Someone once told me that if you chose to grow something commercially, to make very sure that you were passionate about what was growing! Well, I love roses and I have continued to be passionate about them throughout my gardening life. We are on our way to being Victoria's largest grower of garden roses, with several paddocks here at Highbank already planted with roses from David Austin, Delbard, Guillot and many varieties whose obscure origins are several centuries old.
They are all fragrant; some deliciously strong, others naturally subtle. I believe roses have to smell beautiful, and that you naturally bury your nose in a rose bouquet solely for the pleasure of that magnificent fragrance.
These roses are chemical free, and no preservative is used once the flower is cut. There are no residual sprays or pesticides on our flowers, and if you select one of our signature rose and herb bunches (see rose and herb bouquets tab) you will find the herbs totally free of chemicals, too.
We actively encourage natural predators – Lady Beetles are a real joy to see had at work demolishing aphid colonies, and we are planting companion plants around the roses to prevent other pests. Any fungus problems are combated with a mild bi-carb soda spray. Our fertilizers are natural and organic. It's all very natural!
The rose gardens here at Highbank are an on-going project – and we are always looking for new, or newly-discovered 'old' roses to add to our collections. Winter sees all the maintenance, mulching and pruning – not the most pleasant conditions to be out in the open, but it must be done. Summer is beautiful and it's when all the picking is done – the gardens are a riot of colour and the air heavy with fragrance. Spring and Autumn are the 'still' times, where the buds show promise, or the flowers take on amazing colours with the first chill.
The gardens are open to visitors during the flowering season from October to May. If you wish to visit us here at Highbank, please email me at tonia@toniatodman.com and we can make arrangements.