John and I purchased a bare block of land, 6! acres in area in 1992. It had a lovely gentle slope with no trees, giving us the opportunity to create our own style from scratch gradually. The name “Joncia” is derived from our names, John and Marcia.We have lived in this area for 40 years where the rainfall has always been low, so we made provisions by installing 2 bores and a dam. These, along with rain water tanks have ensured that we get by from year to year. Then to conserve that precious water, we collect manure every fortnight and stockpile it in the paddock until it is ready for use. Together with the mulch that we use heavily, this turns our sandy soil into a healthy environment for worms as it breaks down.

The garden is 90% hand watered, and while it is very therapeutic, it takes up huge amounts of hours, but it does benefit the garden by getting the water to where it needs to be. We have created a garden that is approximately 4 acres, (but that was never the plan), with many distinct areas. The garden grew and grew out of a driving passion, with lots of trials and errors, and continuous changes. John has come up with some wonderful ideas, which has made this garden the way it is today.

We have a vast vege patch, which gives us year round beautiful produce. The Little Cottage sits by the vege patch to take us back in time, complete with rocking chairs on the verandah. The Summer House sits behind the Little Cottage and it is also another lovely area to sit with a drink and enjoy the beauty of the surrounding gardens. To the centre of the garden there is the Japanese area, featuring a vibrant red oriental bridge. The front is very much formal in layout with arbours and elegant statues. In this area we have a mass planting of white iceberg roses flanked by red carpet roses, and they make a beautiful display. We also have a cottage area, where there is a Monet style bridge leading out into the middle of a pond where the Rotunda is situated.

On the Western side of the property is the native garden, where all the plants are well chosen to withstand the heat and dry. This area is alive with wildlife, and it is wonderful to hear the birds especially in the morning. John and a good friend Keith built our ‘Little Bush Chapel’ in 2011, with its own toilet block apart from it. The lead light windows were well chosen to bring the feel of the native wild life in and along with the Camphor Laurel pews, come together as the ‘Little Bush Chapel’. Also, in this area is the new project. 2014 yielded only 410 mls of rain up until December and this was a good chance to dig out the ‘Native Pond’ and extend the walkway to join to the other side. This area is the latest edition called “Lover’s Lane” designed and built by John. A series of 6 beautiful arches in the shape of hearts lead you right across to the other side of the ‘Native  Pond’.

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