kicking goals

Unusually for Bob & Ruth Dwyer, who are so precise in all things, their property is called Two Gates Farm - but actually there are three sets of gates at the entrance !

These gates open to a most wonderful garden & house that faces in the opposite direction to Lynwood, with far reaching views to the Blue Mountains in one direction, and the coast in another. 

There is an air of anticipation arriving at the Dwyer's.  Every detail is as carefully thought out as the restrained yet fabulous entrance. As a team Bob & Ruth are unbeatable (a bit like the Wallaby team that Bob coached to Rugby World Cup success).

 Here we are looking down to the dam where there are plenty of ducks that we could chase - but we are on best behaviour (that's me on the right)

How adorable is the tennis house ?

God help any bit of wayward grass

the pool house also dresses up very well for lunches and dinners

the sitting room with a wonderful polished concrete floor

the dining area where the brilliant views accompany Ruth's delicious food & Bob's delicious wine (can you believe occasionally he includes New Zealand wine ?).

the main entrance

Veggies, veggies everywhere !

when is a vegetable not a vegetable ?

when its a Chelsea cabbage ! 

(this one was bought in 1997 at the Pamela Harriman sale at Sotheby's New York).

 Here a Staffordshire rabbit sits in a vegetable patch of Anne Gordon porcelain (don't the peas look deliciously real ?). Behind are Longton Hall leaf plates. 

Anne, who was the Marchioness of Aberdeen, sadly died a few years ago. Mrs. Monro was her London dealer. 

okay, which are the real ones here ?

ice bucket in the servery

bird's eye view of kitchen drawers

leaf plates in the servery

tromp l'oeil mangoes from Pigott's Store

More Anne Gordon  vegetables, in the TV room - you can see lovely examples of her work in books written by the very clever Charlotte Moss.

THEY can't eat these eggs (but lots of people have tried to pick them up at breakfast!)

and here are the real ones, just picked for dinner tonight.

of course, all I get are biscuits, even though I love vegetables too !

Kentucky ?

Have you ever seen a prettier view - but its not Kentucky. It is Wildes Meadow, only 10 minutes from Lynwood. 

This is the entrance to Old Fernbrook Farm, where Trish & John Muir have simply the most beautifully maintained property in the whole district.

The horse's head is a hint to what you will see over the road

Trish at her front door

 Trish balances symmetry and abundance so cleverly - she worked with garden designer Peter Fudge (more pictures can be seen in his marvellous book True Form)

the pear walk with a view of the farm beyond 

here is John on his way over the road to their thoroughbred stud  

this is Jesse's Garden - a memorial to their beloved puppy - I am sorry that I never met her -  could someone ask for a nicer resting place ? especially one protected by geese (in  this case sculpted by Brooke Morris)

 

 An espalier apple on the Ken Rosewall tennis pavillion - HE who loves espaliers is fed ample chocolate cake (& champagne !) in return for the odd pruning of this apple. He wishes it needed more frequent pruning.

Trish finds things that no one else does - this quirky sculpture is by Helen Ellis from the Mornington Penninsular in Victoria

have you ever seen a smarter entrance (actually its the back entrance to the farm)

the avenue of plane trees leading to their horse stud

I think Trish spoils everyone at Old Fernbrook Farm

but here is the real point of this wonderful property