A Living Legacy: The Gardens of Vale Hill House.
The five-acre garden at Vale Hill House is a rich blend of heritage and sustainable design, featuring terraced beds of over 300 fruit trees, seasonal blooms, and unique sculptures that echo the property’s gold-mining past. This thoughtfully cultivated oasis showcases the best of Victoria’s natural beauty and history.
The Grand Entrance
Welcome to Vale Hill House, where a sweeping quartz-topped driveway leads through a stunning corridor of 100 pencil pines, framed by the seasonal beauty of 2000 daffodils in spring and the vivid red of 800 Washington hawthorns each autumn. This breathtaking entrance is just the beginning of an inspiring journey through a garden that has grown alongside the historic property, representing a fusion of natural beauty, history, and thoughtful design.
Historic Blooms & Fragrant Hedges
The lowest slopes of the garden hold a marquee lawn encircled by large steel beds filled with over 160 rose bushes, creating a fragrant retreat for relaxation or celebration. This diverse array of plantings is perfectly suited to the Victorian climate, and includes everything from quince and feijoas to rare bottle trees typically found only in tropical climates. A hedge of carob bushes stands as a testament to the garden’s variety, flourishing alongside the more traditional apples, plums, and chestnuts.
Meet the Residents
Beyond the formal gardens lie five acres of paddocks, where the alpacas Dancing Queen, Filagree, Eden, and young Alfie roam freely. These friendly residents add life and charm to the Vale Hill experience, embodying the property’s spirit of balance between elegance and the quiet beauty of rural life. Together, they represent the latest chapter in Vale Hill’s rich history of stewardship, love, and dedication to both the land and its unique character.
An Edible Wonderland
Vale Hill House’s edible garden is an expansive, five-acre paradise brimming with over 300 fruit trees and vegetable beds that supply a bounty for local chefs and home-cooked meals. Terraced paths, companion plantings, and carefully designed microclimates allow cherries, almonds, peaches, and rare species to thrive. The sustainable design honors the vision of past owners, providing an abundant, fresh harvest season after season.
Art & Architecture in the Garden
Interspersed throughout the garden are sculptures and architectural elements that capture both modern and classical influences. Large piles of white quartz pay homage to the area’s gold-mining past, while a charmingly repurposed milking shed has become the "Champagne Room," complete with a domed iron roof for evening gatherings. A traditional dry-stone wall adorned with grapevines and figs is a beautiful nod to Goldfields heritage, blending history with botanical beauty.
