The gardens of Bickleigh Vale are protected under the Heritage Victoria Overlay and encompass a diverse collection of gardens that vary in size, age and style. Across the various properties is a remarkable range of native and exotic plants that we hope to document on this website for the enjoyment of gardeners, horticulturists and visitors, while also creating a valuable historical record for future generations.
Created almost 100 years ago by renowned landscape designer Edna Walling, Bickleigh Vale was transformed from bushland and grazing paddocks into one of Australia's most significant planned garden communities. The original residents were largely friends and like-minded people who admired Walling's distinctive garden style and shared her philosophy of creating landscapes that harmonised with their natural surroundings.
Fortunately, Walling's books, journals and photographs provide an enduring record of her vision. However, relatively few of her original plantings remain today, apart from the magnificent specimen trees for which she had a particular affection. These mature trees continue to define the character of Bickleigh Vale and form an important link with its past.
Over the decades, changing ownership, evolving gardening tastes and changing climatic conditions have naturally altered the gardens. As custodians of this unique heritage landscape, we are now recording the significant plants and specialised collections found throughout Bickleigh Vale. This project complements the detailed documentation already undertaken for the National Trust-listed trees featured elsewhere on this website.
Created almost 100 years ago by renowned landscape designer Edna Walling, Bickleigh Vale was transformed from bushland and grazing paddocks into one of Australia's most significant planned garden communities. The original residents were largely friends and like-minded people who admired Walling's distinctive garden style and shared her philosophy of creating landscapes that harmonised with their natural surroundings.
Fortunately, Walling's books, journals and photographs provide an enduring record of her vision. However, relatively few of her original plantings remain today, apart from the magnificent specimen trees for which she had a particular affection. These mature trees continue to define the character of Bickleigh Vale and form an important link with its past.
Over the decades, changing ownership, evolving gardening tastes and changing climatic conditions have naturally altered the gardens. As custodians of this unique heritage landscape, we are now recording the significant plants and specialised collections found throughout Bickleigh Vale. This project complements the detailed documentation already undertaken for the National Trust-listed trees featured elsewhere on this website.
Malus (Crabapple) Collection
Crabapple trees (Malus) were among Edna Walling's favourite ornamental trees. She appreciated their graceful form, spectacular spring blossom, colourful autumn foliage and decorative fruit, all of which provided beauty throughout the seasons. Her own selection, Malus × purpurea 'Sonningensis', which she propagated herself, remains one of the notable historic related plantings associated with Bickleigh Vale
Today, crabapple trees continue to feature prominently throughout the gardens. Many are uncommon cultivars, while others have become increasingly difficult to obtain from modern nurseries. Together they represent one of the most diverse collections of ornamental crabapples in a private Australian garden community.
Malus Collection at Bickleigh Vale
- Malus 'Royal Raindrops' (JFS-KW5)
- Malus 'Crimson Knight' (Criknzam)
- Malus 'Showtime' (Shotizam)
- Malus yunnanensis 'Wychwood Ruby'
- Malus ioensis 'Plena' (Bechtel's Crabapple)
- Malus 'Tom Matthews' (Mattom)
- Malus tschonoskii (Pillar or Upright Crabapple)
- Malus × atrosanguinea 'Gorgeous'
- Malus 'Sugar Tyme' (Sutyzam)
- Malus 'Weeping Echtermeyer'
- Malus ioensis 'Julia's Blush'
- Malus coronaria 'Charlottae'
- Malus baccata var. macrocarpa
- Malus transitoria 'Golden Raindrops' ('Schmidtcutleaf')
- Malus baccata 'Currant'
- Malus trilobata (Lebanese Wild Apple) with distinctive maple leaf
- Malus floribunda (Japanese Crabapple)
- Malus 'Ivory Spear' (JFS-KW214MX)
- Malus 'Jack Humm'
- Malus 'John Downie'
- Malus sargentii (Sargent's Crabapple) the whitest crabapple flower
- Malus baccata var. mandshurica (Manchurian Crabapple)
- Malus baccata
- Malus spectabilis (Chinese Crabapple)
Old gnarled unknown planting attributed to Edna Walling
Weeping Malus Echtermeyer
Malus charlottae
Gums, Corymbia, Wattles and Other Native Tree Species at Bickleigh Vale.
Edna Walling’s landscape designs pioneered the integration of native Australian flora into soft, cottage-style garden settings. Her 1952 book The Australian Roadside championed preserving local species along verges and pathways—a philosophy that remains central to the character of Bickleigh Vale today.
Many Gums, Corymbia and Wattles have been lost to storm and tempest over the years, however we still have a wide range of cultivars.
The gums and other native trees at Bickleigh Vale offer a mix of structural scale, distinctive bark textures, and bird-attracting canopy cover, the list below can be currently identified in both the private gardens and roadside verges.
- Eucalyptus dunnii (Dunn's White Gum) National Trust Listed Significant Tree
- Eucalyptus pauciflora ‘Little Snowman’ (Edna Walling Snow Gum)
- Eucalyptus rubida (Candlebark Gum)
- Eucalyptus radiata (Narrow-leaved Peppermint)
- Eucalyptus torquata (Coral Gum)
- Eucalyptus melliodora (Yellow Box)
- Eucalyptus oblique (Messmate)
- Eucalyptus macrorhyncha (Stringybark)
- Eucalyptus goniocalyx (Long Leafed Box)
- Eucalyptus ovata (Swamp Gum)
- Eucalyptus cephalocarpa (Mealy Stringybark)
- Eucalyptus viminalis (Manna Gum)
- Corymbia maculata (Spotted Gum, formerly Eucalyptus maculata)
- Corymbia citriodora (Lemon Scented Gum)
- Corymbia ficifolia (unknown variety pink flowering Gum)
- Angophora crostata
Lilly Pilly
- Syzygium smithii (Lilly Pilly) assorted unknown varieties.
- Syzygium paniculatum (Backyard Bliss)
- Syzygium australe ((Hinterland Gold)
- Acmena smithii assorted unknown varieties
- Acmena smithii (Sublime)
Wattles
- Acacia implexa (Lightwood / Hickory Wattle)
- Acacia binervia (Sterling Silver Wattle)
- Acacia melanoxylon (Blackwood Wattle)
- Acacia prominens (Golden Rain Wattle )
Other
- Elaeocarpus reticulatis (Blueberry Ash)
- Hymenosporum flavum (Native Frangipani)
- Lophostemon confertus (Brush Box)
Edna Walling Snowgum
Acacia prominens (Golden Rain wattle)