One of the open gardens in the upcoming Illawarra Edible Garden Trail surrounds the historic home of Rathane in Austinmer. Former Sydneysider Sarah Renwick bought Rathane about four years ago and is gradually transforming the half-acre property.
Rathane is on the site of one of the first land grants in the district. The original timber cottage, Sidmouth, was constructed by Robert Marsh Westmacott in 1837. The property was gradually subdivided and Rathane was built to the Arts and Crafts style of architecture by local master carpenter Don Lett in 1923 for Captain Charles McKenzie Young.
Sarah worked with a landscape designer to draw up plans, taking about six months to come up with the final version. She enlisted local landscapers Ranger Landscapes and Plantlandia to work with her to create the vision. The garden design mirrors the style of the house with “rooms”, each displaying different colours, heights and textures. Materials such as steel and railway sleepers have been used for the garden beds in homage to the Illawarra’s industrial heritage.
Zoe Bell from Plantlandia explained what the property looked like when she began work on the site about three years ago.
“It looked completely different," Zoe said. "It had an extensive overgrown lawn and a pool in the back.”
Sarah continued, “We had a full arborist’s report and heritage advice. We pruned and took out a lot of trees, with council permission.
"A lot of things had grown up from seed that were not deliberately planted, such as large camphor laurels and a jacaranda, which was compromising a beautiful flame tree. We took out weeds, dead or nearly dead trees. Other trees were pruned to maximise healthy growth of other shrubs and trees.”
The “borrowed view” of Sublime Point provides a majestic backdrop.
The garden has several fruit trees, including citrus, as well as herbs, vegetables and salad greens. Indigenous plants such as quandong, Davidson plum, wild quince, cinnamon myrtle and native tamarind are scattered throughout the garden. Sarah explained that the property has a depth of at least 500mm of Bulli black soil, a fertile volcanic mix (also said to be the base of the Sydney Cricket Ground pitch).
Sarah told me about their motivation for opening their garden for the Edible Garden Trail.
“A lot of people worked on this garden, and we are all really proud of it," she said. "It has also been a house that has periodically been engaged with the community around it. The local scout hall is just down the road and they used to have the scout fair here as well as church garden parties. We think it is a really nice way for the house to stay connected to the community.
“It is a haven in a hostile world.”
Read more about November's Illawarra Edible Garden Trail in our Spring Calls cover feature