It may be the middle of spring but in the Dandenong Ranges it's 7 degrees and looking like snow. Incredible! The rain has been constant for about 36hours at this stage so you could say it's a bit damp around here at the moment.
Even with this as the current weather report we drove up the hill to one of the most beautiful places in the world - Cloudehill Garden in Olinda.
The only snow on the ground today was a coating of magnolia petals. It looked magical.Cloudehill began in the 20's as a 'flower farm' and sold into the Melbourne city markets. Today it is an extraordinary space consisting of 24 'rooms' connected by winding paths, stairs to climb and a mixture of hedging styles.
The formal use of stone walls and structured areas is punctuated by the use of modern sculpture, mosaic pieces done by local artists and "windows" left to take in a hint of another secret space to look at. There is a green theatre here and many areas you can imagine all sorts of things for yourself but you can find Jazz bands here and the space littered with picnic rugs in summer apparently.
My 4 year son is off to find treasures. 
Shakespeare is always in the park .... It's gardens like this where the love of the creators has an exceptionally good result. As an adult you feel you are transported miles away from your everyday life. It's definitely restorative. The beauty is actually filling your lungs the air is so clean and mountain sweet. With so much to take in you simply must sit down. Luckily they are kind enough to have quite a few 'rest' spots to simply take it in.
The rain didn't dampen our spirits ... just made it more of an adventure!
The Cloudehill Nursery & Gardens also has a wonderful cafe / restaurant on site. We had lunch there today and I already want to go back for the Braised porkbelly with cabbage, potatoes and stewed apple next week.
The cafe is called 'Seasons @ Cloudhilll' and they are blessed with an enormous vegetable garden that is lovingly tendered to by the amazing nursery staff. They use it well. My dish had perfectly cooked pork but this was complemented by a really substantial amount of home grown vegetable. This is something I miss in a lot of modern cooking where meat is king.If you simply wanted a coffee or pot of tea it can be accompanied by a sweet thing. The cakes are generous, home made and it's worth a visit for them alone.
This is a place you can just keep coming back to. If you need a bit of escape, you want some 'time', you need to buy a plant or you want a meal and a glass of wine.
Those gardeners are my new hero's and Jeremy Francis, who is credited with much of what goes on here in this green space, is amazing. We bought a copy of his 'just released' book - the little version for $10 - for our son to look through and for us to keep for him. The hardcover is to be coveted and should be part of any collection dedicated to gardens, design or specifically a combination of both. The love and respect, maybe obsession, he holds for his craft is unmissable.
I can't imagine it would be possible to ever get tired of watching the seasons do their dance here. The selection of plants, both new and old (some trees are 60 or more years old) provides natures drama and conversation in colour. We will be certainly popping back regularly looking for ideas for our new garden space - or maybe simply to sit and relax.
Cloudehill Nursery & Gardens
89 Olinda-Monbulk Rd, Olind 3788
www.cloudehill.com.au
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