For Lorna and Brad Taylor, their Paringa rose garden reflects more than 60 years of budding romance.
With more than 450 varieties of roses, the couple has created a thriving oasis, which is considered one of the best open gardens in the Riverland Rose and Garden Festival.
Brad and Lorna Taylor’s garden is home to more than 450 rose varieties. (ABC Riverland: Amelia Walters)
“[People] can see ducks, chooks, butterflies, a swimming pool made into a fishpond … I love it. I just love it,” Ms Taylor said.
“We have made friends along the way, and it’s just nice to open your home and hear people say, ‘It’s a lovely garden.'”
The Taylor’s garden is a butterfly paradise. (ABC Riverland: Amelia Walters)
A festival that rose to fame
Celebrating its 30th year, the Riverland Rose and Garden Festival is now home to more than 30 open gardens run by locals who not only love nature but their regional rose community.
It was spearheaded by late rose expert David Ruston, credited for helping put his hometown of Renmark on the map with his passion for the flower.
He planted more than 50,000 rose species, creating the largest private rose garden in the Southern Hemisphere.
David Ruston, the first Australian president of the World Federation of Rose Societies, is honoured with a statue. (ABC Riverland: Amelia Walters)
Ms Taylor said she believed Mr Ruston’s influence helped mould her craft in the garden.
“A friend and I went along to a few classes at Ruston’s Roses and David taught us the basics of what you do,” she said.
“Then over the years we became great friends of David’s and looked after him until the end.”
David Ruston is highly commemorated in the Riverland with a memorial dedicated to him at Renmark. (ABC Riverland: Amelia Walters)
Ms Taylor said she fondly remembered the day Mr Ruston chose the couple’s home as one of the first to feature in the festival.
“I didn’t know ours had been picked,” she said.
“And [David] came around the corner, walked around the back and he said to me, ‘Oh, yeah … this garden is OK. Yep. Can we have it in the festival?”
Thirty years on, former committee member Richard Fewster is amazed by the success the festival has seen.
“It’s been largely through its own self, generating its own interest,” he said.
“The fact the festival has grown to be the biggest rose and garden festival in Australia and runs for 10 days is really quite significant.”
Riverland Rose and Gardens Festival showcases more than 30 open gardens each year. (ABC Riverland: Amelia Walters)
Mr Fewster said the breakthrough moment was changing the scope of the festival to “broaden the appeal of the event” beyond just roses.
But he admitted the theme around the Riverland had heavily stuck to its roots.
“As the late [rosarian] Kevin Trimper pointed out to me, garden tourism is second only to food and wine globally,” Mr Fewster said.
“And I’ve always said if anyone can see everything in 10 days, they’re either going to get picked up for speeding or are superhuman.”
The Taylors have spent more than 50 years perfecting their Paringa home and garden. (ABC Riverland: Amelia Walters)
Chance encounter blossoms into romance
The Taylors have always been gardening fanatics, with Ms Taylor inspired by her mother, and Mr Taylor by his employment at a plant nursery in Barmera.
The Taylors converted their swimming pool into a pond once the children left home. (ABC Riverland: Amelia Walters)
But it was a chance encounter when Ms Taylor gained her driver’s licence at 16 that set the wheels in motion for a lifelong journey together.
“My sister and I went down to Barmera, and as we pulled into a cafe to grab a coffee, there were some young lads sitting along the curb, giving us a bit of a look over,” Ms Taylor said.
“We went into the cafe and when we came out, they were laughing and carrying on as we got into our car and began backing out.
“I said to my sister, ‘What’s that noise?’ and it turned out those boys had taken our wheel hubs off and put stones in them. That’s how I first met Brad.”
It was Mr Taylor’s cheeky nature that won over his wife (second from right) and sparked more than half a century of love and laughter. (Supplied: Lorna Taylor)
‘Beautiful’ to create garden
Now in their early 80s, the happy couple has been showcasing their Paringa garden for 26 years, almost as long as the Riverland Rose and Garden Festival has been running.
Brad and Lorna bonded over their love of nature. (Supplied: Lorna Taylor)
Ms Taylor said she just wanted to pass on her gardening wisdom onto younger community members.
“You want to check where the sun comes up and where you’re going to plant your trees for shade to keep your house cool,” she said.
“Remembering little things like that is important.”
Calling time on their lifelong gardening romance remains a tough decision for the Taylors.
Mr Taylor said their intention was to continue gardening for as long as they physically could but they were stepping back from additional festival duties.
Lorna Taylor says although she and her husband argue about the garden, it only makes it look better. (ABC Riverland: Amelia Walters)
They are proud of how they have turned the property they built together from scratch into a space the public loves to visit every year.
As Mr and Ms Taylor get closer to hanging up their gardening boots, they reflect on the power of the Riverland Rose and Garden Festival.
“I’m very proud of what we have built,” Ms Taylor said.
“I’m grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to meet lots of people along the way, work with lovely people and amazing gardens. It’s been beautiful.”
The Riverland Rose and Garden Festival runs until Sunday, October 27.
