Home Grown: A look inside the garden of Marion Collins

Marion Collins grew up on a dairy farm in Central Queensland surrounded by keen gardeners.

It was that lifestyle that sparked the now 65-year-old’s love of cooking, entertaining friends and family, and gardening.

The mother of four, grandmother of three, said after the death of her husband John almost three years ago, gardening had been her salvation. She can now often be often found working in her garden, accompanied by her little dog Bonnie.

Join us on a walk through Marion’s garden.

What sparked your interest in gardening?

My father and paternal grandmother were both good gardeners, especially at growing vegetables. My father was one of 15 and they were all gardeners and my aunts especially liked shrubs and flowers. We lived out west for 11 years and it was definitely harder due to water shortage but I still managed to have a garden.

Tell us about your garden.

I have an average size garden on the side of  the Athelstane Range in Rockhampton. We removed the old house to rebuild our retirement home and were left with a blank canvas.  The only tree we retained was a very old frangipani tree. We only moved in December 2012 so it’s a very young garden. I used old iron bed ends to create “rails” down small stairways, arches to create “rooms” within the garden, and my husband had made garden gates using his grandfather’s and father’s old tools. I mostly grow roses out the front of the house and shrubs in the back yard.  In autumn, I plant annuals to create spring colour.

Why do you love gardening?

Since my husband died three years ago, gardening has been my salvation. I love to watch the bees from my native beehive going from flower to flower, the birds having a bath daily in the birdbath and I love photographing the flowers each week and sharing with friends on social media. Summer is more about just keeping plants alive and weeds down but once the heat goes I’m very busy! There is nothing more therapeutic than hand-watering in the late afternoon.

Do you specialise in a certain type of plant or garden style? 

I love roses and mine all have a perfume.  They grow very well along the retaining wall in the front garden.  My back garden is not too formal, with only a small area of lawn on the top side of the retaining wall.  I try to make little areas of interest with an arch, a statue, or just an unusual plant.

What is your preferred season?

I love winter, it allows me to garden for hours at any time of the day! The annuals go in, the roses have been pruned and full of new growth and I feel the garden is “alive” with colour.

Do you use fancy tools or old-school basics?

I use potash, fertiliser from my garden hose as I feel it is more evenly distributed, and mulch with sugar cane twice a year. My mower, whippersnipper, hedger and blower all work from batteries, no more pulling a stubborn mower for me! I use basic, old fashioned tools but have discovered a new one called a Pelican Pick, great for those deep-seated, stubborn weeds! I love using ornaments, sometimes just some old farm machinery recycled!

How much time do you spend in your garden each week?

Summer is all about sprinklers, mowing and weeding so perhaps only about 10 hours a week, either very early morning or late afternoon.  Autumn, winter and spring I would spend up to 20 hours a week in the garden and any time of the day in winter.

Do you have any tips for new gardeners?

I love salvias, they come in many colours, grow and flower well but love a good prune, and creepers over arches but care is needed to keep them under control. My advice is to walk around your area and see what is doing well, be prepared for some plants to die and those that do well, multi-plant.  Talk to your local nurseryman and check out the markets.  If the plant has roots coming out the bottom, it has been in the pot too long so take care of purchasing these plants.

Is your garden for entertaining friends and family, to open up to the public or for your own quiet enjoyment?

I enjoy sharing my garden and plants.  This year I will hold my fifth annual high tea for Our Rainbow House in early September, which supports a school my friend started in Africa. My garden was included in our Inner Wheel Club inaugural Capricorn Christmas Trail in 2015 and for the past three years I have entered our local garden competition, receiving a prize each year. I love sharing cuttings from plants with friends and sometimes people driving past the house will stop when they see me in the garden to ask me about my plants.

If money was no object, what would your dream garden look like?

I have been lucky to visit a couple of the world’s great gardens, Butchart Gardens in Canada and Monet’s Garden in France. I come home so inspired but am realistic enough to know I would need acreage to achieve a grand garden.  My dream garden would have a lake with a bridge over it and a couple of gardeners to help me. I would love pergolas, statues, a trompe-l’oeil at the end of a garden path, huge urns of plants … All very expensive additions to a garden.

Would you like your garden featured on Starts At 60? Email [email protected] with your details and we will be in contact.