Photographing the Beautiful Gardens of Leura
A single pass lasts for the duration of the festival which runs for nine days. Proceeds from ticket sales benefit our local hospital and its supporting services. During this time you can visit any of the 11 beautiful private gardens which have been opened to the public for the event. The photos which follow were taken during the 2012 festival.
In 2014 the festival runs from October 4 - 12
Where is Leura?
Leura is a cool climate village located in The Blue Mountains west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Situated at an elevation of 985 metres (3,232 ft), Leura experiences definite seasons, something that much of Sydney and places north often don't. Danish architect, Paul Sorenson, recognised the potential for creating stately gardens in this favourable climate following his first successful commission at the Carrington Hotel in neighbouring Katoomba in around 1918. Sorenson fell in love with Leura while several of its wealthier citizens fell in love with his landscaping style. In 1933, Belgian Henri van de Velde retained Paul Sorenson to make his visualations for his estate reality on his Everglades property. Everglades is now owned by the National Trust and is central to the Leura Gardens Festival program.The First Three Gardens
Davaar, Rustlings and Brabourne
Davaar is a lovely collection of alcoves and corners with different levels and little paths between beds of spring bulbs. Sectioned into spaces for different purposes, there is a thriving vegetable garden, ornamental fruit trees and large century old deciduous trees and conifers. We pause to admire fat tulips, daffodils, jonquils and ranunculas.
Next we walked around the corner and across the road to Rustlings where there is a definite oriental feel to the landscaping including small bridges over tiny streams and even what looks like a Japanese bath-house in the far corner. Japanese maples, which must be a riot of colour in autumn, abound; meandering paths lead past hidden buddha statues and rustic garden furniture. Azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons feature heavily, as do tree ferns and birds nest ferns bringing a lush rainforest feel to this lovely sanctuary.
Our next visit is to Brabourne, a total contrast to the previous two properties. This garden is more formal with terraces and mass plantings in colour groups. The focal point of this garden is a massive pinoak tree which branches out to all corners of the expansive grassed sloping rear garden. On our exit we popped in to the stall being held by volunteers and bought some home-made lemon butter.
Beautiful Gardens of Leura: Highlights of our Visit
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A Photographic Excursion
Enjoying the Beautiful Gardens of Leura with my Daughters
I went to the Leura Gardens Festival with my two teenage daughters who are both just starting to really get interested in taking photos. They love to get up close and take macro shots whereas I look for textures, light and dark, and shape. Here are some of my favourites from the day enhanced and made available for sale on Zazzle products.
Returning to the Festival
We
hadn't planned to return the following day. We'd had a fantastic day
and were pretty well satisfied but on the spur of the moment we decided
to go back and explore the gardens we'd missed yesterday. We were so
glad we did!
We only visited three gardens the second day but these were arguabley the most spectacular of them all. Situated behind modest street frontages, the common denominator was the expansive views overlooking the famed Blue Mountans escarpment.
We only visited three gardens the second day but these were arguabley the most spectacular of them all. Situated behind modest street frontages, the common denominator was the expansive views overlooking the famed Blue Mountans escarpment.
