The Gardens of UKARIA

‘My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece.’

– Claude Monet (1840–1926) connection between music and nature

Ulrike Klein has never lived without a garden. Growing up in the German countryside, she was exposed to the healing powers of herbs from an early age. Her parents grew all of their own vegetables to feed and nourish the family – a tradition she has passed on to her own children.

‘It’s what home means for me,’ she says, reflecting on the role of gardens in her life. ‘When I come back from travels, the first thing I do is put my hands into the soil. I love gardening – for me it’s a way to play, and to experiment. Growing flowers has always been an act of creativity, an expression of the joy of life. Part of the intention and purpose behind Jurlique was to reconnect people with nature, because we are part of it. With all the constant change in the world, we are being alienated from that essential life force, which takes us away from ourselves. For me, being in a garden is ‘My own garden at home is constantly changing with the seasons, reminding me of the impermanence of life,’ she continues. In much the same way that a garden is never the same twice, a piece of music is illuminated in new and unpredictable ways as it interacts with the environment in which it is heard. This

like a homecoming each and every time.’ was the inspiration behind the Jurlique Herb Farm concert series, so it was inevitable that a garden would also play an integral role in Ulrike’s vision for the UKARIA Cultural Centre.

Her brief to architect Anton Johnson was simple: every aspect of the Centre had to be designed with the sensory experience of the visitor in mind.

Visual artist Winnie Pelz came up with a conceptual design that saw parking bays nestled into the edges of the garden, with multiple entry points providing access to different areas. Serpentine paths twist and turn their way up the slope towards the Cultural Centre, passing through native flora, traditional roses, lavender and other aromatic flowers and herbs. Large sculptures, a dry-stone labyrinth, shady trees and a water feature complement the idyllic setting. Adelaide Innovative Landscaping completed all the hard landscaping, and Dean Butcher orchestrated an initial planting layout in time for the official opening of the Cultural Centre in August 2015.

Four years later, the garden had grown exponentially, but a more detailed plan was needed to ensure it continued to thrive into the future. In 2019 Steve Hailstone was engaged to come up with a comprehensive strategy for rejuvenating some of the areas that had not yet reached their full potential. He broke the garden up into various points of contemplation, articulated their function within the overall UKARIA experience, and suggested ways in which they could be improved. This vision continues to be implemented today by our gardening team and a group of passionate volunteers, who generously lend us their hands every second Tuesday of the month, from February to November.

The View

Designed to welcome visitors and prepare them for the cultural experience ahead, the entrance provides a seamless transition from the rural beauty of Williams Road to the car park.

The ‘Hills Sculpture Trail’ is a journey of discovery that winds through the rolling landscapes of the Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu Peninsula, linking towns and regions, art and people, nature and beauty. The Klein Family Foundation commissioned sculpture No. 23, entitled The View 2, which sits between the two gates at the entrance of UKARIA. Made of black granite from Black Hill, Walker Flat in South Australia, the work shows a round form with a twisted square.

The artist, Karen van Ommeren, was born in The Netherlands and studied sculpture in Brussels. She uses stone to form a mixture of elegance and beauty, and to portray ideas about eternity, our origins and ourselves. ‘We look through the space in the middle to the scenery behind’, Karen writes, describing The View 2. ‘We see our road, our goal; walking around we see a square, a triangle and the back, always watching the landscape.’ During business hours, a smaller gate provides pedestrian access from the sculpture through to the car park and garden. Small native shrubs, such as Grevillea and myoporum, add colour and variety to the modest flower display. Overhead, pink and grey galahs chirp from the gum trees, the low hanging branches providing shade in the summer months, filling the air with the scent of baked eucalyptus.

Heritage Garden

Framed by hedges of ‘Allardii’ lavender, our Heritage Garden is the first area visitors pass through as they leave the car park and head up towards the concert hall. The planting here is low throughout, to create a sense of walking amongst the roses, which have a very special history and provenance.

‘This was the Jurlique Show Garden,’ Ulrike recalls. The ingredients behind every Jurlique product were all grown here, in what was once the Jurlique Herb Farm. When Ulrike sold the company in 2004, the then-investors wanted to buy the Herb Farm and Show Garden as part of the package. The deal almost broke, because she couldn’t bring herself to give up the farm. They eventually settled on a peppercorn agreement whereby Jurlique retained the right to use the site to produce herbs for twenty-five years. ‘But I was the landlord,’ Ulrike says, ‘so every bit they wanted to change, they had to ask.’ Five years later, Jurlique decided to purchase its own farm in Mylor. At that time, some of their production was still generated here, but having two farms so far apart eventually proved commercially unsustainable. The company released Ulrike of her twentyfive-year commitment, and she could do whatever she liked.

‘That was around the time when we still had Jurlique Herb Farm concerts – totally financed by Jurlique,’ she recalls. ‘The ticketing – everything – came through the Jurlique office. When it was no longer the Jurlique Herb Farm, there was no incentive for Jurlique to have concerts, but I didn’t want to give the concerts up. And that’s when I established the Ngeringa Farm Arts Foundation and continued doing concerts here. So people continued to come up, and walking through the garden was part of the experience.’ When construction for the UKARIA Cultural Centre began, extensive earthwork had to be undertaken: the roses, among other things, had to be dug out. ‘The manager of the Jurlique Herb Farm in Mylor nursed them for me,’ Ulrike recalls, ‘and then when we were ready we brought them back.’

One old tradition may be gone, but thanks to Ulrike’s perseverance, the air at UKARIA is still being perfumed by the scent of the original Jurlique roses. Each year in summer, they bloom in scarlet reds, cherry-blossom pinks, lemon yellows and snow whites as the crisp staccato clicks of cicadas fill the garden.

Culinary herbs also feature prominently throughout the area, such as ‘Blue Lagoon’ rosemary and Salvia officinalis (sage). Judiciously placed perennials such as Salvia leucantha, limoniums, Achillea and scabiosa provide a teaser for the Crescendo Garden ahead.

Santa Rosa Labyrinth

‘Now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.’

– Guillaume Apollinaire (1880–1918)

Installed in 2016 by Gustav Meincke, the Santa Rosa Labyrinth is one of the defining features of the UKARIA garden. ‘One thing I always wanted to have was a labyrinth’, Ulrike says. ‘If I find a maze, I walk it – these things are just instinctual for me.’

Based on the neo-medieval Santa Rosa design by Lea Goode-Harris (1997), the UKARIA labyrinth is divided into four quadrants, blending elements of the seven-circuit classical design with the quarter and half turns of ancient medieval labyrinths. Consisting of 3,600 large oval-shaped beach pebbles, it follows a West–East direction, passing through eighteen different turning points of meditation.

‘We are always so busy we often forget to be self-aware,’ Ulrike says. ‘To walk a maze is to be totally focused in that process, to find your way through the labyrinth of life. It is an invitation to enter a different space, to give ourselves over to it, to meditate.’

Sound and Space

As you exit the Santa Rosa Labyrinth, the paths of the garden converge to a central focal point: Luke Zwolsman’s Sound and Space. Ulrike first met Luke at the 2012 Adelaide Hills International Sculpture Symposium, and watched him craft a magnificent portal in black granite, which is now installed in the Bluestone Estate at Mount Barker.

‘At this stage he did portals, and I thought they were fantastic,’ Ulrike recalls. ‘A portal is a transition, they have so much meaning.’ She was so drawn to his work that, although he lives and works on the Gold Coast, she approached him about a commission for the UKARIA garden. He enthusiastically agreed. ‘At that point we didn’t even have a garden – we had only just started the building, and only the foundations were there,’ she says. ‘But he knew the space, and had a sense of the environment. It’s all so connected.’ A gift to UKARIA from Jurlique to mark its thirtieth anniversary in August 2015, Sound and Space is constructed of Kimberley Pearl granite from Western Australia. ‘The two halves, split and cracked from the one block of granite, curving inward, draw the viewer into the work,’ Luke writes. ‘A portal where the physical body cannot enter, only light, mind and soul may pass through. This journey and transformation happens also when listening to sound, music and meditation.’

A less horticulturally showy space, the surrounding garden is designed to complement the sculpture rather than detract attention away from it. The Stipa gigantum cotinus grass – with its ethereal, floating seed heads – provides an airy atmosphere and soft colours throughout the winter months. Plomis and sedums flower in the summer, as the indigo clusters of agapanthi explode like fireworks, providing an enticing prelude to the Crescendo Garden ahead.

Grass Garden

The Grass Garden sits directly above the Heritage Garden, and is currently in development. The design and vision of the area has been inspired by the grass garden at Frogmore in Victoria. In the years to come, this area will showcase the shades of various grasses, and their subtle differences in texture.

It will come alive from mid-summer through to mid-winter, when the deciduous varieties are in flower. In April, the maiden grass Miscanthus sinesis ‘Flamingo’ will provide feathery ribbons of pink amidst the evergreen blades of Hakanochloa (a Japanese forest grass). In May, the red flowers of Panicum virgatum ‘Rotstrahlbusch’ will complement the gold-rimmed leaves of Rhuss typhina ‘Laciniata’ and Gleditsia triacanthos ‘Sunburst’ trees.

Native Australian varieties, such as Themeda triandra ‘Kangaroo Grass’, Xanthoorhea semiplana (a tufted grass tree) and the lemon-scented Cymbopogon ambiguous, will appear in clumps and drifts. The effect – contrary to the comparatively low plantings in the Heritage Garden – will be one of immersion and envelopment. It will be a place you become keenly aware of the air, as it hisses and sighs through the grasses, creating a special kind of music of its own.

Meeting Circle

Just above the Grass Garden is a meeting circle for celebrations and special events. A row of Manchurian pear trees enclose the space with lush greenery in summer, while banksia cones melt colour like candle wax, attracting a variety of birds, such as the Adelaide Rosella. Peter Maddox’s trio of corten steel instruments – The Strings – is nestled amongst a patch of red-stemmed cornus shrubs, capturing a physical expression of the ‘music in nature’ ethos that is at the heart of UKARIA.

Crescendo Garden

The walk up to the concert hall culminates with the Crescendo Garden, containing a huge variety of herbaceous perennials in a naturalistic style. Here, the visitor is immersed in abundant flower, foliage and scent, preluding the events inside the hall. This area of the garden is the heart of Steve Hailstone’s vision, and requires the most maintenance from our gardeners.

In order to enable the area to become what it is today, sacrifices had to be made. A large Casuarina cunninghamiana (or ‘She-Oak’) tree was a former centrepiece of the garden – indeed, the design of the concert hall was influenced by its presence. For Ulrike, the tree had a sacred, spiritual significance. ‘I had a lot of conversations with that tree, looking out and listening to concerts,’ she recalls. ‘I saw it throughout the seasons, blooming with these little red-orange flowers, and I really loved it.’ But there was a problem. Nothing would grow underneath its evergreen needles. An essential area of the garden remained undeveloped, colourless, dull. Over the years, a few people suggested to Ulrike that the tree should be removed. Her response was always the same: ‘Over my dead body!’ But when Steve presented his plan in 2019, the evidence was too difficult to ignore.

‘For me it’s incredibly painful to let go of trees, but I couldn’t have it both ways,’ Ulrike concedes. ‘I couldn’t have an alive garden, and save a tree that shouldn’t even be there. Underneath, it was really dead. At one stage I thought: it is a tree, and I have the commitment to plant new trees. Sometimes you have to contemplate give and take – removing the tree was a really essential decision for the garden, because suddenly there was an opening – a spaciousness.’ From early spring, red and yellow geums begin to flower, followed by drifts of Salvia nemorosa. Agastache ‘Blue Fortune’, clary sage and Veronicastrum varietals rise up like miniature cathedrals; Aster ‘Ruby Buttons’ and ‘Jolly Bee’ geraniums erupt in vibrant purple explosions. Monarch butterflies flit between tansies, buddleias and euphorbias; the spiky spheres of echinops flash blue amid ‘Lemon Queen’ helianthus and rudbeckias.

The enchanting fragrance of Burkwood virburnum swirls in the air, attracting an abundance of bees. Listening to them work their magic, wings aglow in a golden twilight, makes the world seem a better place: the serenity that buzz evokes, the promise of renewal it carries.

As winter arrives, the perennials are left to decay. The seed heads begin to glisten as sunlight refracts off tiny beads of morning dew, exuding a stark, sepulchral beauty.

Hillside Garden

‘There is nothing I like better at the end of a hot summer’s day than taking a short walk around the garden. You can smell the heat coming up from the earth to meet the cooler night air.’

– Peter Mayle (1939–2018)

The Hillside Garden is one of the most beautiful areas for quiet contemplation. Small benches offer an invitation to dream under the eucalypts and soak up the serenity, while low woody shrubs, such as Correa, Leptospermum, Prostanthera and Ixodia complement and background the neighbouring Crescendo Garden, and allow a view out to the south.

At the heart of the Hillside Garden is a water feature, surrounded by lush Acacia cognata ‘Limelight’ foliage and pink-rimmed echeveria succulents, evoking a ‘creek edge’ appearance. As night falls, the meditative trickling of water plays counterpoint to a chorus of Southern Marsh and Eastern Banjo frogs.

Adjacent to the pond is another beautiful black granite sculpture: Silvio Apponyi’s Whales. Based in Balhannah in the Adelaide Hills, the GermanAustralian sculptor’s primary inspiration is Australian fauna: frogs, kangaroos and eagles feature prominently among his oeuvre. When Ulrike saw Apponyi’s Whales for the first time, she felt an instant attraction to it. ‘I’m usually much more of an abstract person,’ she admits, ‘but it’s just absolutely beautiful. There is this story – I have no idea if it is genuine or not – about the Mount Barker Summit in ancient times. There was a flood, and a whale sacrificed itself so that people could survive by riding on its back. Someone told this story to me. Is it truly an authentic Aboriginal story? I wouldn’t know. But whales are the most amazing, mystical creatures. They’re musical too:

Photo: Dylan Henderson

looking at the sculpture, you can almost hear their song. It could almost be a whale in the landscape.’

The Deck

‘I can think of two very different concert venues which were unforgettable experiences for me as a pianist. The first is the UKARIA Cultural Centre, in Australia’s Adelaide Hills. The concert stage is completely surrounded by glass and while playing, one can see far over the beautiful hills and valleys of South Australia. I have never felt more close to nature, the essence of art, while performing.’

– Ammiel Bushakevitz

The garden bed below the deck is the last area to experience before entering the foyer. It complements the colour scheme and aesthetics of the hall, and foregrounds the distant views from within it, its beauty revealing itself to those who take the time to quietly soak it in during performances.

The more colourful elements are nestled shyly amongst the more voluminous foliage of conifers. In autumn, our Japanese maples, sitting on both sides of the stairway to the main entrance, become crimson testaments to transience.

Embedded into the landscape, off to the left of the main path, is the last sculpture you will encounter: Jan-Olav Hinz’s Listening / Radiating. When it was installed on Thursday 9 November 2017 – just days before we launched our 2018 Season – it was impossible to ignore the powerful symbolism the object exuded.

‘To make something for a specific site is like a puzzle,’ Jan-Olav says. ‘You have to have an idea of what the place should do, what Ulrike has created here – the hopes, the visions. I then have to look to the hall itself, I have to hear a concert, and look out. I see the colours of the landscape – green, red, brown, black. I needed to find a stone that takes these colours in, so Gustav [Meincke] and I went to Wallaroo to find this stone.’

Indeed, one of the most striking aspects of this monolithic block of Harlequin granite is the way its appearance changes with the rhythms of nature, refracting the morning sunlight like a silver lake, and glistening after summer rain like the scales on a fish. ‘But when music is the centre of this place, I also have to think about sound,’ Jan-Olav continues. ‘How can I visualise that? A drop on the surface of water makes waves – that’s what you can see. But maybe these aren’t really water waves – they’re waves that go from the centre, to the world. And Ulrike’s idea was to have a spot, and from a spot, put something out into the world. I made the waves go farther out than the piece itself, so it goes more into the world than what you can see.’

As rainbow lorikeets pruned the bottlebrush, we toasted the installation of the sculpture with sparkling wine and a delicious home made lemon tart, and looked out towards the Mount Barker Summit, dreaming of the years to come. Listening / Radiating speaks to the vision that lies on the perimeter of consciousness – a realm of possibilities that feels endless.

Kitchen Herb Garden

Nestled in the corner of our alfresco setting is a small kitchen herb garden – home to edible flowers including nasturtium and pansy, which add a splash of natural colour to our desserts. In spring, the red poppies begin to bloom – a universal symbol of remembrance – while plantings of Gaura lindheimeri add colour to the garden year round, floating in the air like pink butterflies.

Mediterranean Garden

‘They are constantly occupying my thoughts, it astonishes me that they have not yet been done as I see them. The cypress is as beautiful of line and proportion as an Egyptian obelisk. And the green has a quality of such distinction.’

– Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890)

Our terraced Mediterranean Garden frames our alfresco setting, enveloping the area in a wall of soft greenery. ‘Pencil Pines’ obscure the road above, while Ash trees provide yellow hues in autumn.

In spring, an abundance of tulips begin to sprout, arresting the eye with their petals of iridescent velvet. In December, blue fairy wrens nest in the thickets, flecks of electric blue plumage flashing and dancing amid the rosemary bushes.

Our Gardening Team

Adam Hancock

‘Gardens are a combination of the natural world, human creativity and art. They are a great teacher of life lessons: patience, delayed gratification, hard work vs. reward. They’re also a place of excitement and new beginnings. They force you always to look to the future. You are always planning the next job, season or year, so you are always kept busy looking optimistically to the new things to come.’

Adam is a self-employed gardener based in the Adelaide Hills. Whether working on large gardens or small, he brings a practical approach to garden design and plantings.

Adam’s passion is natural style gardens that are inspired by the beauty of natural ecosystems. This approach considers both the aesthetic as well as the importance of reconnecting people with their environment. His guiding principle is to work with nature rather than trying to compete with it. His holistic approach incorporates all elements of nurturing the garden to bring it to its full potential.

Adam feels privileged to live and work in the beautiful Adelaide Hills where he has the opportunity to collaborate and learn from the wonderful gardening community.

Andrew Plumer

Andrew is a latecomer to the gardening world having decided on a major career change following the sale of a publishing and online training business he ran with his partner.

After being invited to help out planting some of the initial UKARIA garden in 2017, he fell in love with the place and has been working with the team ever since. He went on to complete a Certificate 3 in Horticulture at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. When not tending a garden somewhere you will usually find him at Goolwa or somewhere on the Murray River with his partner messing about on boats.

Jacob Hurrell

Jacob joined the team in 2017. He has over three years of experience working in the garden, and continues to provide a helpful role using the skills he has learnt from industry professionals. On other occasions, Jacob works alongside the facilities team to help set for our concerts. He provides a friendly, caring and helpful nature to the team, and to visitors of the Cultural Centre.

Jacob is very passionate towards the study of neuroscience and aging. He is currently studying a Bachelor of Dementia Care with the University of Tasmania.

Friends of the Garden

Our Friends of the Garden volunteer program offers patrons the opportunity to participate in morning events held on the second Tuesday of each month from 9.00am–12.00pm, from February through to November, giving those who have a passion for gardening the chance to spend a few hours working on our grounds as a member of the gardening team, catching up with like-minded garden lovers over a cup of tea, and soaking up the sunshine in the company of a close-knit community. Gloves and all garden equipment are provided, and no experience is necessary.

To register your interest, please visit our website at: www.ukaria.com/-friendsofthegarden