New faces at Wychwood

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OCTOBER 2016 | Chere Kenyon

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MATT BENDALL and David Doukidis arrived in Tasmania to take over ownership of Wychwood Gardens, just in time to see it disappearing under water.

“It was pretty dramatic, arriving on the morning of the floods,” related Matt. “We lost trees and fences but compared to some other people we did fine.”

Fast forward nearly four months later and, after a lot of hard work, the gardens are getting back to their pristine condition.

Matt and David purchased Wychwood after deciding they needed a change from Melbourne.

“I did not really want to be in an office anymore, not seeing any daylight,” said David.

With a former house bursting at the seams with plants, they had looked around for their tree change property to build a nursery.

They first saw Wychwood as visitors in 2013 with no idea that one day it would belong to them.

Matt explains, “It is just the most amazing pocket of the world. Also the people have been so friendly. Our neighbours have been wonderful. You do not get that in Melbourne. People here generally care more.”

“The wonderful thing about this neck of the woods is that you get a proper winter and an amazing autumn.

With the full winter experience you can see the plant requirements – the dormancy they need, how they thrive,” he added.

They are planning on building up a nursery specialising in rare plants; all growing in their natural environment, and eventually you will be able to purchase them.

Wychwood will also open at the end of October to visitors, offering complimentary tea or coffee. Running through to April, you can visit from Thursday to Monday, 10.00 am to 4.00 pm.

Matt elaborated, “Spend as long as you want here. Wander around, sit by the creek to enjoy the lovely gardens, the beautiful creek and spot the platypus.”

David added, “If locals have family and friends visiting and want a nice place to take them that is close by, Wychwood is the place!”

Matt continued, “Most of all come and say hi. We have only just arrived and have not had a chance to say ‘hello’ to many people. Come chat.

And if you have any questions about plants, we will try to help you out.”

[udesign_icon_font name="fa fa-camera" color="#000000"] Mike Moores