Friesia Garden
‘Friesia’ is a Victorian Italianate villa and garden which has been restored to reflect the character of the house and the time in which it was built. ‘Friesia’, which is owned by Warwick and Sue Forge, is in the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn.
History
‘Friesia’ was named after the Friesia region of Germany. The property was bought by William Brahe in 1884, who was the German and Prussian Consul. Brahe chose leading German architect John August Bernard Koch to design the house, which was completed in 1888. Koch was inspired by Renaissance Florence and the influence of Brunelleschi’s facade of the Foundling Hospital and the Duomo Cathedral in Florence can be seen in the single storey building with its arcaded veranda.
It is also believed that Baron Von Mueller, who established the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne and was a regular visitor to ‘Friesia’, may have helped plan the garden.
‘Friesia’, which was seen as a symbol of the German presence in Australia, was badly damaged by ‘patriots’ and vandals during the war.
Restoration
As well as being an historic villa and garden returned to its original late Victorian splendour, the property also has several surviving outbuildings. The old maids’ quarters and wash house remains as a cottage while what were old stables have been converted into offices. From here Warwick and Sue run a wholesale book company which specialises in gardening and horticultural books (details below).
A 1901 Board of Works plan shows the original layout of the garden. This plan was used to restore pathways and other features. The garden is divided into a formal front garden with a less formal and more cottagey back garden. Plants have been selected by Sue Forge to match the style of the garden and its era.
The front garden is formal. The front path encircles a palm while a fountain offers another focal point. The ornate fountain was built by cutting down a bomb shelter which had been built in the garden. The overall effect at the front is of a geometric German-influenced garden with curving pathways bordered with clipped box hedging.
Some of the plants used in the front include cordylines and a banksia rose, thought to remain from the original planting. Other plants, selected for their strong architectural foliage are:
Wigandia caracasana with purple flowers and large, striking leaves; and
Brazilian date palm (Butia sp.), a cold-tolerant palm underplanted with ajuga.
The rear garden or backyard is less formal with more of a cottage garden feel and provides a good area for the children to play and the chooks to roam. The original, informal design has been retained and enhanced with fruit trees, perennials and climbing roses which spill over arbours and paths. In addition drought tolerant Mediterranean style plants have been included, such as the lime green euphorbia (Euphorbia characias ssp. wulfenii ) massed among clumps of the tall, purple blue flowered pride of Madeira, Echium candicans (previously E. fastuosum).
Further information
‘Friesia’ is open occasionally as part of the Australia’s Open Garden Scheme (AOGS) and will be open on 18-19 October, 1997. For details consult the AOGS Guidebook 1997/98 , or phone the open line: 1900 155 064 (details on garden openings available from the week before and on the opening dates). Admission to the house and garden is $6.
Tours are also given by prior arrangement:
Address: 21 Isabella Road, Hawthorn, 3122
Phone: (03) 9818 2801
The Green Book Company is a wholesale book company owned by Warwick and Sue Forge. Phone: 1800 646 533 or write to Locked Bag 21, Hawthorn, Vic, 3122 for a summer catalogue (available now), to be placed on the mailing list or to order a book. Some of the new titles available include:
Trevor Nottle’s The New Cottage Garden (rrp $19.95)
New Gardening by Sarah Guest and Graeme Purdy, a good book for the new gardener, (rrp $45).
Sex in the Garden by Angela Overy, (rrp $29.95).
Note: Postage and handling costs $7 per order.