Wendy's Secret Garden
Wendy's Secret Garden is a great place to just wander and the perfect spot for a picnic; close to the city centre, but far from its madding crowds.
The secret of this inner city garden is well and truly out and it has fast become a go to spot for weddings, parties and family outings. It is a popular escape for office workers and locals and a magical fairyland for young children. And to think, it was once an overgrown heap of rubbish beside a disused railway line.
The Secret Garden, which lies at the foothill of her home in Lavender Bay, began as a way for Wendy Whiteley to channel her grief following the death of her artist husband Brett in 1992. Slowly and painstakingly, Wendy cleared the area of weeds and years-old piles of debris. First she worked alone, but was soon joined by other gardeners and together they toiled, turned and terraced the land, planted thousands of trees and built what has become one of Sydney’s treasures.*
You can enter the park via the steps on Walker St, though Clark Park, or by climbing the stairs opposite the Lavender Bay jetty. The huge Moreton Bay Fig (which featured in many of Brett Whiteley’s paintings), acts as a grand gateway to the garden which spills out at its feet.
Many have noted and I agree, that the garden seems to hug you as you enter it, descending the stairs down from the fig. And if you come in the quiet early morning, before the crowds, you can feel like you have it all to yourself and get lost in its magic.
The beauty of the garden lies in its winding paths and the botanical delights to be found around every corner. The withered branch handrails are delightful as are the many and varied whimsical sculptures and salvaged pieces scattered throughout the garden. The sheer variety of plants here ensures that birdlife is various too and screeching lorikeets, kookaburras and the ubiquitous brush turkeys are among the garden’s many regular winged inhabitants.
If you’re visiting the garden with children I can think of no better place for a championship round of hide and seek. And there are table and chairs aplenty for a family picnic.
Wendy Whitely has created a wonderful treasure in this garden; a living, thriving work of art. And though she’s in her mid seventies now she can often still be seen here, scarfed and muddy handed, pottering around among the plants.