by Bonnie Collings
Full of colour and home to a 135 year old oak tree, Ben and Kerrie Brooker's garden features a collection of rare and endangered plants that they have raised from seed.

On the outskirts of Drouin, Ben and Kerrie's garden "Treasured Perennials at The Farm" will be open between 10am and 4pm this Saturday and Sunday. It is one of two local gardens packed with perennials open for the public to explore this weekend in collaboration with Open Gardens Victoria.
Ben is a professional landscaper and horticulturist by trade, and Kerrie studied art and design.
"Together we are creating an eclectic garden full of our favourite rare native and exotic perennials, shrubs and bulbs in a wonderful array of colour-themed garden beds," Ben said.
Ben and Kerrie were immediately drawn to the six-acre property with grand old gums and oaks, despite the century-old cottage in need of comprehensive renovation, paddocks full of blackberries, and the remnant garden requiring immediate attention.
"The only real garden it had were the hedges and the David Austin roses out the front," Kerrie said. "It was actually quite a hard garden because we had to strip it back to nothing and get control of the blackberries."
In recent years, Ben and Kerrie have created new, colour co-ordinated garden beds within the one-acre surrounding the cottage. Throughout the garden beds are special, rare plants the couple have grown and cared for from seed.
"We grow rare, endangered and hard to find plants," Kerrie said. "We import seeds from overseas, Ben raises them and then we put those plants in the garden to trial them. When they seed, we collect it, raise the seed and then on sell the plants at garden expos."
"I think it's something that a lot of people will come to our garden for, because we've got unique plants here that people (have) probably seen in a magazine but haven't seen in an (Australian) garden situation," Ben added.
"We're trying to show people that we can grow these things here." One of the rare plants at home in Ben and Kerrie's garden is lysimachia minoricensis, a plant native to an island near Spain that is now extinct in its natural habitat.
"There are things like that in our garden that you don't see anywhere else, you can't just go to a nursery and buy them," Ben said.
"It's important to get those plants growing and take them to the (rare plant) expos so people can have them in their gardens, so the plant doesn't become extinct," Kerrie said.
One of the challenges Ben and Kerrie faced was working with hydrophobic and allelopathic soil. The pair practice regenerative horticulture techniques to improve soil health which Ben will explain to visitors during the opening hours.
Ben and Kerrie said their vision was to create a garden space they could enjoy, and give a nod to the history of the property.
"We had a massive collection of rare, unusual plants, our vision (was for) each of those plants to be planted in our garden," Kerrie said.
"We did it as a garden for ourselves to showcase the collection of plants that we had. We wanted to give a nod to the history of the property. Down the front, the garden beds are very symmetrical with a very sharp edge, but then they sort of flow. We didn't want that formal symmetry (throughout the whole garden) but we still wanted to give a nod to the history of the property."
Kerrie said she and Ben enjoyed the gradual journey of creating their garden.
"It's nice knowing that 90 per cent of the plants we put into our garden, we have raised from seed," Kerrie said.
"Sometimes (it takes) two years before a plant is ready for the garden. Rather than going to a nursery and buying established plants, this process means establishing a garden bed can be more gradual, rather than instantaneous. We have a great sense of achievement when the garden bed starts to come together."
Kerrie and Ben wanted to open their garden as a way of sharing their journey with others.
"We wanted to show people how we use the plants that we sell, in our own garden," Kerrie said. "We wanted to share our journey and show people how important it was for us to give a nod to the history of the property and how you can design a garden from things that are already there."
"I think it's a good opportunity for people to see a different type of garden," Ben said.
"Treasured Perennials at The Farm" will open as a "progress garden", showcasing a variety of established beds as well as juvenile sections.
"Open gardens normally (showcase) very established gardens," Kerrie said. We have established garden beds, but we also have really new garden beds, so I think it's a good way for beginner gardeners to see the journey in one garden, so they're not intimidated."
Located at 220 McGlone Rd Drouin, "Treasured Perennials at The Farm" will be open between 10am and 4pm this Saturday November 23 and Sunday November 24.
Guided tours from Ben and Kerrie will take place at 11:30am and 2pm each day. A stall with more than 350 uncommon plants will enable visitors to take home a treasure.
The Drouin Lions Club will run a barbecue across the weekend and the Kiki 77 coffee van will be on site.
Entry to the garden is $10 for adults and $6 for students. Tickets can be purchased at the door or online at https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1267216