Sunnymeade Garden Kithbrook

Sunnymeade Garden Kithbrook Sunnymeade is home to wonderful cottage accommodation and one of Victoria's finest gardens. For more

Experience the olde world charm and hospitality of Sunnymeade Garden Cottage, be inspired by a visit to the world class formal gardens of Sunnymeade created by Craig Irving. Hidden away in the picturesque tableland of Strathbogie in Victoria’s north east once the domain of the infamous bushranger Ned Kelly, gold miners and loggers and just over 2 hours drive from Melbourne, you will find Sunnymead

e. Leaving the busy highways behind, today there are no signs of vagabonds or misadventure and fear, no ill fortune but rather the discovery of one of Australia’s best kept secrets.

07/09/2026

Rejuvenating a beech hedge

Reducing the width of a beech hedge l planted 26 years ago. I raised them from seed, purple and green leaf varieties to ...
05/09/2026

Reducing the width of a beech hedge l planted 26 years ago. I raised them from seed, purple and green leaf varieties to give a tapestry hedge effect. Slowly hedges get too wide. The showers keep chasing me inside but we’ve had a welcome 24ml.

SUNNYMEADE 40 YEARS. For now l will finish my story here with a photo which shows the changes l made once the new house ...
03/09/2026

SUNNYMEADE 40 YEARS. For now l will finish my story here with a photo which shows the changes l made once the new house had been built. Here l am building retaining walls as l had this area excavated to make the ground the same level as the house( 40 truck loads of earth were removed) lt looked more like a quarry than a garden and it took me 2 years to finish the walls in between working in the vineyard . I never shied away from a challenge, but l sometimes think if all the rock l have laid was put before me in a massive pile and l had known l had to lay it all l would have run a mile. In the years that followed many things had an influence on the gardens evolution from extreme drought and travelling to different countries. The gardens reflects all l love and l have tried my best to make it as beautiful as l can. I had so many requests on Facebook to continue my story so l will continue my journey there in a less frequent manner. Thanks for coming with me so far. I look forward to welcoming everyone that has booked for my 40th Anniversary openings. I added some more sessions if you missed out which you can book at www.trybooking.com/DOSNL Even if we never meet l hope l might have given you inspiration and perhaps courage to follow your dreams, life is short, dream big, be happy. Craig 🙏

I don’t grow as many tulips as l used to. I love them but so do the bush rats who eat the bulbs and they are a great dea...
02/09/2026

I don’t grow as many tulips as l used to. I love them but so do the bush rats who eat the bulbs and they are a great deal of work for their brief flowering. These are self sown tulips that flower reliably each year and increase by seeding. I think they were seedlings of Tulip Apeldoorn. The best kind of tulips as l never lift them and they have more flowers every year.

SUNNYMEADE 40 YEARS I need to clarify my previous post in which l mentioned that l won Your Garden magazine garden of th...
02/09/2026

SUNNYMEADE 40 YEARS I need to clarify my previous post in which l mentioned that l won Your Garden magazine garden of the year competition, this was back in 1998 and the magazine folded some years later. A new Your Garden magazine has recently been launched by Graham Ross and l apologise for the confusion as some people have been complaining to Graham about this incident. Graham has been incredibly supportive of Sunnymeade and filmed it twice over the years for Better Homes and Gardens with fantastic coverage and l can’t thank him enough for his support and encouragement. I wish him every success with the NEW ‘Your Garden’ magazine, Australia certainly needs a quality garden publication. Words of wisdom from my younger self in the article from 1998 . Where did the years go and where did my hair go 😫

SUNNYMEADE 40 YEARS. The garden was featured in several magazines over the years and in 1988 won the Garden of the Year ...
01/09/2026

SUNNYMEADE 40 YEARS. The garden was featured in several magazines over the years and in 1988 won the Garden of the Year contest run by Your Garden magazine. It was a strange experience, the photographer was local and came and photographed the garden, l later bumped into him In Euroa and he said l needed to ring the magazine which l did as l hadn’t heard anything from them. I spoke to the horticultural editor who told me l had won, but he added in the next breath, ‘you bastard’. So any sense of happiness on winning quickly disappeared, it certainly wasn’t a joyful experience as people think it would be. I guess l got a taste of the tall poppy syndrome. The garden has also featured on Better Homes and Gardens TV a couple of times. I will do a final post on my story as l am probably boring you all by now. Maybe l will write a book one day as there’s too much to share here. Thanks for coming on my journey.

Daffodils always welcome in the spring . This is ‘Gold step’ a beautiful hoop petticoat hybrid with larger flowers than ...
01/09/2026

Daffodils always welcome in the spring . This is ‘Gold step’ a beautiful hoop petticoat hybrid with larger flowers than hoop petticoat daffodils and it produces them in abundance. One of my favourites.

Red Anemone pavonina from Greece heralding spring . There’s something about sheets of red flowers l absolutely love, fro...
31/08/2026

Red Anemone pavonina from Greece heralding spring . There’s something about sheets of red flowers l absolutely love, from red poppies, tulips or our stunning Sturt’s desert peas l adore them all.

SUNNYMEADE 40 YEARS. Despite the challenges that we had building the new house ( see previous post) it was the catalyst ...
30/08/2026

SUNNYMEADE 40 YEARS. Despite the challenges that we had building the new house ( see previous post) it was the catalyst that led to the current garden. I had laid out an informal garden around the original farm house but it didn’t suit the formal Georgian house. I remember sitting on the roof as the house was being built drawing up plans for the new garden so that everything would align with the house. This is when my love of the English roomed gardens like Hidcote and Sissinghurst had their influence on Sunnymeade. I drew plans and started moving plants that were in the way. Then l planted hedges ( oh l planted too many hedges, l had no idea back then of the work involved to maintain them) and l built walls to make the framework of the garden. Over the years l continued to make changes and add features but the original bones were laid out then. I would never have designed such formal gardens around the old house, a garden has to match its house. So from the adversity we went through the new garden literally rose like a phoenix.. A new garden needed a new name so Sunnymeade was born.

SUNNYMEADE 40 YEARS.There are certain times in life we try and forget but as l am telling the history of Sunnymeade l ne...
27/08/2026

SUNNYMEADE 40 YEARS.
There are certain times in life we try and forget but as l am telling the history of Sunnymeade l need to include this part. When my parents moved here full time they decided to build a new house, building began in January 1990. Unfortunately everything went wrong. The supplier went into receivership, the building leaked and it ended up in litigation. Basically it sat unfinished for several years , haunting us. It was a terrible time for my parents, endless meetings with lawyers,building consultants and experts whose advice was to demolish the house. It was costing a fortune in legal fees and l was trying to keep the vineyard going on my own. I think l have blocked most of those years from my memories and l know we would all have gladly walked away if we could have. The dream had become a nightmare. It was my brother Michael who saved it, deciding we had to finish the house ourselves so he came and worked on it with my father. The leaks Michael discovered were only from no flashings being placed around the windows( stupid building experts recommend demolition because of this). So gradually the house was finished. That time was made worse by someone spreading malicious rumours we had won a lot of money. How people can make up lies when you are at your lowest is beyond belief. Sadly people happily believed them and to this day l am asked ( by those with integrity) if it was true. No it was not!!!. Times we all gladly put behind us. Thankfully happier times were ahead….

Address

“Sunnymeade” 213 Boundary Hill Road
Strathbogie, VIC
3666

Telephone

+61357908519

Website

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