Carefully curated garden of character

Through a considerable downsize from their Lemnos farm, the couple took with them the essence of what it was.

“When we came here, the area was all overgrown trees and so much shade, so we pulled it all out and wanted something a little bit different,” she said.

Low maintenance, grandchildren-friendly and straying from the everyday garden were on the checklist when creating their outdoor space, and of course, a flash barbecue and bar area.

“It was always sort of the plan to move closer into town; Ian had always lived out of town so he was a bit reluctant at first but we’re in a lovely spot,” Robyn said.

The hesitancy of making the move was overcome by taking with them pieces of the farm, albeit in a new, upcycled way.

Robyn comes up with the ideas and Ian, usually without much complaint, fashions beautiful ornaments that now line their garden.

Tractor seats fastened to a wooden bench, antique milk cans, repurposed barbed wire fence droppers and pieces of timber turned furniture are among some of their creations.

As the garden winds around, it opens to separate worlds.

Hidden between shrubbery is the bunny garden, housing a family of ornamental rabbits that swap and change positions, often moved by little hands of grandchildren, ensuring communication stays lively between bunnies.

In honour of the grandkids, a signpost with their five names sits high above the bushes in the garden.

Painted in bright red, the names point in different directions, towards where each child is living.

Adjacent is the “door to nowhere”, as the McDermotts call it, a stark blue door stuck to their shed surrounded by a setting reminiscent of the gold rush.

“We try to use what we have around the place or finding things second hand, we love going to junk places and clearing sales, finding bits and pieces to try to incorporate,” Robyn said.

“We’re always adding and taking things away, seeing where things sort of work, it’s all a bit of fun.”

Between the collection of ornaments, Robyn has nurtured perennials and a range of succulents that flourish in the ground and in pots.

There is also a vegetable garden, rich in plentiful produce of tomatoes, strawberries and citrus fruits — always something ripe for the picking.

While the garden is oozing in character, with something to catch the eye at every glance, Robyn said it was designed to be simple.

“We were sort of going for less is more in terms of plants, it’s not something we wanted to be overwhelmed with,” she said.

“It’s all pretty low maintenance but I do love to potter in it just about every day.”