A fairy garden makes a magical addition to any garden.
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I reckon it would matter little who you were, so long as you have an imagination — it would be activated the moment your eyes fell upon a miniature path, a smattering of bright red polka-dotted toadstools, a little glowing solar-lit ‘residence’.
I know people who wouldn’t admit they found them fascinating if that were true; my teenage boys included.
But enlarge the figurines to life size, place them in a lush high-country garden, label them art, and everyone’s happy to concede that these creative characters in this whimsical habitat are pretty darn cool.
Of course, the sculptures in Bruno’s Art and Sculpture Garden are labelled art because they are.
They’re not off a production line of moulds at a factory in China.
Each is meticulously sculpted by south American-born artist Bruno Torfs, and each is one of a kind.
This enchanting permanent open-air exhibition is in Marysville.
Spring has the garden looking alive and well now the snow at Lake Mountain has melted and the daytime air has lost its wintry chill.
When Bruno’s family established the gallery and garden in this sub-Alpine region, there were over 200 existing artworks in the form of oil paintings, sketches and small sculptures he’d brought to Australia from Europe, where he’d been living since he was a teenager.
In the garden, however, there were just 15 large terracotta sculptures that he’d made and fired onsite in his kiln.
In February 2009, they were all destroyed when the disastrous Black Saturday bushfire swept through the area, annihilating everything in its path.
After the fire razed his property, there was not a single glimpse of greenery to be seen.
Now, 15 years later, about 15 per cent of the rainforest has regenerated, while the 85 per cent that Bruno and his family and volunteers replanted is lusciously thriving.
The talented artist has made and staged over 200 more of his clay creations in perfect little pockets of his bewitching paradise and he is regularly adding to his collection.
The sculptures aren’t just created and placed randomly among the ferns and bubbling streams on the property.
They have been carefully thought out to fit in spaces created by nature, seamlessly blending into the landscape as though organically a part of it.
The extensive grounds warrant more than just a single walk-through.
I guarantee if you repeat even the same path you took on your first pass, you’ll spot several things you didn’t before.
To fully appreciate the experience you’ll need to look near and far, up, down, ahead and behind you.
Some sculptures can’t be missed; others quite easily can be.
Look in the trees, water, around the other structures such as gates and doors that have been worked into their surroundings.
Some sculptures will intrigue you and inspire deep thought.
Some will simply make you smile, while others might even bring you to tears.
But you won’t get by without experiencing at least a few emotions.
The vision, imagination and skill to bring something like this together has to be admired.
And in contrast to that little fairy garden in your backyard that you might not admit is fascinating, you’ll probably walk away from Bruno’s telling anyone who’ll listen about it.
Marysville is about a two-hour drive from Shepparton.
Bruno’s is on Falls Rd, close to stunning waterfalls and hiking trails.
There’s also great mountain-biking, fishing and places to eat in the area if you want to make a weekend out of it like we did.
The garden is open every day of the week, the gallery just on weekends.
Entry to both costs $15 for adults, $5 for under 16s, free for under 5s.
On weekdays, for the garden only, adults cost $10.
Senior journalist