1. 30 Your Garden Your Garden 31
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Art takes the form of topiary,
exquisite ornamental gardens
and a variety of exotics in this
Queensland paradise
WORDS LISA DOUST PHOTOS CLAIRE TAKACS
beauty
Bellthorpe
Gardens Sounds of nature
Fertile ground – lush and
colourful, the spectacular
garden has been lovingly
created over the past 30 years.

2. 32 Your Garden Your Garden 33
Gardens Sounds of nature
S
et over 16 hectares in Bellthorpe,
a locality of Queensland’s
Moreton Bay region, Elaine
Armstrong’s expansive garden has
a magical quality that allows you to
imagine fairies and miniature trolls
coming out to play after dark.
“The block is bordered on two sides by
Bellthorpe National Park, and the house
and garden are built on a ridge that slopes
down from a mountain, with deep rainforest
gullies on each side,” says Elaine. “When
I moved here 30 years ago, a creek flat and
the ridge within the forest had recently
dried out and there were trees piled up.”
A commercial artist by profession,
Elaine decided she would build her dream
house alongside the nearby waterfall
and create a lush garden on the site.
“I made a commitment to spend the
rest of my life building this garden,”
she explains. “After all this time, I’ve
become a master gardener.”
Rather than mapping out a garden
design on paper, Elaine says she
simply started planting and allowed
the property’s finer features to slowly
reveal themselves.
“Along the way there has been much
changing and replanting so that one can
stand anywhere and be surrounded by
a visual circle of intricate and balanced
design,” she says. “That design has kept
stretching into the distance.”
Outside the box
Impressively, Elaine estimates she
has put around 15,000 plants into the
dark and sandy loam on her property,
ranging from the tiniest wildflowers
through to rainforest species and the
region’s stunning native Moreton Bay
figs (Ficus macrophylla).
“My emphasis has been on the
birds, butterflies and bees,” says Elaine,
who grew up on a Queensland cattle
property and was enthralled every time
wildflowers emerged after the rain. “It’s
wonderful to sit and listen to nothing
other than the sounds of nature.”
Inspired by her passion for beauty
and colour, Elaine created an exquisite
ornamental garden at the front of the
house, with a clearing of lawn drawing
your eye to the nearby dam. “I planted
orchids in the cleared spaces next to
the dam and, based on what looks
right, I’ve planted a diversity of exotics
directly around the house,” says Elaine.
Amaryllis (Hippeastrum)
Moreton Bay fig (Ficus macrophylla)A talented artist,
Elaine’s sculptures appear
throughout the garden,
adding fabulous focal points.
Trees and bushes of
all shapes and sizes
give the garden an
enchanted feel.
Elaine’s bright and beautiful
home has been painted to blend
in perfectly with the garden.
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3. 34 Your Garden Your Garden 35
Gardens Sounds of nature
“There are magnolias, wisteria, irises,
several roses, lilies, conifers, box
hedges and lots of topiary.”
Elaine’s natural talent for topiary really
does make her garden appear enchanted.
Rather than opting for the classic and
well-defined topiary shapes popular in
English and Italian gardens, Elaine has
clipped English box (Buxus sempervirens)
into loosely structured cones and
mushrooms. It’s a clear demonstration
of her gentle nature, artistry and patience.
“Topiary isn’t difficult – it just takes
time and plenty of mulch, fertiliser and
water,” says Elaine, who relied on her
intuition and deft hand to learn this
ancient art. “I also recommend using
a quality pair of clippers.”
Elaine has created equally beautiful
spaces on either side of her house.
On one side, a circular flower garden
is hedged with English box and
shaded by a magnolia tree, while the
other side features two large vegetable
gardens. A veritable cornucopia, these
According to Elaine, the best way
to approach topiary is to allow
the plant to choose its own shape
and keep the following in mind:
l Several tough, evergreen
species are suitable for topiary.
As well as English box (Buxus
sempervirens), try Dutch box
(Buxus sempervirens
‘Suffruticosa’), Japanese box
(Buxus microphylla ‘Japonica’),
box honeysuckle (Lonicera
nitida), Juniperus chinensis
‘Keteleeri’, Juniperus chinensis
‘Spartan’, yew (Taxus baccata),
Camellia sasanqua, lilly pilly and
Chilean myrtle (Luma apiculata).
l When shaping your topiary, make
sure the plant is sitting centrally
over the pot or hole, and that the
topiary is crafted directly over
the trunk to ensure an even result.
l Topiaries require plenty of
light, regular watering and good
nutrition. To create tight foliage,
hold back on the fertiliser until
the shape is established.
l Prune lightly in spring to
remove wayward growth, but leave
structural pruning until winter.
l To keep density at the back, rotate
it a quarter of a turn every month.
Topiary tips
circular beds produce tomatoes,
cucumbers, beans, beetroot,
strawberries, peas, capsicum, okra,
eggplant, corn, onions, pumpkins,
zucchini, lettuce, radish, sweet
peas, passionfruit and herbs.
“Having the vegetable patch in full
working order makes me feel grounded,”
Elaine reveals. “Fortunately, the climate
here provides perfect growing conditions
– we have good rain, nice fogs and
short and tolerable summers, and it’s
cool in autumn, winter and spring.
Fern and moss grow naturally and
mangoes and daffodils thrive.”
Naturally beautiful
Further away from the house, Elaine has
planted a selection of natives. Banksia,
boronia, flax-leaf heath myrtle (Baeckea
Amaryllis (Hippeastrum)
Louisiana iris (Iris ser. Hexagonae)
A sheltered area set deep
within the garden encourages
you to sit down and behold
the glorious surrounds.
Large and inviting,
Elaine’s elevated deck
allows you to look out
over the treetops.
A supersized
Platycerium
emerges
from a
Burdekin
plum tree.
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4. 36 Your Garden
linifolia) and melaleucas live in harmony
with tea tree (Leptospermum), mint bush
(Prostanthera), waxflower (Chamelaucium)
and an extensive cross-section of
wildflowers. The final flourishes are
provided by Elaine’s sculptures.
Elaine generously allows garden
groups, solo visitors and birdwatchers
to explore her property during the
spring months when the entire garden
comes alive and the wildlife is teeming.
Along with multiple bird and butterfly
species, generations of wallabies have
happily made their home here.
“The gentle and pretty-faced wallabies
are the descendents of one mother
who moved in many years ago,” Elaine
recalls. “The joeys practice hopping
throughout the garden and the weeds
are grazed on – they are very chilled
and low-maintenance pets.”
Unless it’s unbearably hot, you will
typically find Elaine doing what she
enjoys most – soaking up her glorious
surrounds. “What I love about the
garden is that it’s just simply beautiful,”
says Elaine. “It allows me to exist
within a living work of art, with the
birds, insects, flowing water and
wind serving as the orchestra.”
Gardens Sounds of nature
Elaine’s talent for artfully
shaping English box is
evident throughout
her garden.
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