Wendy Whiteley's (not so) Secret Garden

Tucked away in the curve of Lavender Bay, is a little green oasis, created by Wendy Whiteley the wife of artist Brett Whiteley. They moved to the area in 1970, when I suspect the area, was far more working class and undesirable to live in, but cheap and quiet and perfect for creative pursuits.

The area below their house was an unkempt, weed-filled railway yard dump.
After Brett's death in 1992, Wendy's grief sent her outside looking for hard, physical work, something she could actually control and a mess that she could clean up.

Wendy hurled herself into the forlorn site, hacking away at lantana, blackberry vines and privet, clearing up dumped bottles, rusty refrigerators, rotting mattresses, labouring till she was too exhausted to think or feel, then collapsing into sleep each night. Then doing the same, the next day and the next. Wendy never asked any authorities for permission, and no one told her to stop, so she kept going.

From this hard work, has sprung a lovely garden full of meandering paths, with oodles of nooks and crannies for solo meditations, quiet catch-ups with friends and larger areas for casual picnics. Oh, and a view of the harbour that might look familiar to those who know Brett's work.

For the full story about Wendy and her garden, please visit the dedicated website here.

Wendy's Garden is also included in the Circular Quay to Lavender Bay walk in Sydney's Best Harbour and Coastal Walks by Katrina O'Brien.

This post is part of Saturday Snapshot.