Ripponlea - a sylvan glade in the heart of a city

In 2010, I visited Monet's Garden in Giverny. I mention this because o the bridge: similar, but quite different. There are soe lillies on the Ripponlea pond, but way more in Giverny. Giverny is a tumble of flowers, a concatenation of plantings. Ripponlea is a cultivated, and dare I say, restrained oasis.

The garden tries to be sustainable. It is fed by the lake, which is fed by the waterfall, the water from which is harvested from as far-a-field as Caulfield Racecourse. Stormwater was pumped from the surrounding suburbs into the lake and then, throughout the garden by the windmill. Over the years this reticulation system has degraded, and the National Trust is endeavouring to re-instate a version of the original system.

In reality, this garden is a little bit of England, down-under. No wonder a unique method of watering had to be devised.

Ripponlea - landed gentry, of course

We toured Ripponlea Estate for two and a half hours, and did not even enter the mansion. Hence, our visit was free. We left when the property closed at 4:30pm, but will keep it on our agenda for my next visit to Melbourne. I expect the house to be as equally engrossing as the gardens.

As I mentioned yesterday, the house was designed and built in 1868, and handed over to the National Trust in 1972.

The first owner was Sir Frederick Sargood, who made his money as a merchant during and after the mid-century gold rush. Subsequently, he became a politician and a philanthropist. He died in 1903.

According to Wiki, the style of the house has been described as "polychromatic romanesque" and the architect, Joseph Reed, was said to have been inspired by the architecture of the Lombardy region of northern Italy. To say the least, it is gaudy.

In the grounds, there are bountiful other structures, like carriage sheds, barns, a windmill, an archery hut, and a gatehouse. The building below is at the rear of the barn. The next post will tour the extensive grounds and explain the collection of stormwater to feed the waterfall and the lake. Monet, eat yer heart out.