Holiday Season – more gardens

Cloudehill is another wonderful garden to visit – but it’s more than that. It’s also a nursery and has a cafe where they cook their own produce from their magnificent vegetable garden. A must see all year round really. They also have a couple of books – one very large one with the story of the development of the garden and a smaller one with pictures of the garden all year round.

In the summer they have Shakespeare playing in their beautiful amphitheatre. It’s also a popular place for weddings and for portraits to be shot.  If you’ve not been there before, do yourself a favour, and book a date with yourself to go.

Below: The steps up to the cafe – but you can also get to it from the carpark without having to climb steps.

Cloudehill

Cloudehill

Below: This is the entry to the theatre area. The hedge near the back/bottom is the wall of the theatre.

Maple Court, Cloudehill

Below: Entry to their magnificent vegetable garden.

Entry to the vegetable garden

Below – both photos. The gardens in springtime.

289-365 Spring walk at Cloudehill

Cloudehill

Holiday Season – visit some gardens

There’s a lot of gardens to visit in the Dandenong Ranges.  You could pick almost any major road and see a sign leading to a garden to visit.  Alfred Nicholas gardens is just out of Kallista heading up towards Olinda and is worth visiting. You could come across any number of photographers at one of the ponds or lakes almost any day. I like visiting early in the morning but all times of the day are good.  The following gives you a bit of an idea of what you can expect to see.  It’s a great place for picnics, walks, and family time together.

at Alfred Nicholas garden

The boathouse at the Alfred Nicholas Gardens

A pond at Alfred Nicholas garden

at Alfred Nicholas garden

Alfred Nicholas Gardens

Resting place

Went to a Christmas lunch at a new friend’s place and just had to explore her garden. Found this gorgeous spot there.

338-365 Resting place

Driving up Monbulk Road on a Misty day

When I went to visit our daughter a few days ago it was one of those misty low lying cloud type of days. This is what I saw on the road.

294-365 Sherbrooke Forest, Monbulk Road in the cloud mist

Sherbrooke Forest, Monbulk Road

Rather beautiful don’t you think?

Travelling the Puffing Billy

As I mentioned recently, my husband and I had guests from interstate and we spent a day with them on the Puffing Billy train. The train leaves from Belgrave and travels to Emerald Lake Park and then moves on to Gembrook. We chose to go as far as Emerald Lake Park, have lunch and wander around and then catch the train back to Belgrave.  That, in itself, was a pretty full day.  There were a lot of carriages on the train when we caught it and two engines pulling them but once we got to Menzies Creek many of the tourists got off to get on buses and the extra carriages taken off and we were put back to one engine only.  In reverse, the second engine was added back on when we got back to Menzies Creek.

On the Puffing Billy

It was a long train and yes, people do sit hanging their legs out of the windows.

Coupling up the engine

Coupling back up after removing one of the engines.

The flagman

All aboard!  Leaving Emerald Lake Park station.

On the trestle bridge

Returning back to Belgrave.  The two engines pull the carriages across the historic Trestle Bridge.

The beautiful gardens at Cloudehill

If you live in Melbourne (Australia) or perhaps pay a visit sometime, it’s worth coming up to the Dandenong Ranges to explore. There is so much to see. We recently had three friends staying with us and over the 4 days I took them to Grant’s Picnic Grounds, Emerald Lake Park, Cloudehill, Alfred Nicholas Gardens and my husband I spent a day on the Puffing Billy train with them also.  Below are more pics of the beautiful gardens of Cloudehill, which is in Olinda.  Be prepared to spend a few hours there – lots to see, smell, touch, enjoy.

Cloudehill

Cloudehill

These paths change with the seasons.

Cloudehill

These stairs lead to their wonderful restaurant where the vegetables and fruits are from their own gardens.