My Garden

Just a few minutes from Brightwater township, Veronica Hall, along with her husband Darren, their teenagers Georgia and Logan, and two dogs, Jack and Rusty, have created a warm and welcoming home. Though she never considered herself a gardener, Veronica has found her green-thumb and unexpectedly fallen in love with the stunning gardens that surround their property.

Photos: Tessa Claus

Our story

We started with our townhouse in Brightwater village, where we lived for over 17 years. As our family grew, so did our toys – cars, a caravan, boats, and bikes. We began looking for somewhere bigger, a place with more space. This home offered exactly that, with sheds for everything.

At first, we thought we would take out most of the gardens, but over time, as each season changed and more flowers emerged, we grew to appreciate how important the garden is to the property. Now, it’s something we’ve completely fallen in love with.

I would describe our property as welcoming. As you drive down the winding driveway, you can’t miss the colourful bursts of flowers scattered throughout the property, with every season adding to the rainbow of blooms. Inside the house, while it’s not modern or grand, it radiates a homely feel – the smell of baking and the sound of family laughter.

The history

Our property has a rich history. Along with our neighbour’s property, it was the site of one of the first schools in the area, operating from 1855 to 1920. Our front lawn once housed the River Terrace School, with a larger second building later built on the neighbour’s land.

After the school, the property became a daffodil farm, leaving us with hundreds of daffodil bulbs in our garden. They bloom in abundance and the children have enjoyed earning pocket money selling them out the gate for the last few years.

The garden

Some weeks I’m out in the garden weeding and pruning for three to four hours a day, while other weeks it’s just once or twice a week. I find that doing a small amount often helps me keep everything under control. Autumn, however, brings the challenge of dealing with all the leaves from our lovely trees. There are so many that I have to bag them and take them to the green waste, which is quite a big job.

Thankfully, Darren has made things easier by purchasing some handy equipment – a blower and a Billy Goat, which vacuums and mulches the leaves. We’re pretty lucky, as the 47 leaves are the only green waste that leaves our property.

Some days it feels like a job, other days I just switch off and pull weeds while enjoying my surroundings, listening to the birds sing and knowing Jack and Rusty are not too far behind me.

Any renovations?

We started by building a large shed at the back of the property, providing space for our classic cars and caravan. We haven’t done any major renovations to the house itself, but within the first year, I replaced the colourful floral wallpaper with a simple cream palette and neutral carpet. We find our house, with a natural, neutral inside, adds to the vibrant, garden life reflecting in through the windows. Every room has its own image of the wonderful gardens.

Favourite spots

As you drive into the driveway it’s an exciting journey with a changing atmosphere each season. We love our variety of different plants and flowers that all bloom in their own time so that at no time of year our garden is colourless. Also, we have created places with benches and seats that offer the best views in the garden, giving us space to fully relax and enjoy our scenery.

Our neighbourhood

We have always loved living in Brightwater, so moving just out of the village means it’s a lot more peaceful. Both sides of our garden have little gates leading to our neighbours’ gardens. At first, we thought ‘that’s a bit odd’, but it turned out we have lovely couples living either side of us that are happy to share eggs from their chickens, lemons from their trees, advice about pruning, and even dog sit when we go away. Another great thing about our location is that we are walking distance to the river. In summer, we have just a ten-minute walk for a dip for us and our dogs.

Every home should have…

I struggled with this answer because I think everyone knows all the basics a home needs. But if I had to choose, a deck with a nice garden outlook to enjoy family BBQs in the summer. And it should be a place that we as a family all feel safe, comfortable, and can be ourselves. We try and fill it up with love, joy, and laughter… although some days it’s just fast, loud and crazy! And we wouldn’t have it any other way.