Garden Design at The Drip

We are developing over twenty distinct gardens spread across the 60 acres that comprise The Drip.  

These gardens range in size from the two acre parkland arboretum of The Horse Paddock to the small Cottage Garden adjoining the house.   Each garden is being developed around a different theme.  The gardens are intended to delight, to inform and to inspire in equal proportion.

These individual Gardens are linked by  Walks. 

THE GARDENS

The gardens are divided into two categories; the House Gardens and the Outlying Gardens.

The House Gardens at The Drip, Mudgee

1.  The Main Courtyard.

2.  The Old Cottage Garden,

3.  The Espaliery. 

4.  The Cut Flower Garden.

5   The West Wing (Bedroom) Garden. 

6.  The Western Terrace aka "The Games Lawn" 

7.  The Hill Garden.  Includes Top Terrace and The Camellia Grove

8.  The Eastern Terrace, includes The Wisteria Walk

9.  The Old Orchard 

M. The Moat.

W. The Water Walk.   

T.  The Rose Tunnel

The design sketch above,  made in December 1993,  defined the House Gardens and the Axes that run through these gardens.  The starting point for the design was the laying out of a series of "Axial lines" that indicate the points of the celestial compass, enabling the design of the house and the gardens to be aligned to the annual movement of the sun across the sky, charting a full solar year.  

This simple design principle, the alignment of the built environment with the perceived movement of the sun, has been the basis of many symbolic and practical structures created by the great cultures of antiquity.  From these ancient pantheistic origins came the underpinnings of our contemporary philosophy, our religious festivals, our calendars, our social structures, our legal systems, our political beliefs, our technologies, our arts and our sciences.  This design philosophy, the aesthetic of Mediterranean pantheism, is an acknowledgement of the power of the Sun, the source of all energy and all life on this planet.  These ancient cultures had a message relevant to us today. That message is that in order to thrive,  our species must align itself to the forces of nature; it is a message that is easy to forget.  As you stroll through these gardens here at The Drip perhaps you will find the time and the space to contemplate that simple and increasingly relevant proposition from the past.

On a rather more prosaic level these ancient solar orientations enable us here at The Drip to more efficiently design an effective solar power system that harnesses the energy of the sun and also to design passive solar features into the architecture placing us firmly on the path towards a sustainable energy future as we head into the twenty first century.

Pages published here on the The Drip Mudgee blog provide an overview of the main Axial Lines that define the structure of the House Gardens and of the architecture. 

The Main Solar Axis

The Main Solar Axis Looking South

The Head of the Main Solar Axis 

Notes from the Library #14

The Minor Axis through the Water Walk

The Long Axis pointing to "The Drip". 

Notes from the Library #15 

The Long Axis through The Espaliery 

The Minor Axis through The Espaliery 

The Axial Path to the Citrus Grove

The Outlying Gardens at The Drip, Mudgee

• The Horse Paddock - an Arboretum
• The Water Garden
• The Old Olive Grove
• The Citrus Grove including The Cactus Garden
• The Bush Garden including the Protea Garden and The Gully Garden
• The Eucalyptus Lawn  including the Wollemi Pine Grove and the Waratah Garden
• The Amphitheatre 
• The New Olive Grove
• The Nuttery including "The Caretaker's Residence"  This area, adjoining The Horse Paddock, is quite distinct from the rest of the property and has, since the nineteenth century, been the site of a second dwelling with its own road access, its own gardens, its own history and indeed its own unique character.  In years to come we imagine that this area, adjoining the regenerated bush zone along The Drip Lane could be returned to use as a second home, providing great flexibility in living arrangements and contributing to our overriding goal of continuing our custodial role into the future.

 

THE WALKS

The Main Gardens Walk starts from the Forecourt (the grass section of the driveway in front of the house area) then  via the entrance to the Espaliery  and The Cottage Garden then thru The Cut Flower Garden and thru the West Wing Bedroom Garden up the steps to The Western Terrace then through  the Hill Garden to the Wisteria Walk then down into the Horse Paddock. After exploring the Horse Paddock return by the old Honeysuckle Track leading back onto the Top Terrace then down Aran's Path and across  The Moat into the Main Courtyard and back to the Forecourt.

A shorter version of this walk, focusing mainly on The Horse Paddock, is to go from The Forecourt through the Old Orchard  and across The Eastern Terrace into The Horse Paddock.  After exploring the Horse Paddock come back through The Wisteria Walk to take in one of  the best views on the property then come back down past the Camellia Grove, into the Main Courtyard and back to The Forecourt.

The Waterfall Walk  starts from  the forecourt area in front of the house then over the watercourse following the mown path  below the Citrus Grove to the Camp Site next to the Gully Garden then following  the watercourse to its end at the Waterfall; returning  via the Amphitheatre crossing the watercourse below The Drip and back over the Eucalyptus Lawn to the Western Terrace; from here there are several options ... you decide. 

An alternative route back from the Waterfall follows the base of the cliff line, emerging in the Cactus Garden then down through the Citrus Grove and back to the forecourt.

Dillon’s Cave Walk  starts from the Forecourt then across the watercourse to the Old Olive Grove then follows the track marked by avenue of Callitris and old bee hive things to the Cave.  Entrance to the cave is through a low opening on the downhill side. The bushranging  history of this cave is intriguing.  Henry Lawson refers to this in Blackman's Run.

The Drip Lane Walk - starts from the Forecourt then down the Driveway to the front gate, then left and up to the end of the Lane in the Eucalyptus maculata groves then back following the marked track in the bushland habitat zone either returning to the Front Gate or continuing on the track to the New Olive Grove and Devils Rock then returning via the Water Garden and through the Cow Paddock to the Forecourt.

The Munghorn Bush Walk  starts from the Forecourt then over  the watercourse up to the Old Olive Grove, there is a track leading up to the cliff to the right of the olive grove; from here it is an easy climb to the plateau above. Once on top of the plateau basically follow the cliff line to the west then head north east until you reach the Drip Lane: then either return via The Lane or continue on into The Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve to the east.