 |
 |
Jimbour House with its surrounding garden is - for the garden historian - a mine of information about the evolution of garden fashions and management from the 1870's to the present day.
There was really no garden at all in the earliest days of Jimbour.
In 1874, Joshua Peter, eldest son of Thomas Bell, became the sole owner of Jimbour, and from 1875 to 1876 he built a new dwelling - the present Jimbour House - to replace the two-storey building of blue stone and cedar that had existed before, part of which still stands to the north of the new house.
The garden of the new house was fenced on three sides, with a stone wall (still standing) marking the southern boundary.
The Bell family's enduring legacy to Jimbour's garden lies in the trees they planted.
Moreton Bay fig trees (ficus macrophylla), Old bottletrees (Brachychiton rupestre), Douglas firs, two Jacarandas, pepperinas, a Kaffir plum (Harpephyllum caifrum), silky oaks (Grevillea robusta), and also two Buddlejas were put in. There was not much water available, and an extensive garden was not attempted. Old photographs show that at this time the house walls were covered with creeper.
The effective acquisition of Jimbour by the Queensland National Bank (which had taken control of Bell Family interests and the Darling Downs and Western Lands Company in 1893) heralded many years of neglect and deterioration for both house and garden, and it was not until 1923 - the year that the property was bought by Wilfred Adams Russell - that the real life and history of Jimbour's garden began.
The initial renovation of the house and garden would take 12 months to complete. With the assistances of Harry Stokes, a Brisbane landscape gardener, in 1924 the basic plan of the garden as it is today was laid out - rose garden, lawns with palms and shrubs, and garden beds.
A row of olive trees was planted along the stone wall. Shrub borders were created. Tropical fig trees, bauhinias, macadamias and Jacarandas were put in. A golden cypress (since removed) was placed in the centre of the rose garden. Bougainvilleas were planted beside the house, and the tennis court was made.
Colourful bougainvilleas have long been popular feature plants In south east Queensland, not least among early settlers who built large mansions. They are renowned for drought tolerance and bright colours after all. A photograph taken on the day of the re-opening of Jimbour House in November 1925 shows that the new garden was beginning to flourish.
Jimbour Garden - Charles and Hilary Russell
In the 1930's, two large wooden pergolas now to be seen over the drive at each end of the house and the four smaller pergolas to the rose garden were added, and the rose garden divided into the four quadrants which now define it.
It was at this time that the drive was constructed from the front gate to the water tower, and Jacarandas and shrubs were planted along both sides. Also at this time ivy was planted near pillars on the front verandah, and cement urns and three fountains were added to the front lawns.
During the Second World War, the garden slipped back a bit. In the ensuing decades, the fowl house and yard were moved to outside the back garden fence, the vegetable garden was enlarged, and fruit trees were planted.
Little star-shaped garden beds were removed from gravelled areas amongst the trees in the northern garden. The olive trees were removed from along the stone wall. Chrysanthemums were planted in their place, and rockeries were made around some of the trees.
In 1950, the swimming pool and wading pool were built, and the garden was extended beyond the wall. Grape vines were planted at the sides, and, in the 1960's, a citrus orchard was planted to the east of the swimming pool. The golden cypress in the centre of the rose garden was replaced by a fish pond and fountain. The ivy was removed from the front pillars in the 1970's , and, after the erection of a new back fence in 1990, lawns were planted beyond it.
More recently a stone fruit and pomme fruit orchard has been planted to the west of the swimming pool and avenues of trees (planted by distinguished visitors) commenced on the eastern and western sides of the garden. |
|
|
|
|
| JAPANESE 
| KOREAN 
