David and Amanda are very keen gardeners. Amanda hails from a family of expert gardeners, her parents grew champion roses and her grandfather was a champion Tasmanian dahlia grower. It’s no wonder Amanda’s and David’s roses are the best in the Valley at putting on a show every spring!
It was Amanda who got David into roses. David loves greeneries the most, all the “cool rare plants”, as Amanda puts it; and couldn’t help being drawn into Amanda’s passion for roses. Both David and Amanda lovingly grow and tend to their roses together. Oh so romantic!
The Gazzards bought their premises roughly 18 years ago. At the time there was a little old fibro shack on it. They demolished the old structure but kept the antique floorboards. With the help of a local builder, they managed to build “The Nostalgia Factory”within 3 months. They hand-chose and sourced antique windows and doors from Balmain and Chippendale in Sydney. Their design was based on the design of David’s beautiful stone house at Mona Vale. Before long they did up their little antique book shop and put their first 2 roses in, ‘Pierre de Ronsard’ and ‘Papa Meilland’. And from that point on, their rose garden has expanded to what it is today – over 150 roses beautifully growing in a small garden patch between their main shop front and their book store.
David’s favourite rose is the French-bred rose ‘Papa Meilland’ and Amanda’s is an English rose, ‘Winchester Cathedral’! Every customer of theirs would be tempted to wander through their rose garden and enjoy the sweet perfume wafting through the air. Amanda quips, “If I charged $10 for every sniff, I would be a millionaire by now!”
Visitor, Nina from Canberra – enjoying Amanda and David’s famous roses.
When asked what her secret is at growing the best roses in the Valley, Amanda happily shared a little secret that was passed on to her by an Aboriginal elder who frequents their garden, “It’s just Epsom salts, that’s it, that does the trick! A light sprinkle, every now and then after mulching and spreading with composted manure.”
So next time you are in the village of Kangaroo Valley, make sure to find this romantic rose garden, a secret fragrant paradise, to be discovered, hidden behind the Nostalgia Factory. Even if it is not in spring, you will find that this garden will have roses blooming throughout the year, as Amanda and David have carefully chosen roses that are repeat-bloomers.
Looking at the abundance of rose varieties, fragrance and amazing colours, I am even more convinced now that Amanda and David Gazzard grow the best rose garden in Kangaroo Valley.