“HE’S the perspiration, I’m the inspiration.”
Julie Marshall summed up how her and husband Allan roll in their impressive Mildura garden, then kept rolling out classic one-liners – well, almost.
When asked what she’s most proud of in her garden, set on a one-acre block on Eleventh Street she nearly, unwittingly, nailed a line from Darryl Kerrigan in The Castle: “The serenity … it’s all about the serenity.”
Mrs Marshall is certainly not dreamin’ in boasting about the wonderful features in her garden.
“We’ve had the place here for four-and-a-half years and I’d like to think it could now lend itself to being a good place to take wedding photos,” she said.
“One of the features here is the 100 or so roses. I especially love the David Austin roses and their perfume. They have been blooming beautifully. It just makes the whole garden look magic.”
She said the couple had “hammered” the garden with water and fertiliser since 2015 to help make it the wonderland it is today.
“And that’s another reason why we want it to be a wedding venue: it’d help pay the huge water bills,” Mrs Marshall said, laughing.
“We’ve added a lot of features to the garden, including a ceramic water feature (“Diana the water carrier”), and we’ve got about 12 fruit trees, a vegie garden along the fence and chooks, among plenty of different plants.”
She said she came from a family of green thumbs.
“This has continued on with my husband and I,” Mrs Marshall said. “We just love being out in the garden.
“It is at its best at this time of year. All the work in pruning and preparing the garden during the winter pays off now. We can just sit back and enjoy it.”
Today’s prune is summer’s bloom, she says.
As for her biggest tip to fellow home gardeners, Mrs Marshall said: “If you see a weed, pull it out.
“Also, remember to water and fertilise your garden regularly. You’ll be rewarded for your efforts.”
* Do you have a garden – or do you know someone who does – that is worthy of being featured in Sunraysia Daily? Email mtaylor@sunraysiadaily.com.au or call 5021 7137.
