Colour therapy

Ann-Maree Winter's joyful Australian garden became a place of solace and nurture in hard times

- GEORGINA REID

Ann-Maree Winter knows better than most the transformative power of gardening. Her garden on the Mornington Peninsula in southern Australia is a place of solace, joy and plenty of colour. She and her husband Paul bought the property in 2015, moving from a 450 square metre suburban plot with sandy soil to seven windswept acres of rich volcanic soil. “I can stick my finger in the ground here, and it should grow,” she says, with a chuckle.

When the couple first arrived, the garden was sparsely planted with native plants strangled by weed mat, gum trees planted along fence lines and not much else. Now, around one and a half of the seven acres are gardened. Entering the property from the front gates, visitors are greeted by lawn with a sculptural cluster of three eucalyptus trees, followed by the productive and picking garden.

As the drive sweeps around the house, the jewel of the garden is revealed – Ann-Maree’s high-octane perennial garden. Further below this is a new ‘subdued’ garden area, which is being planted with native and endemic species, creating a strong connection with surrounding grassland and distant views.