The answers are, who – us  mostly, how – hard work and why – just a little silly really I suppose! The Garden actually started as a project to reclaim a section of hill scarified years previous (to us) when  power was first run to the block. Left to the elements the erosion had become quite extensive and a little to ’scrub like’  for the view from our back door. With horses and cattle we had plenty of manure to use as fill in the erosion tracks. Add to this the timber and rocks collected from around the property, hundreds (possibly thousands) of bales of mulch, tonnes of soil transferred from around the property – the erosion was stopped and the hill reclaimed!! During that process however, my vision of a narrow track and bush garden had transformed into six terraced levels of garden, set amongst numerous formal hedges, acres of landscaped garden and hundreds of plants, including large plantings of rose varieties.

Our garden was never designed (actually it was literally never designed) with the intention of being a public garden, but we found that friends and visitors really enjoyed and appreciated our efforts.  The result is that we have been taken on a journey that now includes opening  our gardens and property to the public for weddings, functions and tours.

Neither of us have any formal horticultural qualifications. Arthur of course has the irrigation skills so could ensure  – drought permitting – that water would eventually get to where it was required. (However, that doesn’t  mean that dragging 30 metre lengths of  20mm hose up and down our hill is a thing of the past!)  Generally our best gardening attribute is that we both make pretty good labourers and do manage to work pretty well together – luckily.

Our first plants Iceberg Standard Roses were planted in 2004 and each year more and more additions and replacements have been planted.  Until now that is.  I think this year may well be my last for new plants! Now it’s all about the maintenance – sitting back watching plants grow and of course taking time to stop and smell the  roses!! This is just a little history of the Before – The After continues to grow and develop – so please visit us to see how the garden grows! Click Here to view more before photos of our Garden

The Gums at

Our popular wedding and function venue is normally only open for private functions or by appointment.  By holding our ‘Annual Open Garden Day’ we provide a rare opportunity for the general public to meander through the extensive and beautiful gardens, enjoy quality entertainment and relax in our tranquil rural environment– set away from the hustle and bustle of a busy world.  The Gardens will be open from 10am until 4pm.  Hot and cold refreshments will be available throughout the day including morning and afternoon tea, wine and cheese platters, and a barbeque lunch prepared by the local Wooroolin Scout Group. The day’s program also includes music by resident entertainer Arthur Nettelfield.  Visit The Gums at Memerambi for this unique opportunity to enjoy the gardens, food and entertainment.  Admission is only $5 with proceeds donated to the Wooroolin Scout Group. (Print Open Day PDF Flyer)

Money Saving Ideas

A Wedding Cake doesn’t have to be expensive to be delicious, and you can find plenty of money saving ideas when looking for your wedding cake.  If you are working on a budget, shop around for prices on Wedding Cakes and be sure to sample them.

Top Layers

Customarily the top tier of the Wedding Cake was always saved for serving either on the couple’s first anniversary or at the christening of their first child – whichever came first!  However, in the past the Wedding Cake was a brandy-soaked fruit affair that was easily preserved for long periods of time. Today, Wedding Cakes are made from delicious but often hard to preserve flavours and fillings and some couples wait longer than a year before even thinking about having children. So saving the top tier of the Wedding Cake becomes a harder proposition.   Either way, you should choose a flavour for your top layer that both of you will enjoy!

Layers

Traditionally the number of layers or the size of a Wedding Cake signified prosperity and friendships.  Now it is more about ensuring all guests receive a slice of the Wedding Cake.  As a money saving idea why not have your Wedding Cake plated by your caterer and served with a customised condiments for dessert.  This is actually quite a popular choice for Couples at The Gums.

Flavor

Whether you choose the traditional fruit cake or an exotic flavour, keep in mind that not everyone is going to like your choice.  Why not alternate your layers with popular  alternatives?  Perhaps try  chocolate chip, or if you are having a three layered cake indulge in a layer each of chocolate, caramel and white chocolate.

Decoration

If you have someone that has taken a cake decorating class or makes great cakes, you may find that they will do it as a wedding present and it will save you some money.  In our family, as I’m sure in many others, it was my Grandmother who made and iced all the cakes to celebrate our special occasions. Although, unfortunately not this one – the Wedding Bell Cake at our own Wedding!

Click on the link to  download our Top 10 – List of Reasons why  you  should choose to have your Wedding Ceremony and Reception at The Gums.   From start to Finish – Set Up to Clean Up  – we have the Top 10  Reasons for you to be married at The Gums.

Click on the image above to enlarge

I don’t want to give away my age so I’ll just say I have over 33 years experience in the irrigation industry. Now, as a private contractor I offer my knowledge and experience to clients of the South Burnett and beyond. From household pumps to agricultural pivots no job is too  big or too small!

Whether you require water harvesting, sub surface irrigation, under tree irrigation, solid set irrigation, submersible bore pumps, solar pumping, pivot / boom / soft hose / hard hose irrigators, household pumps, stock watering systems, water treatment, water filtration, fertilizer injection, effluent disposal, micro systems including garden and sports field applications (wow) or more.  I can help to save you time and money by customising a system for your domestic, agricultural, industrial or commercial situation.

The photo shows the installation of a China Pump. The water collected will be distributed by pivot for irrigation of agricultural crops.  For pump repairs, irrigation sales and service Contact Me now to discuss your individual needs.

It is only our second year of sponsoring the Wondai meetings and this time I was able to help with another task for the day – assisting with Clerk of the Course duties!  With regular assistant Kristen having commitments to local trainer Tony Williams a back up was required for just a couple of races.  Mmmm – first time for everything I suppose. Not my first time behind the barriers but previous experience was for crowd control at Metropolitan race meetings in Adelaide and yes I’m a South Aussie. Anyway, I’m not sure if I will be asked back but I did manage to make it through the day without incident and actually had a pretty good day.

My thoroughbred gelding Hunter (Jungle Jim by Lionhunter) and Shorty (Clerk of the Course Shorty O’Toole) made a brief appearance during  the day for practice. But, mostly Hunter remained in the stabling area and surrounds adjusting to the calm, non racing duties of the day.  Hunter was just a little nervous and did find stepping onto the race track a little bit exciting!!  All good experience and with more outings and education such as this he may well make it as a Clerk of Course Horse!

Can’t forget a special thanks to Mum for making our saddle pads for the day – just one of the items  in her horseware range. Congratulations to all for a great day out.

Me riding Buster leading Wrighty to the barriers for the start of Race 2.

Hunter & Shorty having a little practice look around between races.

But, also the components of our business complement each other positively and help make The Gums the unique property that it is. Our extensive gardens for example, not only offer a formal location for wedding ceremonies but also contain a range of  irrigation ideas and solutions from drip tubing, automated fertilizing, solar pumping and much much more. This is how I actually got Arthur interested in Gardening!! Now we utilize our gardens not only for their beauty but also as  a display for some of the irrigation systems and solutions Arthur can provide to you.

But it doesn’t stop in the garden. Arthur can save you time and money with pumping and irrigation solutions for your domestic, agricultural, industrial or commercial situation. Including sales, repairs, maintenance, installation and design assistance. Arthur provides a mobile service to the South Burnett and beyond. So, call Arthur today to discuss your  irrigation needs. See our Contact Page for details.

Our wedding planner service includes several simple planning tools. These easy to use documents help us to work with you step by step to plan your Wedding Day and ensure all your needs at The Gums are addressed – in a timely and stress free manner! One of these tools our ‘Wedding Day Timetable’ has been developed in response to the request from Brides for assistance with setting Wedding Day schedules.  We offer this tool free when you book your Wedding with us.  Just another way we help to ensure stress free wedding planning at The Gums.  Keep checking our Blog for other articles and tips to help keep your Wedding Planning – Stress Free!!