REGIONAL garden lovers are in for an Easter weekend treat as Open Gardens Victoria opens two charming private gardens from 10am to 4.30pm on Saturday, 19 April and Sunday, 20 April, just a short half hour drive apart.

Llangrigg Park is a three acre garden located on 434 Lyons Road, Tarrawingee, just off the Great Alpine Road and a short 15-minute drive from Wangaratta.

Owners Julie and Robert Lamond retired to the property 10 years ago.

“We were attracted by the Manchurian Pears lining the driveway and other significant trees throughout the property, including elms, golden and claret ashes, which provide a lovely autumn colour, and eucalyptus," said Robert.

"Apart from the trees and a few roses, there was no garden."

Julie and Robert have certainly changed that, with an impressive variety of plants now flourishing in numerous perennial garden beds and garden rooms.

At the front of the house, an English-style garden is filled with fragrant pink Violina roses, daylilies, hollyhocks, foxgloves, Watsonia, and asters and is enclosed by a fence.

A shady Golden Ash is underplanted with azaleas, hellebores, and fuchsias, while the area is divided by a path through a wisteria-clad archway and more plantings of climbing roses, daisies, and salvias.

To the east of the house, a quirky ‘bed of roses’ features standard, patio, and bush roses, as well as a central weeping Seafoam rose.

Nearby, a meandering garden is filled with buddleias, olive trees, salvias, phlomis, and Russian sage, and some hardy native species that require little water.

A rose and lavender-lined fence encloses the productive vegetable garden and fruit trees, which include orange, plum, nectarine, almond, walnut, fig, and apple trees.

Llangrigg Park is located on the lands of the Yorta Yorta people.

The Rowe Garden is located just 10 minutes south of Beechworth on 17 Black Forest Lane, Stanley.

The area is renowned for its cool climate and fertile soils, providing the perfect growing conditions for apples, stone fruit, berries, and nuts.

Owners Libby Kingdon and Michael Rowe started work on the gently sloping two and a half acre site four years ago, and its rapid establishment is a testament to the ideal growing conditions of the area.

Architect, garden designer, and owner of nearby Plane Trees Estate, Genevieve Milham, was engaged to create the initial garden plan.

“Our brief was to provide plenty of car parking, to have access to the sheds, and to establish a low-maintenance ‘park-like’ garden, which would become more elegant and interesting with the passage of time,” said Michael.

A few existing mature trees, notably a majestic elm in the turning circle and two significant weeping myrtles, provided the starting point for the plan.

The horizontal and vertical axis of the garden, with a striking birch walk, fountain in the centre and a large round brick entertaining area, are key design elements.

The garden is bordered by an extensive range of bird-attracting native plants.

Open Gardens Victoria wish to acknowledge the Traditional custodians and pay respect to their Elders, past, present and emerging.

Tickets can be purchased at the gate or via https://opengardensvictoria.org.au/The-Rowe-Garden and http://opengardensvictoria.org.au/Llangrigg-Park.

For more details about these upcoming events, visit https://opengardensvictoria.org.au/.