The Barwitian Garden

Built around a straw-bale home overlooking a seasonal waterfall, renowned perennial garden designer and artist Ralph Bristow’s breathtaking semi-wild garden opens with Open Gardens Victoria on the first weekend in March 2024. 

Located just north of Mansfield, on 2.5 acres in rural Barwite, The Barwitian Garden is a botanical wonderland, filled with vibrant natural colours and textures. Designed with artistry and intuition by Ralph, the garden draws inspiration from the New Perennial Movement, a naturalistic, plant-driven landscaping style that incorporates herbaceous perennials and grasses planted in ‘wild’ drifts and that intimately responds to the ebb and flow of the natural landscape. 

The garden has loads of layering with a mix of plants, grasses, and flowers in differing heights, textures, and colours, giving the garden a rambling and dynamic meadow appearance. Key to the apparent ‘wildness’ is the thoughtful design behind the planting and consideration of how the design will evolve with the changing seasons. 

Adults $10, Students $6 (with ID card), under 18 free
Tickets at the gate or via TryBooking – https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1154973? 

The Barwitian Garden is located on the lands of the Taungurung people. Open Gardens Victoria wish to acknowledge the Traditional custodians and we pay respect to their Elders, past, present and emerging.