Ripponlea

Today I went to see the exhibition of wonderful costumes from the TV show "Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries" at Ripponlea Estate. I really enjoyed the exhibition, which has been extended until 1st December if you haven't seen it yet. Approaching the house from the driveway:

Unfortunately you aren't allowed to take any photos inside the mansion, so I can't show you even a glimpse of the clothes or the way they are arranged inside the house. I was particularly fascinated by the mock-up of the workroom of the designer, Marion Boyce, with some of her extensive stash of beautiful fabrics on display, as well as notebooks and half-made costumes.

The ban on photography doesn't extend to the gardens, fortunately, and I spent quite a while wandering around the grounds, seeing parts I haven't previously visited. The fernery is something I do remember having seen before, but I still loved it:

The windmill is new since my last visit, but is a re-creation of one which was there originally. You can climb the lower part of it to get a nice view of the heritage apple orchard, where some of the trees are still blossoming. The windmill is part of the water recycling scheme for the gardens.

The perennial borders will look wonderful later in summer, but not much is flowering at the moment. On the right side of this footpath is a dahlia garden with only small shoots up so far.

I loved this wrought-iron flourish on a fence:

Somehow on previous visits I have missed seeing the lake! Here's the view across the lake from the tall pavilion at the southern end of the garden.

The gardens in the foreground feature some interesting succulents. Looking back from the other side of the lake you can see the waterfall:

Willows, waterlilies and irises:

Reminding me of the Monet exhibition.

The western side of the house:

The terrace in front of the house is lined with a bed of Lorraine Lee roses, which fitted the 1920's theme of the day, being bred in 1924.

All in all it was a gorgeous day!