The Moorings is a 100 acre farm with a four acre garden surrounding a restored / rebuilt 1870’s house. It is situated near the village of Robertson in the Southern Highlands of NSW.
The property was so named because it was purchased from the State of NSW in 1876 by a Surgeon Lieutenant Tarrant for 100 pounds after he gave up his sea career and decided to settle on the land.
The original house was surrounded by an orchard, a dairy, a small vineyard and Radiata pines. Little of the house was preservable, but what was, was incorporated into the present home. The house design reflects the architecture of the late eighteen hundreds with contemporary additions.
The present garden designed and constructed by the owners has been developed around the house since the early 1990’s. Apart from a few fruit trees from the original orchard, the rest of the garden progressively established since 1993, is now reaching maturity.
It is basically a foliage garden (trees and shrubs) with specific areas dedicated to conifers, azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons amidst three lawn areas. Many trees and shrubs are close clipped in a variety of shapes so as to show off their foliage. Amongst others there is a rose garden, a hyndrangea garden, a vegetable garden and a small orchard. There are many weeping trees, perennial plantigs and “pockets of interest”.
A beautiful summer house sits in the garden adjacent to a tennis court and a small “lake” (complete with a rowboat).
Everywhere in the garden presents spectacular views of the countryside. The garden has been laid out to be integrated with some fifteen acres of restored rainforest (fromt he original Yarrawa Brush) and a pasture improved farm.
For convenience, in this presentation the garden is divided into twelve segments.