Sunday, March 8, 2015

Ambling to Lambley

I hope I do justice here to the finest and most beautifully laid-out plantsman's nursery I've ever been to.
Hidden in a quiet, elegant, olde world stretch of farmland near to Ballarat, at Ascot, Lambley's Nursery speaks of history, longevity and ingenuity. 
I can't believe what David Glenn has achieved. With a view to providing plants that cope with dry conditions, he avoids commonly seen succulents. Everything here blooms abundantly. There are bees everywhere. 
Here you can see a part of Lambley's Nursery's Dry Climate Garden. It could be anywhere on the Mediterranean. What we noticed made it most effective, what helped it all work, was its confinement within walls of green hedging.
 As usual, I kind of liked the edges of the garden, as seen here, this water tank. It was such a beautiful day, the end of summer, the start of autumn.
David Glenn has a superb sense of colour. There are purples, reds and yellows everywhere. His gardens, the spaces he contrives within his gardens, are flamboyant. But they're disciplined. There are vegetables beside perennials, fruit beside groundcovers. I didn't know how much it's all functional and how much it's all decorative - a good sign of an original maker. 
This isn't a chain-store. It couldn't be repeated regardless of territory. Everything here belongs and shows how we can belong to the land we have by caring for it appropriately. And making more of it than may be expected.
This is a detailed garden, or a cluster of detailed gardens. Everything has a purpose. You feel that everything is well-chosen.
As it is in Clunes, one of the most beautiful towns in Victoria, where we found our way to, after getting somewhat lost down single-lane roads.
Does 'intact' mean anything any more? I hope so. As Australia's most famous 'book town', Clunes demonstrates how meaningful the past is, and how necessary it is to keep and cultivate the past, not just any fashionable notions of the future.
I can't help taking you back to Lambley's for a moment, where the past and the future commingle with great elegance. 'Is gardening dead?', some people ask. Not here. Not if we don't want it to be dead. Gardening will be alive as long as we have hands. It will continue to define us as human.
I don't always believe in the newest trends. More to the point, I find most of the newest trends unreal. From Lambley's bursting gorgeousness to the streetscape of Clunes, I prefer a certain durability, a certain confidence in what's been and what can be, to what should be according to unreliable notions of marketability. But what is most peculiar, is that the most interesting newness comes out of the past.




18 comments:

  1. I am glad toe hear and see Faisal, that you've found a true oasis in a country that is known for its dry heat.
    Is it not, that real happiness finds us in those special moments when past and future melt together in a pure present? Purples are my favorite, anyway.

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    1. There's something in that, Hannah, in past and future melting...we can't really live in the past any more than we can live in the future, but there's this experience we have, we humans where different times merge. I was moved to see how well-maintained Lambley is. I was moved to see such care and craftsmanship result in such a confident assertion of life. There's so much more gardening I want to do!

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  2. What a lovely place, Faisal and I agree that David Glenn has made a beautiful garden. But do people really ask whether gardening is dead? It isn't something I've ever wondered. Dave

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    1. David, I'm glad you've said that - I've been thinking about it on and off all day. You see, in my last garden I had far too much to do with too few resources, and I had got tired of it, tired of the work required. Now here, I have a tiny space. The reality is that it's for me that gardening 'died', and that going to Lambley rekindled it. When I open my eyes, I see that in fact gardening is as alive and relevant as ever. So thanks, my friend.

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    2. yes, the tiny space is enticing and can be enjoyed instead of being a burden. Can't wait to get started here. My potted bulbs are exploding into bloom while we wait.

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    3. Good luck, Diana! Life isn't entirely predictable - we can end up in places we hadn't imagined. And find ourselves making a garden nonetheless. I look forward to reading more about your new adventures.

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  3. Lambley and Clunes! What an inspired combination! Your photos of Lambley, a garden completely new to me, are wonderful, made me want to be there. Hopefully, I will make it someday. I haven't been to Clunes, either, though I've read about it, another place to see. Your words were perfect and by the end nearly made me cry... Thank you, Faisal.

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    1. You're always most gracious, Carol! I get teary myself at times, and feel it's quite a good sign I can feel. Yes, you've got to get down this way one day, to Ballarat and all the little towns nearby. It can be very gracious out here, and the people are friendly. And, as I've learnt, gardening, gardens and the well-being of the world around us matter as keenly to most people as they ever did.

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  4. Lovely post, I had not heard of Lambley before.. :-)

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    1. I know you get out and about a bit, Matthew, so why don't you come along to the Clunes Book Fair on 2nd and 3rd of May ( I'm hoping to get there too ) and drop by Lambley as well? Cheers.

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  5. Darling Faisal,

    Lambley's is definitely a place of delight!

    It is amazing that a nursery should be laid out so beautifully with such careful attention to detail. A perfect advertisement for all the plants on offer and a great way to select the plants for one's own garden. It is clearly more than just a business and is a place of delight for visitors.

    As you say, it is when one gets the combination of old and new that something exciting develops. It is as if each gives a different kind of energy with the result that something even more wonderful than the parts is created.

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    1. My very dear Jane and Lance,

      I was thinking that Lambley really stands well anywhere...but it was a delight to find it so near!

      The garden is distinct from the nursery, and it's that that made the visit so memorable. Anyone is free to wander and can do so as just part of a jaunt.

      Me? I've always loved the old. But I like it best when the old, or the message within the old suggests newness. It's a place I' eel you yourselves would enjoy. Little wrens hop among the plants. Anyone who's come so far to visit has come so intentionally, not just to kill time. What I liked so much is seeing a high level of professionalism attracting significant attention in an otherwise quiet corner of the world.

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  6. I've bought a few plants from lambleys and always wanted to visit. This post is the nearest I've got to seeing, looks superb. I wonder whether newness is always rooted in the past, consciously or not.

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    1. You might be right, Sue, that newness is not always rooted in the past. I guess I just wanted to salute a sense of age or continuity, or of belief. It's not so far to get to Lambley's from Melbourne, so I hope you get up here soon. Bring a picnic basket. The whole is much better than a catalogue!

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  7. One of my favourite mail-order nurseries! It's great to see a tour around this lovely garden. They are truly plants-men and women and their garden looks superb. Thanks for posting, Matt

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    1. Hi Matt! Yes, the standard at Lambley is inspirationally high. The unexpectedly marvellous garden exemplifies all the nursery aims to do, well off the beaten track as it is. I hope you get to visit it some day. Cheers.

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  8. Places like Lambley's cause me to go another day in my field, and never to rule out doing a nursery rightly...possibly some day! There are simply not enough of them. Thanks for the tour.

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    1. I'd love to take anyone to Lambley's, David, simply to show how well something can be done in this age of mass-consumption and imitation.
      Like most of us gardeners, you will keep going indefinitely! And so, with the right intention, given that you already seem to me to be successful and cluey, I'd say you were already in a good place for all your originality to shine.

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