Here I reflect on writing Thrushwood Garden Evolution and Thrushwood Garden and Collections, both published in 2024.
The Southern Highlands in NSW is well known for its beautiful gardens. Thrushwood (a 2,782m² property) is one of the most diverse and long-held family properties in Bowral. It is located on the southwestern side of Mt Gibraltar. These books document the garden after many years of house renovation and garden development. They also reflect the love of rare and unusual plants, garden design and quality landscaping of the former owners, Leonie and James Furber.
I’ve been asked many times why these books were created. They came about because, after pursuing my career in the United States for 30 years, I retired to Bowral to create a new life, which included volunteering in my new community. Joining AGHS opened my eyes to ways to continue learning, especially about what plants would thrive in the Southern Highlands. After attending a workshop on Recording Gardens – Preparing for Conservation or Restoration in July 2018, (AGHS has published a guide on recording gardens, which is available at its online shop), I started thinking about recording a significant garden in the Southern Highlands.
The opportunity to do so arose when I visited Thrushwood in January 2022 to learn about heritage camellias in the garden. The plant diversity in this garden was amazing. I asked if I could record it.
At the time I was the Chair of the AGHS-SHB and was able to recruit help from members of the AGHS-SHB Committee: Bud Townsing, So Sum and Chris O’Brien. We commenced recording the garden in late August 2022 and finished in January 2023. We photographed and identified plants in the garden. It became clear during the process that this was truly a plant collector’s garden. We drew all 15 garden beds to scale and noted the location of all plants within the beds. The first book includes hand-drawn images. These are accompanied by many photographs to provide a contrast in illustrative styles. We described which plants thrived in each of the shaded and open areas. Nearmap images of the property clearly demonstrate the geographical location of the garden and confirmed the scale of the garden beds nestled around the property.
Thrushwood was purchased by Leonie’s parents, Beth and Edward Meyers, in 1975. Their contribution to the development of the property is captured in Thrushwood Garden Evolution. Their own personal accomplishments influenced Leonie’s path to becoming an enthusiastic gardener. James has also contributed greatly to the style and creation of the garden. They also drew on various plant specialists to select appropriate plants and brought in contractors to make hardscape modifications. As a result, the property evolved from a simple weekender with an understated garden to a home with a mid-century feel and a beautiful collection of plants. Appendices record the family history.
It became apparent that the Thrushwood Garden Evolution book was inadequate to feature all the family photographs that document the 47-year history of the garden. Hence, we created a second book, Thrushwood Garden and Collections that reproduces 108 slides of the garden, these having been featured in the 2023 Berrima District Museum exhibition, Gardens and Landscapes of the Southern Highlands – Then and Now. Also included are photographs of 54 heritage and some modern camellias, 54 hydrangeas, 23 maples and 12 clematis. These represent only some of the plant collections in the garden. We also describe the sculptures that have been placed throughout the garden.
I decided to self-publish these books to ensure that the history of this impressive Bowral garden exists in the State and multiple local libraries. They are now a resource for garden history research.
Ruth Bailey has been a member of the AGHS since 2018 and Chair of the Southern Highlands Branch since 2019. She can be contacted at aghs.sh.info@gmail.com