IN RODGER’S and Hammerstein’s 1958 musical, South Pacific, Bali Hai was an exotic paradise troops longed to visit.
A little closer to home – north east of Deniliquin to be exact – another, all be it a smaller paradise, is located at the aptly-named property, “Bali Hai”, Conargo, which has drawn it’s fair share of welcomed visitors through the years.
It is here Jane Armytage began work on her own little piece of paradise along with husband, Robert, when they built their home 40 years ago.
Jane Armitage
The “Bali Hai” garden is located along the bank of Billabong Creek and was among the first six to open in NSW as part of Australia’s Open Garden Scheme (later Open Gardens Australia) in 1991.
When Open Gardens formally “shut the gate” in NSW last month (this month Queensland and Victoria) “Bali Hai” was the only one of those first six – all located in the Deniliquin area – to still be in the hands of it’s original owner.
The 2000-hectare “Bali Hai” produces a mix of winter and summer crops and beef and lamb, and was originally part of the larger neighbouring property, “Hartwood”.
Robert’s parents, Donald and Joan, bought the property in the early 1950s, and named it after the exotic paradise in their favourite musical – perhaps pre-empting the garden paradise to come.
“Robert selected the homestead site on a bend of Billabong Creek which has always formed the eastern boundary of the garden,” Jane said.
“The house sits on a sandy rise in the property, so I started with a sand hill covered in boxthorns.”
Thankfully, Jane inherited a “green thumb” and love of gardening from her mother, Margaret Bird, who she describes as “a gardener of note”.
Margaret’s extensive cold-climate garden at “Avondale”, Shelley, between Tallangatta and Corryong in Victoria where Jane grew up, has in later years been turned into a public garden.
“My mother favoured the English style of garden, and always had a garden,” Jane said.
“I love vistas in the garden, but wouldn’t describe my garden as formal.
“The creek border has influenced the garden design and how it lies – it runs with the creek – but plant selection was made based on anything which was tough, takes a lot of heat and likes sandy soil.”
Margaret’s garden at “Avondale” was also the source of many of Jane’s original plants which came as cuttings and seedlings.
“It’s fun to have bits from the gardens of friends and family – they’re little mementos,” Jane said.
When Jane and Robert started out at “Bali Hai” they had three young children, so Jane’s early focus was on stabilising the site with lawn – cathead free to provide a play area for the children – and establishing shade trees for summer.
Her ornamental tree plantings included jacaranda, flame trees, Chinese elms, and a large tulip tree which now dwarfs the house, while there were also a lot of natural Murray pines growing on the site which were left in place.
“I do like pines so I’ve added quite a few to garden, including Himalayan cedar (cedrus deodara) seedlings from my mother’s garden which I’d collected,” Jane said.
“I also selected some specific pines, including a deciduous swamp cypress (taxodium distichum) which is native to the southern swamp areas of the United States.
“This tree is right out of it’s natural habitat but it’s grown and is now one of my favourites – I planted two of them close to the creek and they’re probably 25 years old now and both still going strong.”
Jane’s garden “grew like a mushroom”.
“There wasn’t a lot of planning, rather the garden grew out from the house, which is the wrong way to do it but it worked,” she said.
“I enjoyed the challenge – I had three children and it was easier to have them outside with their toys where I could watch them as I worked in the garden.”
The first “garden” to be planted at “Bali Hai” was a practical vegie patch on the western side of the house, with citrus, apples and pears which remains in use today.
Jane’s next focus was to develop a flower garden to the north of the house to satisfy her love of colour and perfume.
“My flower choice was made based on what could be arranged and colourful, which resulted in a lot of perennials and annuals, such as poppies, larkspurs, and delphiniums – some of my favourites,” Jane said.
“These days it’s really just perennials and bulbs – lots of alstroemeria, lots of shrubs, winter sweet (chimonanthus praecox), buddleia, lilac, gardenia tree, spireas, virburnum davidii, and Japonica.”
Roses were also among the early flower selection and remain so today.
Jane became involved with Open Gardens through then garden selector and later national chief executive officer, Neil Robertson, “Westport”, Gisborne at the foot of Mt Macedon, Vic, whose mother, Laurie, knew Jane’s mother Margaret.
The decision was made to extend into NSW so Neil came for a visit to see if I knew anybody with suitable gardens who might participate,” Jane said.
“We spent two or three days driving across the district looking at gardens, from which Neil selected a group of six, and ‘Bali Hai’ was a among them.
“The gardens had to meet a set of criteria to provide enough interest in terms of how they were maintained to attract people to them.”
The six Deniliquin district gardens opened across the weekend of October 19 and 20, 1991, and Jane opened her garden again in 1992 and 1994, attracting a range of visitors from across mostly southern NSW and northern Victoria.
“We had a lot of visitors for that first open day – it had been a great challenge and involved nine months work leading into the opening to ensure things were flowering on the day,” Jane said.
“I can’t remember how many people came through but I do remember I was quite nervous at the time, although I had opened the garden privately before this.
“I do remember those who came were generous, lovely people who were excepting and helpful – I met so many people who shared plants and interests and made some great friends.”
In the years following her time with Open Gardens, Jane started opening her garden privately, established an on-farm nursery using plants from her garden, and had a small shop selling produce from the garden, such as jams and dried flowers.
The Royal Botanical Gardens in Melbourne, was among her regular clients buying all her dried flower arrangements to sell in The Gardens Shop.
“These were made from flowers I grew in specific cut flower beds and featured zinnias, honesty, lavender, roses, and achillea,” Jane said.
“I also supplied flowers to a florist in Deniliquin for some time.”
Jane ran these businesses for about 10 years, but then took up golf.
“My garden’s become more of a golfer’s garden these days – a lot more relaxed – but I still love to garden and love flowers, however, these days I enjoy sharing the garden with my grandchildren who love to play in it.
“I’m trying to educate them in the love of growing things and growing what we eat – to appreciate a garden and what it can produce.
“So far they love digging for potatoes.”