With COVID-19 restrictions easing, and a glorious sunny Spring Day in the offing, temptation to get ‘Out and About’ again was too great to ignore. We jumped in the car, plugged Yakatoon Gardens Coomboona in the GPS and headed off to explore….

Located a short drive from Mooroopna, Yackatoon Gardens is bustling with activity when we enter the car park from the driveway, and I pull into one of the last parks remaining. We apply sunscreen, grab our hats and the still mandatory face masks, lock the car and walk past climbing roses that cleverly hide several water tanks.

As is the norm during 2020, we register our contact details, confirm that we are not experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms nor have recently travelled to a ‘hotspot’ before paying our admission fess – a very reasonable $10 each.

We are provided with a map and the garden is explained to us. Originally the property was an old dairy farm, with the dairy having been restored and transformed into the Old Dairy Tea Rooms & Cafe – where we will finish our afternoon with Devonshire Tea.

The gardens comprise of 16 acres that has been planted in a traditional English style around a free form lake. The gardens consist of vast manicured lawns, large trimmed hedges and masses of roses in full Spring bloom. Nestled in the garden is a homestead dating from the early 1900’s that has been restored and is surrounded by manicured lawns. Dotted throughout the gardens are several statues and a pair of white marble fountains.

We follow the path behind the house and walk along the embankment that separates the property from the Eucalyptus Forest, that borders Thompson’s Bend on the Goulburn River. We enjoy the magnificent views across the lake back to the homestead and gardens. Circling back through the bio-dynamic vegetable fruit and herb gardens, we arrive back at the tea rooms. We settle in at an outside table, order our Devonshire Tea and look back across the lake towards the forest. We chat about plants and garden design, and wonder if we can incorporate anything we have seen at our place.

We jump in the car and head for home, it sure has been good to be ‘Out and About’ again.

Information

Address: 697 Trotter Road, Coomboona VIC

Website:

http://www.yackatoongardens.com

Opening Hours

The Gardens are open to the public on weekends during Spring. For 2020 the gardens are open every Sunday from 4th October – 6th December 2020 from 10am – 4pm.

Please refer to the website for further details.