Nature Lover
The Age
Wednesday July 10, 2002
Property review: 8-10 Minter Court, Park Orchards, $1.5 million plus
Surrounded by a wildlife reserve, this unique bushland property blends in with the landscape
It is always a pleasure to visit a property where the owners have taken the trouble to integrate the style of their garden into the surrounding countryside rather than work against it.
Set in a wildlife reserve of about 40 hectares, the house and garden at 8-10 Minter Place are constructed on an envelope of about one hectare set into the top corner of a teardrop-shaped block.
This is the only area that can be built on, as the surrounding land must remain a reserve.
Although only four years old, this garden has the feeling of one that has been there much longer.
Designed primarily by the owners in conjunction with Southern Earth Landscapes, the garden blends in with the surrounding bush to the extent that in many cases it is hard to tell where one stops and the other starts.
Even from the entrance down a pebbled concrete driveway with its bands of river pebbles designed to resemble a creek bed, it is clear that this is not your run-of-the-mill garden.
Along the bank leading back up the hill, clumps of native grasses, interspersed with smaller shrubs and ground covers, fill the gaps between exposed rock.
Completing the effect is an edging of larger river pebbles leading to a small natural pond opposite the front door.
In the shade of the overhanging eves, massed cycads the whole length of the boomerang-shaped house provide an impressive effect against the simplicity of the rest of the garden.
Paths laid in local gravel lead around both sides of the front garden to opposite sides of the house.
At the rear, wide verandas overlook this section of the garden, which includes an award-winning, naturally shaped swimming pool, a gazebo-shaped pool house and, closer to the house, a matching spa gazebo and undercover spa.
Twin dams similarly shaped to the swimming pool provide a haven for wild ducks and other local birdlife, with similar planting to the driveway continuing with grass trees, Lomandra longifolia, Hardenbergia violacea, Alyogene huegelii, carex, brachycombe and calistemons.
Another feature of this part of the property are the two fern gullies built into indentations in the house.
Protected from the summer sun by a series of sails, this area, with its towering treeferns and interesting lower planting, promises to be a fabulous foil to the dryer outer areas once it is fully established.
With 72 squares of space and four bedrooms, this is a magnificent house packaged with a wonderful garden.
Add to that the pure joy of early-morning bird calls, and visits from wombats, wallabies and koalas, plus the beautiful views across the surrounding bush.
SPECS
8-10 Minter Court, Park Orchards
Auction July 28 at 2.30pm
Agent Hocking Stuart
Telephone 9818 3988
Agent's quote $1.5 million plus
© 2002 The Age