By Angela Morgan
Many visitors know and love the roses that grow in the Netherby homestead garden. These roses have been here for many years, withstanding droughts, excessive rain, and Covid, when there were no visitors or gardeners for months.
At either side of the entrance to Netherby stand large bushes of a fragrant pink heritage Tea rose, named the Comtesse de Laplante, welcoming visitors to a bygone era. The multipetalled flowers nod down, a soft contrast to the old paling fence.
Walking towards the house, the path curves to the right, beside the west verandah, enclosing a wide garden bed. This protected site is perfect for roses, with abundant sunshine.
Here you’ll find The Fairy, a low growing rose from 1932, with clusters of very small bright pink flowers and a slight apple fragrance. In this garden modern and heritage roses mix happily, a testament to both the origin of Netherby, built in 1900, and also to its long life as home to the Fagan family, until 1980, when Bruce Fagan and his sister Ida donated their property to the people of NSW.
The generous spirit which inspired this gift makes the house and garden very special. A team of four gardening members of the Friends of Fagan enjoy caring for the Netherby garden, keeping it blooming for visitors.
The path passes bright pink Bonica, then three large bushes of that great favourite rose, Iceberg, in burgundy and white. The combination of the warm bricks of the old home and the bright profusion of flowers are a pretty background for visitors’ photos.
The front of the house faces south, with beautiful old camellias which flower in Autumn. Further around, the east side gets morning sun. Here grow a mix of roses, names unknown, with a new planting of Perle d’Or, an apricot rose with pink undertones, and a strong fragrance. Known as an excellent robust rose with good disease resistance, the team believes this rose will grow to rival the established roses on the west side.
Over one of the old iron sheds below the house we’ve planted two Renae climbing roses, hoping their fragrant blossoms will one day cover the entire shed and fill the air with perfume.
Our most recent introduction is Queen Elizabeth, planted in front of the original cottage, in the spot where a large palm tree used to grow. Surrounded now by lavender and succulents, our new rose is thriving.
Autumn is a great time to see roses in flower before they rest for the winter. We hope you pay a visit soon and enjoy all the roses of Netherby.
