Opening Roseville’s Gates for the New England Garden Trail

What an absolute week it was, and what an amazing day we had opening Roseville’s gates for the New England Garden Trail as part of the New England Open Garden Festival.

Leading into the festival, we had two solid weeks of rain. It was wonderful for so many people. Someone I know told me they had been just about to sell all their cattle, but the 150mm of rain they received meant they could keep going. Another person told me it costs them $500 a week just to keep the feed up for their livestock.

So the rain was very much a blessing. It did, however, mean the weeds went absolutely bananas, and I was starting to worry about losing all the flowers and petals before our open day.

First-world problem, really!

Three days before we opened the gates, the rain finally stopped. What followed was a frantic few days involving eight loads of mulch, weeds that seemed to have tripled in size within a week, a mower whose belt kept falling off, and another mower that decided to lose a wheel. But we kept pushing on, and by Thursday afternoon we felt that, despite there always being something else to do, we had done as much as we possibly could.

The peonies were still mostly flowering, the crab apples were covered in blossom, the irises were putting on a colourful display and the roses had started to come out. All in all, there was plenty of colour throughout the gardens, and we were feeling pretty pleased with how everything had come together.

And then the gates opened

Our first guests arrived at 9.30am, and from then on we didn’t stop welcoming people through the gates until just after 4pm.

The sun was shining, Bean Travelin was serving coffee, Can Assist were helping with tickets, and Jaime, Dad and I spent the day meeting so many lovely people who had come to enjoy the gardens.

We had put together a handout explaining a little about the two families who had previously owned Roseville and were also keen gardeners, helping to shape the feel of the property long before we arrived. It was lovely to see people reading about the history and hearing their comments about the gardens and the tremendous amount of work that had gone into them over the years.

I also met countless people I had been chatting with on Instagram. For some, it genuinely felt like meeting an old friend.

One particular encounter made me smile. A lady came up to me and said, “It’s Sophie.”

I then realised I didn’t even know her name! We’d been chatting on Instagram for months because she owns New England Highland Cows, and I seem to like just about every single one of her posts and comment on her stories. It was so lovely to finally put a face to the name.

She had a friend with her who had literally just got off the plane that morning. She told me she’d been following us for months and that they simply had to come and see the garden.

I also met a lady who had travelled from Inverell, and we spent ages chatting about her own garden and renovations. There were people who had known previous owners and wanted to come back for a look because they hadn’t been to Roseville for years. They shared so many happy memories of times spent here, which was rather special to hear.

A few lovely surprises

There were a couple of moments during the day that I hadn’t expected at all.

A lady who had visited with the art group a few weeks earlier gave us two coasters she had had made using a photograph she’d taken of Roseville during that visit. What a lovely and thoughtful gift!

And then someone even took a piece of timber from the cottage with their family’s names on it, sharing some of their own happy memories of time spent at Roseville.

It’s funny how a place can hold so many different memories for different people. We are still discovering little pieces of its history, and having people come through the gates and share their stories with us makes that history feel even more alive.

I’m sure there were plenty more conversations and stories that I’ve forgotten to mention. There were also lots of questions that I had to direct to Dad because, quite frankly, I just didn’t know the answers!

Thankfully, he was there to fill in the gaps.

A day well spent

By the time the last visitors had left, I think we all fell in a heap. We were exhausted, but absolutely delighted with how the day had gone.

The comments about the gardens were just wonderful. Quite a few people mentioned that photographs simply didn’t do the place justice, which was lovely to hear after all the work that had gone into getting everything ready.

Many also wished us well with Roseville Gatherings and thought it was a wonderful and positive thing for the area. That encouragement meant a lot to us.

But more than anything, it was seeing so many people enjoying the gardens that made the day special.

Dad has spent so many years caring for and developing these gardens, and it was lovely to see other people appreciate what he has created. For Jaime and me, it was a chance to share a place that has become such a big part of our lives, and to welcome people who had their own connections to it.

As another gardener mentioned in her video for the New England Garden Trail, gardens are meant to be shared.

And I think that’s exactly what we discovered.

We absolutely loved opening the gates and having people enjoy this beautiful spot as much as we do. Roseville is filled with happy memories, not just ours but those of the people who have been part of its story over the years.

And now, as we look ahead to the next chapter, there are plenty more memories waiting to be made.