Sunnymeade Garden Kithbrook

Sunnymeade Garden Kithbrook Sunnymeade is home to wonderful cottage accommodation and one of Victoria's finest gardens. For more

Experience the olde world charm and hospitality of Sunnymeade Garden Cottage, be inspired by a visit to the world class formal gardens of Sunnymeade created by Craig Irving. Hidden away in the picturesque tableland of Strathbogie in Victoria’s north east once the domain of the infamous bushranger Ned Kelly, gold miners and loggers and just over 2 hours drive from Melbourne, you will find Sunnymead

e. Leaving the busy highways behind, today there are no signs of vagabonds or misadventure and fear, no ill fortune but rather the discovery of one of Australia’s best kept secrets.

SUNNYMEADE 40 YEARS. The garden was featured in several magazines over the years and in 1988 won the Garden of the Year ...
01/09/2026

SUNNYMEADE 40 YEARS. The garden was featured in several magazines over the years and in 1988 won the Garden of the Year contest run by Your Garden magazine. It was a strange experience, the photographer was local and came and photographed the garden, l later bumped into him In Euroa and he said l needed to ring the magazine which l did as l hadn’t heard anything from them. I spoke to the horticultural editor who told me l had won, but he added in the next breath, ‘you bastard’. So any sense of happiness on winning quickly disappeared, it certainly wasn’t a joyful experience as people think it would be. I guess l got a taste of the tall poppy syndrome. The garden has also featured on Better Homes and Gardens TV a couple of times. I will do a final post on my story as l am probably boring you all by now. Maybe l will write a book one day as there’s too much to share here. Thanks for coming on my journey.

Daffodils always welcome in the spring . This is ‘Gold step’ a beautiful hoop petticoat hybrid with larger flowers than ...
01/09/2026

Daffodils always welcome in the spring . This is ‘Gold step’ a beautiful hoop petticoat hybrid with larger flowers than hoop petticoat daffodils and it produces them in abundance. One of my favourites.

Red Anemone pavonina from Greece heralding spring . There’s something about sheets of red flowers l absolutely love, fro...
31/08/2026

Red Anemone pavonina from Greece heralding spring . There’s something about sheets of red flowers l absolutely love, from red poppies, tulips or our stunning Sturt’s desert peas l adore them all.

SUNNYMEADE 40 YEARS. Despite the challenges that we had building the new house ( see previous post) it was the catalyst ...
30/08/2026

SUNNYMEADE 40 YEARS. Despite the challenges that we had building the new house ( see previous post) it was the catalyst that led to the current garden. I had laid out an informal garden around the original farm house but it didn’t suit the formal Georgian house. I remember sitting on the roof as the house was being built drawing up plans for the new garden so that everything would align with the house. This is when my love of the English roomed gardens like Hidcote and Sissinghurst had their influence on Sunnymeade. I drew plans and started moving plants that were in the way. Then l planted hedges ( oh l planted too many hedges, l had no idea back then of the work involved to maintain them) and l built walls to make the framework of the garden. Over the years l continued to make changes and add features but the original bones were laid out then. I would never have designed such formal gardens around the old house, a garden has to match its house. So from the adversity we went through the new garden literally rose like a phoenix.. A new garden needed a new name so Sunnymeade was born.

SUNNYMEADE 40 YEARS.There are certain times in life we try and forget but as l am telling the history of Sunnymeade l ne...
27/08/2026

SUNNYMEADE 40 YEARS.
There are certain times in life we try and forget but as l am telling the history of Sunnymeade l need to include this part. When my parents moved here full time they decided to build a new house, building began in January 1990. Unfortunately everything went wrong. The supplier went into receivership, the building leaked and it ended up in litigation. Basically it sat unfinished for several years , haunting us. It was a terrible time for my parents, endless meetings with lawyers,building consultants and experts whose advice was to demolish the house. It was costing a fortune in legal fees and l was trying to keep the vineyard going on my own. I think l have blocked most of those years from my memories and l know we would all have gladly walked away if we could have. The dream had become a nightmare. It was my brother Michael who saved it, deciding we had to finish the house ourselves so he came and worked on it with my father. The leaks Michael discovered were only from no flashings being placed around the windows( stupid building experts recommend demolition because of this). So gradually the house was finished. That time was made worse by someone spreading malicious rumours we had won a lot of money. How people can make up lies when you are at your lowest is beyond belief. Sadly people happily believed them and to this day l am asked ( by those with integrity) if it was true. No it was not!!!. Times we all gladly put behind us. Thankfully happier times were ahead….

SUNNYMEADE 40 YEARS. Looking back at old photos of ‘The Farm’ it’s gets hard to remember the early days. Change happens ...
25/08/2026

SUNNYMEADE 40 YEARS. Looking back at old photos of ‘The Farm’ it’s gets hard to remember the early days. Change happens gradually so you don’t really notice it. A few early photos here and some recent photos of the garden for comparison , with a lot of hard work in between. To me l didn’t see it as work, l loved creating and wanted to live in a beautiful environment so l persevered. I remember one Irish gardener saying’ Contrary to popular belief some people actually like work’. Visitors often comment ‘what a lot of work’ but if you love something it’s not work. There were certainly challenges along the way and in my next post l will mention the greatest of them which could have ended the dream.

SUNNYMEADE 40 YEARS. From the start l was always making changes. Shifting deciduous trees in winter until they got too b...
21/08/2026

SUNNYMEADE 40 YEARS. From the start l was always making changes. Shifting deciduous trees in winter until they got too big to move and then if l didn’t like them where they were l had to cut them down. I remember one English writer say you have to be a ‘Ruthless bastard’ to be a good gardener. It’s absolutely true. This photo is a box parterre l had near my tower, l used to plant ornamental kale in it each winter which looked great. When l built my Medieval herb garden structure it had to go. It’s the evolution of a garden and l get bored easily so l love change. You don’t want to be a plant in my garden.

SUNNYMEADE 40 YEARS. It wasn’t long and l started building in stone, l had done a one day course run locally by a stonem...
21/08/2026

SUNNYMEADE 40 YEARS. It wasn’t long and l started building in stone, l had done a one day course run locally by a stonemason. Like anything it’s only by practice you improve and l have certainly practiced. In the early years l was always building, l love creating. In between grape picking and before pruning started was when l got a chance to build. Pictures tell a thousand words so l don’t really need to say anything about the photos. The first photo you can see the vines in the background.

SUNNYMEADE 40 YEARS. My story so far might make it sound like l was spending all my time creating my garden, but nothing...
19/08/2026

SUNNYMEADE 40 YEARS. My story so far might make it sound like l was spending all my time creating my garden, but nothing could be further from the truth. I was only living here as my parents and l were establishing a 10 acre vineyard of 12,000 grapevines. I spent my days in the vineyard and at the end of most days l would usually work in my garden, even if only briefly. The vines were planted as cuttings and had to be trained up trellises that we put in, my brother Michael often came on weekends and he helped put the posts in for the trellises. It took many years and every winter it took three months to prune them working every day, rain, hail or shine. Strathbogie winters are very cold . It was hard physical work, it certainly wasn’t as people sometimes say to me ‘How lucky you are ‘. I believe you make your life what it is and it’s only through hard work and determination that l created a garden. There were challenges too, heatwaves in summer, drought, rabbits and hares damaging my plants and the grasshopper plagues in summer. But l never gave up on my dream.
Photo , snow in the vineyard, snow usually fell once a year though not often as heavily as this. It’s bitterly cold to work in but l always enjoyed its beauty.

SUNNYMEADE 40 YEARS, Jumping ahead a few years and l was asked to open my garden in The Australian Open Garden Scheme. T...
19/08/2026

SUNNYMEADE 40 YEARS, Jumping ahead a few years and l was asked to open my garden in The Australian Open Garden Scheme. There was a beautiful local garden Forest Hills that was the creation of Helen Dunnachie. In the early years l used to enjoy visiting Helen’s garden and l learnt a lot from seeing what could be grown in Strathbogie . Helen was very generous with cuttings and plant divisions. Helen regularly opened her garden and l was asked if l would open too. My garden was still very young and l wasn’t keen but somehow l ended up opening. At that time the garden didn’t have a name and l needed a name to open my garden. So the garden became Laburnum Farm( a name l didn’t particularly like) l had a tunnel of Laburnum trees with their beautiful yellow flowers and struggling to find a name, ‘The Farm ‘ became Laburnum Farm’. I can’t remember how many visitors came but those that did were very kind and encouraging. I think it was $2 the Garden Scheme charged for entry and the owner got one third of the entrance fee. It was a bit of pocket money for a struggling gardener.
I had never intended to ever open to the public , it just somehow happened.

Address

“Sunnymeade” 213 Boundary Hill Road
Strathbogie, VIC
3666

Telephone

+61357908519

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Sunnymeade Garden Kithbrook posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Sunnymeade Garden Kithbrook:

Shortcuts

Share