Toowoomba Rock Garden
We first saw the fabulous rock garden built by Ben and Mavis Mundey in August 1998. From 1984-91, Ben and Mavis made 131 trips collecting rocks for their garden from mountainous grazing land in the region. They broke the bigger rocks up into smaller pieces, transported them in their HR Holden and trailer, then reconstructed them at home with cement and water. Inspired by their love of nature, they used the rocks to create their own fantasy garden, complete with ponds and waterfalls.
Mood lighting
Two years ago, Ben and Mavis decided to install lighting throughout, so that they could enjoy the garden in the evening. They consulted with the Megabay Lighting Company in Caloundra, Queensland, who helped design the layout for the 134 garden lights. Ben has proved to be quite the innovator, having invented some unique rock lamps of his own. He drilled holes in the rocks, carved them out and then fitted them with 12 watt, 12 volt fluorescent tubes, which blend beautifully with the garden and are very economical to run.
Golden waterfall
The coloured lenses used on the lights create different moods throughout the various areas of the garden. “We’ve got red, blue, green, pink, purple and yellow lights,” says Mavis. “We don’t plan anything. We just try them out in different positions.” Ben says that over time they’ve developed a feel for what works best. “Experimentation would be the word,” he says. “A bit of blue here, a splash of red there.” A magnificent waterfall lit by six brass Megabay Nautilus waterproof lights is the centrepiece of this lighting extravaganza. “The water looks like volcanic lava at night,” says Ben, “and as the water splashes it looks like electric sparks are zapping off the surface.” Ben is now 82, but he has no intention of slowing down. He says that age is no barrier to work, and no matter how large a project may be, it’s really just “a multiplicity of small efforts.”
Further information
Dichroic lights are available from hardware stores and cost from $5 -$13.
This garden is featured in the October edition of the Burke’s Backyard Magazine, available at newsagents and supermarkets for $5.20.
