Open Gardens Victoria opens Sunnymeade and Jamboree, two Peter Shaw (Ocean Road Landscaping) designed Australian coastal gardens in Anglesea, on the weekend of 13-14 January.

Sunnymeade is landscape designer Peter Shaw’s home and award-winning Surf Coast garden featured on Gardening Australia, Dream Gardens, and the Design Files. After purchasing the land in 2000, the Shaws wanted a garden that was easy-care, fun for the kids, and suitable for everyday family life. Sunnymeade surpasses this brief, achieving a highly creative and practical space for the family with a strong connection to the coastal bush landscape around it.

The house was built at the back of the block, enabling all the trees to stay just as they were. Close to the house, the design is structured with a strong display of correas and westringias clipped into spheres. Moving away from the house, the planting becomes more relaxed and fun: the twisted stringybarks overhang a sculpted and mounded ‘hilly’ lawn for lounging on, and a delightful Moonah forest has been planted at the back of the garden.

Drystone walls are used extensively to soften level changes around the house, and fields of grasses planted in natural clumps and deliberate lines connect the walls and gravel paths seamlessly. The garden has a soft ‘wavy’ feel. Visitors should look out for the sunken garden,
fire pit, and sculptures.

Limited tickets are also available for a twilight session at Sunnymeade on Saturday evening to view the garden during its ‘golden hour’.

Just a 3-minute drive south is Jamboree, an expansive 1800-metre square garden, also created by Peter Shaw from Ocean Road Landscaping.

This young, sprawling garden has evolved into a sanctuary of low-maintenance, coastal-tolerant flora. Native plants, mirroring the local landscape, form the backbone of this vibrant space.

Designed to embrace the spaciousness of the block, the garden blends open spaces with cozy corners, creating areas of abundance and tranquility. Meandering pathways guide visitors through these garden rooms, with each space seamlessly transitioning through gentle steps and
inviting paths.

This low-maintenance haven caters to both leisure and purpose, providing ample space for family activities while harmonising with bountiful vegetable cultivation.

Open Gardens Victoria will open Sunnymeade and Jamboree on the weekend of 13-14 January. Find out more here.

Photo credit: Open Gardens Victoria