Ali Mentish is a quiet gentle man. Over the 10 years that I have been visiting Red Cow Farm I have come appreciate his passion for plants, his creative talent and his love of gardens.

Ali is committed to the cultivation of the most rare and interesting plants that he can source from his contacts around the globe. His love of plants, coupled with a love of beauty, has inspired him to create Red Cow Farm in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. His creative spirit is fuelled by his unfailing energy that has resulted in a series of gardens within a garden.

This garden is a work in progress “it will never be finished. The garden is a canvas, but unlike a painter, it is never finished, it is always evolving and as it ages, micro climates change and present opportunities for greater scope for plant combinations.”

This passion has intensified with the garden he is still in the process of building at Red Cow Farm in Sutton Forest, in the Southern Highlands of NSW. In autumn the garden reaches a peak of maturity. In the mellow autumn sunlight it glows along with its autumn foliage.

Red Cow Farm, named for the red Hereford cows that once roamed over this property, is probably one of the finest gardens in the country, considering its youth, just eleven years, and the scope of the planting schemes.

Ali loves roses. “I keep coming back to them, their flamboyant scent, the balance each gives to its setting. Roses are rewarding and I have reasonable success with them”.

What a huge understatement, Ali grows fabulous roses, old fashioned and David Austin and gives them constant encouragement. “My favourite rose changes every week. Last month it was ‘Wedding Day’ flowering in a froth of white on the island. Then ‘Albertine’ had its turn on the bridge. At the moment I love ‘Crown Princess Marguerita’, a recent introduction from David Austin, a good grower to 5’ and a good pillar rose in a lovely quilted orange colour and a fruity perfume like a sweet tea rose scent.

Golden Celebration I love for its colour, a big flower and a big shrub (full petalled rich yellow DA).

Rosa sweginzowii is one of my favourite roses. It’s a great foliage plant, with blue/grey leaves and dark pink single flowers. But it’s the scarlet flagon-shaped hips that develop after the flowers, that I love in early autumn, on a large lax shrub about 6’ (2m). Hips last right through autumn.”

Here at Red Cow roses grow to perfection. Most roses are partnered with large flowered clematis that twine through them in spring. Once the flowers have finished the decorative fluffy seed capsules keep the interest through summer and autumn. Some pillars support three roses and three clematis. This is intensive horticulture, the result of a strict feeding and watering schedule, gives Ali the results.

I wondered if Ali has time for anything else... “I love music, I’d like to play. I have a good collection of CDs, mostly early religious music, Palestrina, Britten, Mozart’s Requiem …I love it. And I collect Armani ties, I love their design, gives me inspiration and the fabric and the colours …ideas of colour combinations for the garden.”

In a frenzy of activity before the garden opens in spring, Ali sometimes has to work in the dark to get things finished.

For the fifth time since early spring Ali is giving me a tour of the garden, so different each time as the spring then summer season progresses. I have been astounded at the intensity of the planting as layer upon layer of plant material grows from bare winter ground to flower then be replaced with another plant on the same spot the take the colour through to the next season.

We come to the lake where a tangerine oriental poppies catches my eye. The orange tulips have finished and  glowing orange crocosmia are still to come to take the orange along with it into autumn with burnt orange flowers (bracts) of Euphorbia  griffithii. “This is one of the best euphorbias with strong lovely foliage that always looks fresh and long flowering from spring to autumn.” The symphony proceeds to the next movement.

“I love the lake, the primary colours in autumn like the yellow of the liriodendron (Tulip Tree) that changes to orange and the yellow American Ash (Fraxinus americana). Love the warm oranges and reds of the maples. Acer rufinerve, one of the snakebark maples (from Japan with striped bark and deep dull crimson leaves in autumn with orange tones) and Acer grisseum with lovely bark a rusty dark orange/brown and lovely autumn foliage, orange with crimson tints and then the seed pods come in such quantity, they really stand out and persist right through winter well into spring.”

Ali is adventurous with colour but he tempers it with foliage. “I love all colours and one of my great joys is working with them to create harmonies, excitement and serenity. You can never go wrong if you mix purple and gold and silver foliage together. You will always succeed. Then go can add [other] colours to it with perennials”

Built structures complement the garden and give opportunities for planting schemes…

“the Monastery Garden is a religious experience that has be achieved with plants that give an inner serenity and help me keep a balance in my life. It’s a personal journey that keeps me grounded”.

This garden is enclosed on two sides with a tall cherry laurel hedge that mirror the cloisters in a monastery. The back wall is rendered brick with indented arches in which ivy is contained. This gives depth to this garden and a backdrop for exuberant perennials that spill over low buxus hedges in the shape of a Celtic Cross, that gives this garden its structure. This garden reaches its climax of flowering in autumn.

“Someone asked me if the Monastery Garden has always been here. Sometimes I have to let them down gently….it’s living theatre”.

.    The wooden bridge also looks like it’s been there forever. “it plays a role to support the garden, almost like a piece      of sculpture really”. And beautiful hand made stone walls in the Walled Garden that “support plants with a micro-climate for more opportunities for landscaping”.

His Abess Garden continues the religious theme “it’s an extension of the Monastery Garden to keep the garden united, to avoid conflict, to create flow through the garden. The Oratory (summerhouse) is built of brick, rendered and painted, gives the garden an intimacy. There’s a simple seat for contemplation, for framed views. I started with the repeat flowering roses …built special pillars to give the structure. In here the roses climax in autumn along with late perennials. There’s lots of scent and colour with a variety of plants to complement the roses.

As the shadows lengthen quality of light changes …”see this lovely vista, the way the light is travelling today it is lovely from here and you can appreciate the dappled shade. Gardening is light, it’s the reflection of light and how we perceive colour. It changes of course with the season. In autumn the light is lower and softer and makes me appreciate the whole experience.  In this country we can enjoy bright colours because the strong light saturates those colours. We can enjoy much stronger planting schemes (than gardens in England for example). For example blue is best seen late afternoon into evening. It stands out better and so it dictates combinations in the borders. Japanese Iris for example come on in summer in deep blue, I just love them, I can’t get enough of them. I have quite a collection of iris, all of them have fantastic foliage that keeps the garden looking fresh the whole time even when the flowers have gone”

But for all this the garden is a team effort. Ali and Wayne (Morrissey) work together tirelessly to bring their creation into being.

 “It’s demanding, an every day involvement but it’s a wonderfully creative, a way to express my personality, its my indulgence. And it’s always growing and always changing.”

Red Cow Farm is opened from every day from mid March to mid May.

Ali Favourites

Cotinus ‘Grace’ (Smoke Bush)

A great performer all year round that gives solid structure to the garden. In spring the new dark plum foliage has a burnished tinge. This intensifies in summer and stays solid. Many purple foliages such as Purple Beech, become somber and heavy. Then the feathery soft flowers come and last right through autumn before they dry off.

And the foliage changes too. The cool nights intensify the purple and red/orange tints with yellow. In winter the leaves fall but I keep it there as sticks until early spring then I cut it back by 50% to encourage fresh young growth. I keep it at 8’x8’.

Acer griseum (Snakebark Maple)

It’s the smooth, shiny trunk that I love and the flakey bark. That fabulous burnished orangey brown satin trunk. Love its texture. It’s very slow but will get to 25’, good for a small space. In autumn there is a great colour change from green to crimson and orange. Papery seed heads (samara) develop in abundance, parched grey and translucent and hang on right through winter until the new spring foliage pushes them off.

We grow it in the woodland in with perennials like Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ with orange flowers that echo the trunk. And as a highlight the strong blue aconitum (Monkshood) looks good with it. Hydrangea paniculata grows here too, with creamy white flowers aging to a oxblood colour.

Buddleia crispa

Has lovely mauve/pink flowers in spring each with a yellow throat. It’s a lax shrub and I don’t prune it, just let it grow to its potential with weeping soft form, about 10’ by 10’. It grows it in the Walled Garden, up against the wall to keep it warm. It is frost tender so it enjoys the micro-climate inside this wall. In spring the new leaves are a beautiful large felted grey and they push off the flowers. Its tough once established and drought tolerant. We grow it with the rose ‘Altissimo’ to accentuate the glowing red colour of the blooms.

Euphorbia schillingii

This is a very solid plant, good blue/grey foliage that makes a strong statement in the garden. The flowers are bracts and chartreuse, very fresh right through summer and autumn. They don’t fade like other euphorbias. I cut it back when the flowers fade and that encourages more growth with strong stems from the base. Grows about 3’. It’s a very good perennial, does self seed but is not invasive, unlike other euphorbias.

Clematis ‘Prince Charles’

 I grow clematis with most of the roses. Their requirements are similar so they make good companions. They give me greater scope for colour and the blue of the clematis are lovely with roses.

“Prince Charles’ was introduced from New Zealand 10 years ago. It’s vigorous to 8’ with abundant flowers, light blue with a strike of violet through the petal and yellow stamens. We grow it in the Abess garden, through a weeping Silver Pear. In autumn there are more flowers and then fluffy seed capsules. This is one of the tough Viticella clematis, can handle more sunshine but you must keep the roots cool.

Virburnum sargentii

This shrub is compact and upright to 10’. The leaves are tri-lobed (like a maple) and fresh green. Growth is strong especially in heavier moist soil. In spring the branches are covered with creamy white ‘lacecap’ flowers. It’s a froth of white, not fragrant like other viburnum, but lovely in its form. In autumn the leaves change to yellow with orange tints turning to crimson and red. Cold temperatures induce better colouring. As well the red berries form in huge bunches, translucent and glowing. For some reason the birds don’t like them so they are consistent every year. In winter they look lovely with the frost.

Dahlia ‘Bishop of Llandaff’

It’s the foliage I enjoy, dark crimson/purple, and serrated soft and fern-like. It grows to 6’ and then early summer the scarlet flowers, single with yellow stamens. I grow it in the Monastery and don’t stake it. The box hedges here support it to some extent. I grow it with Alstroemeria ‘Orange King’ and they flower together right through autumn.

I love dahlias for their solid clear colours. They are not murky and that makes them special. ‘David Howard’ is another bronze leafed variety that I love with apricot flowers good alongside the red foliage Canna purpurescens