Heronswood House and Gardens

About the garden

Heronswood Garden, dramatically positioned on a hillside overlooking Port Phillip Bay, surrounds a neo-Gothic stone house designed by Edward Latrobe Bateman in 1871. Purchased by the Blazey family in 1978, the four acre property became home to The Diggers Club and Foundation and now serves as a showcase for sustainable gardening. The garden features Mediterranean and subtropical plants, including a banana walk, perennial borders, vegetable parterres and a dry-climate garden designed to thrive in hot summers with minimal water use. Organic and regenerative methods underpin the planting, focusing on soil health, biodiversity and carbon sequestration.

Recent additions include a Seed Savers Garden, demonstrating the importance of preserving open-pollinated heirloom vegetables, and a seed museum housed in the historic home. Among the garden’s notable trees are a 150-year-old Morton Bay fig and a rare Captain Cook’s Island Pine, listed on the National Trust Register of Significant Trees of Victoria. Visitors can enjoy the café in Heronswood House and browse the nursery and retail space housed in striking rammed-earth buildings, making Heronswood a destination for horticultural inspiration and heritage.