A Morning of Peace and Tranquillity for the Wakool Garden Club

By Sharon McInnes

The Wakool Garden Club recently celebrated Lorraine Kuno’s birthday at ‘Halcyon’ Tulla.  The Garden Club celebrates club members’ birthdays when they meet under the rotunda in the park near the Wakool town hall on the third Thursday of every month but this month the McClay family had invited the Garden Club to tour their garden at ‘Halcyon’.  Instead of sharing Lorraine’s birthday cake for morning tea the Garden Club enjoyed freshly baked scones, accompanied by an assortment of homemade jams that had been made from ‘Halcyon’s’ fruits.  A Devonshire tea was served outdoors under a large pear tree. The white clothed table was decorated with sprawling grape tendrils, freshly picked flowers and ornate cut glass dishware from our local opportunity shops.  

When Gloria Pratt, member of the Wakool Garden Club, saw the morning tea table she said, ‘Oh thanks, this is fancier than the restaurants in town.’ The Garden Club members sat on old wooden park benches and Jerry, the McClay family scarecrow, made sure that everyone kept a safe social distance, but he ensured that they had a good time, and he was happy to pose for lots of photos. The McClay family has lived in Tulla since the 1940s and ‘Halcyon’ was originally part of the Tulla Station. After WW2 Leonard McClay the first (deceased) drew the property from a Soldier Settler ballot. Len and Ivy McClay (deceased) moved from Barham to their property at Tulla where they lived in a tent with their children until the blacksmith’s cottage was relocated to ‘Halcyon’ from Tulla Station. Len and Ivy chose to name their farm ‘Halcyon’ because they were looking for peace after the turbulence of living through wartime. The term ‘Halcyon Days’ is used in ancient and modern times to denote a period of calm and tranquillity, and the Wakool Garden Club was certainly immersed in ‘Halcyon’s’ calm environment whilst the members enjoyed their morning tea under the pear tree and listened to the call of native birds.  

Before morning tea, members of the Wakool Garden Club strolled through ‘Halcyon’s’ large orchard and discussed the hottest topic on every gardener’s lips, ‘fruit fly management’ and the frustrations that responsible gardeners share. Cherry, the vintage turkey, greeted the Wakool Garden Club at the bottom of ‘Halcyon’s’ orchard. Cherry is the sole survivor of the Barham High School’s Agriculture Department’s Christmas turkey raising project. Cherry was re-homed to ‘Halcyon’ several years ago by the Peters family. On arrival at ‘Halcyon’, Cherry quickly acquired her name because the only way the McClay family could coax her into a pen each evening was to lure the massive white bird there with a line of freshly picked cherries.  

The Garden Club left Cherry chortling at the orchard fence when they entered ‘Halcyon’s’ large vegetable garden.  ‘Halcyon’s’ raised garden beds are constructed of concrete and are watered with an overhead sprinkler system. The vegetable garden is decorated with rustic garden art, homemade ceramic garden ornaments, glass ornaments and ornate treasures. Six assorted citrus trees that have been shaped into topiary balls stand sentinel at the end of every second garden bed. Glass gazing balls nestled under the citrus trees reflected the peaceful scene as members of the Wakool Garden Club strolled through the rows of vegetables. After perusing the vegetable garden and sharing their thoughts about gardening techniques, the visitors were invited to inspect ‘Halcyon’s’ sensory garden of culinary herbs, fragrant flowers and scented geraniums. ‘Halcyon’s’ sensory garden includes a water feature made from large terracotta pots, a welcome attraction for wild birds to drink and bathe. Before leaving the property, the Garden Club members strolled around ‘Halcyon’s’ low maintenance native garden and investigated the shade house at the rear of the old blacksmith’s cottage that is reminiscent of the Hanging Garden of Babylon. 

The Wakool Garden Club is looking forward to other outings in the future. So, if you would like to share your garden for a couple of hours or would like to join this enthusiastic group of gardeners please call Kim on 0499 905 782 or Gloria on 0413 959 909.