THE opening of the beautiful Osborn Garden at 16 Dungowan Street, Hawker, honours a promise that owner Richard Osborn made to his wife and fellow gardener, Fay, who passed away last year.

“In 2008, we had made a commitment to Open Gardens Australia to open in the autumn in order to showcase the intense colours of the roses, but this was delayed by drought and Fay’s battle with cancer,” Richard says.

“This opening is one of the few commitments that Fay asked me to honour.”

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The garden is planted out with old favourites – lindens, lavender, salvias, groundcovers, ferns, clematis and an avenue of 70 roses in autumn flush.

During the drought years, the irrigation was removed and many of the original plantings did not survive. Richard and Fay replaced them with drought-tolerant plants.

A low bluestone wall echoes the hues of the adjacent bush and the Brindabellas provide a backdrop to the garden.

“We came to this place in 1997,” says Richard.

“Many of the original plantings were removed by 2005 as the drought took hold. We stopped irrigating, widened the beds, and started the avenue of roses with a backdrop of salvias in 2006/2007.

“Neither Fay or I claimed, or claim, any expertise in the finer points of gardening, or knowing much about the specimens we collected.

“We did so primarily through the web, looking for drought-tolerant plants to replace those lost when we turned off the irrigation. Most of what you now see growing in this place came via eye appeal when browsing.

“The area immediately to the right when coming through the gate includes the dogwoods and some rhododendrons that were here when we came in 1997, plus the three maples. One was planted direct from nursery, and I’ve had the other two for 27 years. Violets that have always been here plus some introduced native pelagoniums provide the ground cover.”

16 Dungowan Street, Hawker, open 10am-4.30pm, March 10-11, $6 (under 18s free). There are picnic spots in the garden or nearby and proceeds will go towards supporting sportspeople with disability.