How the garden grew

When the Boyces purchased the land in 1929 it comprised a spur of eucalyptus woodland running south from Mt Lofty on its northern border, a scrap of natural rainforest and a run-down dairy farm, including one cultivated paddock.

The garden they built became known for its towering native gum and brush box trees, deviating from the 1920s and 1930s trend of planting European exotics, showcasing the Boyces' forward-thinking approach. A favourite project of theirs was the restoration of the remnant rainforest, removing introduced species and establishing a 12-metre canopy.

Leslie and Margaret visited most of the great gardens of the world and Margaret read and indexed many gardening magazines, Australian and international, building up a formidable knowledge of plants and landscape design that is reflected in the garden and its features.

The land in its original state

In the nineteenth century the southern and western parts of the general area were covered by a dense forest of big eucalyptus and scrub box trees. This eucalyptus forest originally covered most of the area on which Toowoomba stands and the remains of it can still be seen surrounding the city in most directions.

The north-eastern area, lying in a valley running down the south-east slope of Tick Hill, was covered with typical south Queensland rainforest.

This forest originally extended across Mackenzie Street almost to the edge of the range and must have had an area of some 50 to 100 acres or possibly more. Its probable limits can be set, however, by the eucalyptus still standing on land to the east of Mackenzie Street.

In 1929 when Margaret purchased her land, all the rainforest had been cleared east of Mackenzie Street. The eastern parts of the gardens were still covered with rainforest, but it had been robbed of all the orchids, staghorns, elkhorns and birds nest ferns which are natural to it. The larger trees had been taken, and there had been much invasion of introduced trees such as camphor laurel, ligustrum, celtis and of shrubs and vines such as blackberry and lantana.

The scrub was cleared so that only 4 or 5 acres remained of the original very much larger Fairy Glen Scrub, as it had been named in the nineteenth century.

Much of the general gardens area had been cleared or cultivated. Judging by the dead tree stumps, the area had originally been covered by very large trees which must have been felled for fence posts and rails or for timber. The trees standing on the land in 1929 and most of which remain today must have been the younger or re-growth trees.

Remoulding the land

After Margaret had designed the house site, drive and surrounding terraces, the spur was remoulded, every foot of top soil being removed, stored and then re-spread over the shaped terraces ... and this was in the days of pick, shovel and wheelbarrow that preceded the bulldozer.

It was the Boyces' proud boast that they never lost a centimetre of top soil in 50 years of gardening. This tradition continued with their Estate Manager Daryl Mears.

The house was built and the Boyces moved in after their wedding on 29 April 1930. They lived and gardened here for the rest of their lives, and after their deaths (Margaret in 1984 and Leslie in 1988) their ashes were scattered in the garden.

Restoring the rainforest

The restoration and preservation of the remnant of rainforest on the north-east corner of the property was a favourite project. Before the Boyces' time it had been robbed of all its orchids, stags and elkhorns and tree ferns. The larger trees had been milled and birds had brought in alien trees, shrubs and vines. After the exotics were removed a canopy of only about 12 metres (40 feet) remained.

A plantation of hoop pines was established on the eastern border to provide initial protection, and the Boyces set about re-introducing indigenous trees, shrubs, vines and ferns, encouraging their growth with a buit-in rain-like fine spray watering system (years before such things became common).

Today the forest canopy is more than 30 metres (100 feet) high, and the natural ecology is restored so that watering is not needed.

Cultivating the gardens

Over the years they established a sunken garden (now the White Graden), a terraced flower garden, a western walk and shrubbery, a walled garden, beautifully lawned terraces, rockeries, and a thriving fruit and vegetable garden in the vicinity of the house.

Margaret continually experimented with new species, trying, for instance, dozens of varieties of daffodils and iris and many lilums and rhododendrons, to establish which did and which did not "do" in Toowoomba. Since good records have been kept, these experiments are of great value to Toowoomba gardeners (access to the Margaret and Leslie Boyce papers are available by appointment from the Fryer Library, The University of Queensland). The Boyces also collected plants and gardening knowledge on numerous trips abroad.

They planted a grove of South African proteas and leucodendrons near the tennis court after a trip to Africa in the early 1950s. They visited most of the great gardens of the world, and Margaret read and indexed many gardening magazines, Australian and foreign, building up a formidable knowledge of plants and design.

Varieties grown

Avocados
Roses
Native orchids
Camellias
Poplars
Azaleas
Bearded Iris
Espalier fruit trees (apricot, plum, apple, peach)
Poinsettias
Hibiscus
English bluebells
Australian violets
Sweet corn
French beans
Squash
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Butternut pumpkins
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Leeks
Lettuce
Asparagus
Boysenberries
Youngberries
Loganberries
Raspberries
Strawberries
Passionfruit.

The above list is not exhaustive.

How the garden grew

The land in its original state

Remoulding the land

Restoring the rainforest

Cultivating the gardens

Contact us