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It's almost a decade since Kerry and Greg Schneider bought Mona at Braidwood, the NSW southern tablelands town that recently received a blanket listing in the State Heritage Register including for the preservation of rural vistas. The Schneiders inherited a well known and much-loved garden, created around a stone homestead and comprising mature cold-climate trees, sweeping lawns and an enchanting walled garden.

They have built on this horticultural heritage and extended the garden, influenced by their readings of the 18th century English landscape masters. Now, a double avenue of pin oaks (Quercus palustris) - at present a dramatic autumn crimson - in one of the paddocks greets the travellers along the Kings Highway.

Any noise from the highway has been addressed by installing 750 ‘Green Spire' Leyland cypresses as an oval-shaped forest on the southeastern border of the property. Nearby, a swooping eagle crafted in forged iron seems to land on a boulder in the landscape.

Another of the earliest tasks was the planting of stands of evergreen holly oak (Quercus ilex) to protect exposed parts of the garden; frosts in the district can be minus 10C.

In all more than 4000 trees have been planted, through which a 1 km walk meanders. Dozens of beech trees accompany 800 linden and 500 plane trees, along with horse chestnut and large copses of red oak (Quercus rubra).

An expansive lake has been laid out to link the original formal gardens and homestead with the maturing parkland and surrounding rural views.

Edged with water purifying grasses including the vigorous bamboo-like Phragmites australis with its plumes of autumn flowers, and the club rush Schoenoplectus validus, it is home to platypuses and black swans.

Swathes of river oaks (Casuarina cunninghamiana) act as a windbreak against the northwesterly winds, which were causing erosion of the lake banks and battering the blooms in the formal rose garden. Now well established and further protected by a hedge of juniper, the rose garden houses a large selection of David Austins, the English roses bred for their robust growth and repeat flowering habit.

Closer to the house, a wooden door set in an imposing wall leads you from the upper lawn to the north garden, where a circle of mophead robinias form a canopy over The Torso, a sculpture by Patricia Lawrence.

Beyond the original walled garden and on the western side of the house, a lead urn rests within a parterre of quarters, formed from double hedges of slipped Lonicera nitida and box, each segment filled with a mass of spring bulbs. A dense green backdrop is created by a dozen red cedars (Thuja plicata), 4m tall.

After careful tree surgery, the dark and mysterious elm woods have been opened up to create lines of sight through the garden spaces. The pathways that wind through this woodland are bordered with jonquils and daffodils that start flowering at the end of winter, followed by carpets of bluebells in late September and by hundreds of rhododendron, spectacular in mid to late spring. "But my favourite in the garden is Viburnum x burkwoodii," Kerry Schneider says. "The autumn leaves glow a soft ruby red colour and in spring they produce clusters of white flowers with a heavenly scent".

Pruning of the viburnum hedges earlier this year has redefined the boundary between the upper and lower lawns and highlighted the beautiful finials that top an old, curved wall where coaches once arrived.

The garden at Mona still offers surprises: following generous rains in winter and spring last year, the old cherry, plum and pear trees are laden with fruit, adding to a regular autumn bounty of apples and quinces. And there is much, much more in this inspiring, yet restful garden.

PRUNINGS
*Mona's beautiful woolshed, reached by a recently planted corridor of autumn colouring Manchurian pears, can accommodate large or small events. The annual Mona Ball is on May 20. The second antique auction is held the first week of September.

The historic Coachhouse, built in 1903 and shaded by a grand old English oak, has been converted into luxurious accommodation, or stay in the beautifully converted stables.
Inquire also about the Mona Experiences, including a Foodies Gourmet Trail where guests who wish to do their own cooking are directed to all the regional produce. An Angels on Horseback experience, for those wanting to learn about horses, is also planned.