There is always a project to be done in the garden.  We haven't tried to do everything in one go, as we think the joy of a garden is as much in the doing as it is in seeing it develop and come to life.  This page documents the changes we have made to the garden through a number of projects.
Sam's Path
The previous owners commenced Sam's Path, in memory of Sam Pant, who lived at Badgers Wood with Ray in the 1990's, however, it had not been finished.  We cleared out the cotoneastor, vinca major and cut back an old stump so that we could finish the path.  We have planted it with Japanese Maple, rhododendrons, azaleas, hellebores and salvias.
Under the Golden Elm
The golden elm is a focal point for the garden and where we entertain with our annual  Champagne & Oysters, Xmas and even my daughter's wedding.  However, it is a challenging spot that gets quite wet in winter.  We have planted a red maple and a Japanese maple that are doing well, as are the viburnums.  We have also planted hundreds of bulbs - daffodils, snow drops and bluebells.  There is a mass of hellebores to which we have added gardenias, azaleas and daphne.
Eastern Garden
Repairing the stonework
The garden on our eastern boundary was a mass of (mostly) dead rambling rose. It created a tunnel next to the pool. When a black wattle fell during our first winter, we took the opportunity to replant.  This included a yulan magnolia, red leaf Japanese maple, spirea, roses, iris, rhododendrons, camellias, azaleas and hellebores.  It looked very bare for the Open Garden in 2012, but has filled out wonderfully since.
Much of the stonework at Badgers Wood was introduced by the Wincer's in about 1980. However, as we repaired some of the steps near the kitchen we think we found what may have been the original steps down into the cottage.  Without any documentation on the history of the garden, it is hard to know what might have been designed by Edna and what is a later addition.  We have repaired the three sets of steps from the front garden down to the house, the path near the eastern garden and the steps from the pergola leading to the northern lawn.
A home for our Bees
Pond & Western Garden
Every garden has a wild area - this was ours.  It was a mass of blackberries and growth 4 meters deep that had not been touched for years.  Our bees needed an area with morning sun, afternoon shade and not too much growth in the flight path to the entrance to their home.  When we cleared the area we found the stump of a massive pine tree along with rough cut boards and slate from when the living room floor was repaired by the Pants.  All buried beneath the mess.  It is now a clear area, tucked away behind a winter jasmine and shaded by the golden elm in summer.
Front Door
We were keen to improve the main entrance to the house.  The stone path felt narrow with a box hedge border and the garden was dominated by wattles and sweet pittosporum with significant undergrowth.  When one of the wattles split, we took the opportunity to bring some light into the garden and re-plant with flowering pear, crab-apples, camellias, a magnolia stellata and rhododendrons.  It has now 'taken off' with new growth on a very old crab-apple and in 2017 a copse of amelanchiers flowered for the 1st time.
Before Mike's daughter's wedding, we decided to tame a messy area against the western fence filled with mounds of honeysuckle vine.  After clearing it, we transplanted two Japanese maple from the bee area and planted oak leaf hydrangea, azaleas, rhododendron, camelia, enkianthus and a bartlettina sordida.  We also removed the papyrus from the pond, emptied and re-tanked it.  It now has iris and water lilies.  Mike has also put in goldfish, however, they are mostly there to feed the kookaburras which now line up along the rose arbour to keep an eye on them.
​Pool
Over summer we are by the pool almost every day, if not for a swim, then at least with a campari & soda.  It is one of our favourite areas and is beautiful in spring when the wisteria along the fence comes out, at the same time as the banksia rose and african violets.  We have replaced the succulent & pebble border with Westmorland Thyme and made a rose garden with standards, climbing and rosa rugosa.  We have also planted a chinese pistachio, rhododendron and camellias.  In early spring we are visited by the ducks and, if we are lucky, their ducklings so they can learn to paddle in the pool