Lakithi

Set on a 130-hectare working farm in Terip Terip (North East Victoria), Lakithi is a large country garden sprawling across three hectares of undulating land, with views to the Strathbogie Ranges. The name comes from the Zulu word meaning ‘our home’. Originally from South Africa, owners Gail and Brian van Rooyen purchased the property in the late 1990s. Nearly 30 years later, passionate gardener Gail has transformed a bare paddock into a stunning country oasis.

Keen for the house to nestle into the landscape, Gail enlisted the help of a local excavator and stonemason at the outset to create a large dam fed by a natural spring and construct 250 metres of stone walls and steps to link the different zones.

“The garden has continued to evolve,” says Gail. “It is a balanced blend of formal and informal areas with hedges and stone walls creating several ‘garden rooms’ and open parkland spaces. In designing Lakithi, I have always been mindful of our wonderfully expansive vistas, which I have strived to maintain and enhance.”

Autumn at Lakithi is one of Gail’s favourite times of year, with beautiful displays of leaf colour, including the fiery reds of Acer ‘October Glory’ and ‘Autumn Blaze’, medlars, and ‘Ukon’ cherries that line the walk down to the dam.

Tickets are available at the gate or online here: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1183995?

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