Ripponlea - a sylvan glade in the heart of a city

In 2010, I visited Monet's Garden in Giverny. I mention this because o the bridge: similar, but quite different. There are soe lillies on the Ripponlea pond, but way more in Giverny. Giverny is a tumble of flowers, a concatenation of plantings. Ripponlea is a cultivated, and dare I say, restrained oasis.

The garden tries to be sustainable. It is fed by the lake, which is fed by the waterfall, the water from which is harvested from as far-a-field as Caulfield Racecourse. Stormwater was pumped from the surrounding suburbs into the lake and then, throughout the garden by the windmill. Over the years this reticulation system has degraded, and the National Trust is endeavouring to re-instate a version of the original system.

In reality, this garden is a little bit of England, down-under. No wonder a unique method of watering had to be devised.