I had the privilege of attending a workshop today, called ‘Mastering the Art of Gardening – The Plants’ by Michael McCoy. This was a Mother’s Day gift given to me by my husband and daughters last weekend and I’ve so been looking forward to going. Not so much the long drive on my own – was nearly 2 hours, but was well worth the trip to go all the way to Woodend – which is far over the other side of the City of Melbourne to where I live. A total of around 125km I think it worked out to be. The trip home seemed much quicker, but isn’t that the way when you are knowing where you’re headed for?
The workshop considered of course materials, including his book Michael McCoy’s Garden, morning tea and lunch, great information given by Michael and lots of great photos to look at on the screen as he explained about the positioning of plants and the structure and drove that home to us several times during his presentation. Structure is the foundation upon which garden design is built.
In the afternoon we got to visit two very different gardens. The Kyneton Old Rectory which was very formal with hedges, lawns and lots of straight lines. Small rooms, larger rooms in the garden. A great place to entertain small groups or larger groups of people. It’s also available as a place to stay.
The other was back towards Woodend and was very different. Larger property with rolling hills surrounding it, a very modern and large house, and beautiful free flowing gardens that still had structure but looked like they were allowed to grow wild. My kind of garden really. Stunning and I loved it very much. This one Michael designed and it showed.
After that we went back to the hall we were in at Woodend for final information and chats and then back home again. A very worthwhile day and one I’ll remember for a long time. Loved meeting many of the workshop delegates and chatting to them during breaks. One couple and another lady drove all the way from Mornington Peninsula so a bit further distance than me, but not a lot.
All in all, a wonderful day and so worth going. Michael has more courses which you can find at his site, and stay tuned as he has a new course about to be announced very soon too. If you would like to have a go at designing your own garden then this new course will be exactly what you will need. And if you do go, please do share! I’d love to hear about it.
Sounds wonderful Kathie