Pretty tough

In challenging conditions at Port Lincoln, SA, Karen and Rick Miels have created a flourishing garden full of colour and personality.

Story Kate Le Gallez   Photos Robert Lang

The quadrella of wind exposure, heavy clay, no water and rocky ground would send most gardeners running. Not Karen and Rick Miels, who saw potential in a 10,000sq m site located just outside Port Lincoln on the Eyre Peninsula, SA. With spectacular views out to Boston Island, Bostonvista has given the couple the opportunity to create a wonderfully diverse and colourful garden that embraces the challenges of the site and works with, rather than against them.

Rick and Karen first moved to the block in 2013, starting out in a shed while their new home was built. That year torrential rain flooded the site. On the positive, the deluge allowed Rick and Karen to really get to know the property and understand the natural drainage lines (or lack thereof).

“We had to think this property through,” says Rick, who was the mastermind behind the irrigation system that has allowed the garden to flourish. “If we wanted to have a decent garden – how to capture water? It costs a lot of money to set up, but once you’ve got it, it pays for itself. So, we have about 250,000L of captured water on the property, and about half of that gets used on the garden.”