One Adelaide gardener has discovered a creative and sustainable way of adding valuable “plant years” to his yard.

Words and photographs Kim Syrus

When Robert Bergin and Carolyn David were looking to return to Adelaide in 2007 after owning and running a successful clinical care business in Queensland, they wanted a place that offered space and privacy. An early finish to a meeting while in Adelaide allowed Carolyn the chance to meet with a real estate agent selling a Bellevue Heights property she and Rob had seen online. Instantly falling in love with the location, she signed up with no cooling off period … then she rang Rob.

After recovering from the initial shock, Rob was keen to see what the place looked like. A few weeks later he realised it was going to be a challenge: set on 9000 square metres, the large 1948 home had been derelict for two decades. The swimming pool was brim full of sludge and the garden – except for a mature red gum, established claret ash and hundreds of wild olives filling the steep western slope – was dominated by weeds and grasses.

Reinstating plumbing and other needs within the house, was a priority for Carolyn, while Rob turned his attention to olive tree removal, taking away six semi-loads of grubbed olives in the first year. After living in the “patched-up” house for a short time, it became evident a new home was needed. Designs were drawn up, the old home demolished and Carolyn, Rob and their two young daughters had an adventurous 18 months on the property, living in a caravan and shed, complete with composting toilet.

Having sold the Queensland business, Rob had time to devote to the overwhelming task of creating a garden on this bleak canvas. He traded his Monaro CV8 for a Kubota tractor to help move the tonnes and tonnes of imported topsoil needed to supplement the existing shaly clay base. This heavy work soon saw the tractor upgraded to a more robust skid steer.

As the cost and volume of soil needed was proving enormous, entrepreneurial Rob purchased a tip truck and bobcat, arranged the necessary insurance and training, and an earthmoving business evolved. Topsoil from building sites destined for dumping, soon found a willing home at Bellevue Heights. Mounds across the site would be levelled and sculpted without any grand design, rather what Rob thought looked right.

Rob also found customers at the many earthmoving jobs wanted plants removed too. For a person looking to green a barren space, it seemed too good to be true. Along with soil, plant filled loads also became a regular occurrence at the property.

“The plants from these building sites were destined for cutting down and chipping, which was a tragedy,” Rob says. “Being able to give these trees that already had years of maturity, and plenty more to go, another chance was a win – a win and a privilege.”

The first task was to develop an upper canopy across the garden to help cool and allow understorey plants an opportunity to survive and thrive. Rob first selected tough growers like cocos palms and dragon trees (dracaena draco) to establish through the harsh summers. While many trees came courtesy of his earthmoving jobs, he was, and is always, on the lookout for more plants.

“My first big dragon tree cost me $500. It was in the front yard of a property on Shepherds Hill Road and needed to be removed due to the road’s realignment. Our first lot of date palms was from a friend who was sick of the possums running up and down them. They were 20 metres tall, but we managed to successfully remove and rehome them,” Rob explains.

“Every plant in the garden has a story and many have an emotional connection. I spoke to a lady who was moving into a nursing home and desperately wanted the grove of trees her husband had planted when they were first married, 40 years prior, a chance to live on. She was so grateful I could provide that wish.”

Although Rob places trees where he feels they look best, Carolyn gets the chance to veto and select their final location. Even the resting spot for the bright red telephone box, once part of the Port Adelaide exchange, was carefully chosen.

Relocating trees has been a learnt skill for Rob. Understanding what depth and width to dig for successful removal and recovery saw varying survival rates in those early days. Due to the garden’s poorly draining soil, care is taken to excavate a shallow hole with trench to prevent waterlogging. Plants are placed in the depression and soil mounded around. While some trees need bracing, the majority are secure untethered due to their root ball’s significant weight.

Chicken manure has been the main ingredient in keeping this ever-growing garden fed. Always on the hunt for well-aged supplies, Rob chanced upon a metro backyard with 500 chickens whom the local council has unsurprisingly given two weeks’ notice to close. Not only did he manage to take away truckloads of manure for the garden, but he was also paid to do it – bonus!

Even though the garden is filled with hardy plants, more than 90 per cent of the yard is irrigated to ensure sustained growth. The property has a 170,000-litre rainwater capacity, part of which is mixed with the Ri-Treat wastewater and pumped around the garden through kilometres of piping and a network of efficient sprinklers.

While not having a grand masterplan, this garden has grown quite organically and taken on both Rob and Carolyn’s desire for privacy and seclusion. Dividing the yard into separate garden rooms, each with its own key plant selection and character, has successfully added an explorative element. Rather than having a wide-open site, visitors are greeted with walls of foliage and meandering paths that beg to be followed.

Today, the garden has the largest private collection of dragon trees in the state. Their towering presence act as sentinels across the yard, guarding entrances to many rooms. An aged and imposing ponytail palm (Beaucarnea recurvata) welcomes all into what could be called a “Jurassic Garden”, filled with re-homed cycads, a plethora of ferns, and the startling sight of silhouette metal dinosaurs poking through the foliage. The adjacent garden room, facing east, is where Rob heads each morning to meditate and take in the sun’s first rays.

Thanks to a canny buy, numerous Queensland bottle trees (Brachychiton rupestris) now populate the yard. Recently acquired and trimmed grass trees (Xanthorrhoea) are starting to show signs of recovery, while aloes abound. There is a nice country connection too; the newly erected windmill was acquired, dismantled and transported from Jamestown. Strathalbyn moss rocks border the maze of raised beds, and a blue 1949 Fordson tractor, resulting from a failed trip to purchase pea straw, makes a rustic garden feature.

Thanks to Rob’s hard work and determination, along with Carolyn’s keen eye and support, this garden has evolved into a plant-filled oasis that belies the project’s 10 short years due to the hundreds of mature re-homed plants. And how wonderful it is to see these rescued plants receive the second chance they richly deserve.

Asked how they would best describe their garden, both Carolyn and Rob enthusiastically reply: “This is a full and lush space. This is a garden of exploration, questions and surprise. We love it when people come, and their first reaction is ‘Wow!’.”

This article first appeared in the August 2024 issue of SALIFE magazine.