ground and we feed and water them and generally they all survive.
"This way we save years in growing a tree and we also save a valuable mature tree which owners of the land to be developed are often very pleased about. For example we recently planted a Queensland Bottle tree the owner said was at least 100 years old."
Refreshments will be available to purchase at the open garden.