• Saturday & Sunday

• Gates open 10am – 4pm each day

• For a gold coin donation, take a ride in the award winning 1930 Dodge DD utility "Gellibrand" restored by the Braidwood Community and Museum on both Saturday and Sunday.

• Parking notes: Enter via the first gate as signposted, and park along the mill fence area as directed.

Garden Story

With structures dating back to the 1840s Millpond at Jembaicumbene is one of the oldest homesteads in the district, and one of the most painstakingly and lovingly restored. Following years of significant renovations to the farmhouse and original flour mill – originally Dransfield’s Mill – by previous owners, the property’s gardens are now in focus, having been gently transformed over the last five years under new ownership. The flourishing plantings and considered landscaping meet built features to present a cohesive vision and expression of Millpond’s dedicated custodians, past and present.

The updated gardens have opened out the view, maximising the expansivepastoral vistas of the site, while managing to balance vastness with intimacy. Completely encircling the house, the gardens now connect and contextualise the many historic agricultural outbuildings. The result pulls the beauty of these structures into focus, and pays respect to the proud mill of the property’s namesake.

Millpond’s history is not only evident in the built elements, but can be found in its plantings. The original orchard has been carefully reinstated, with stunning 19th century apples, pears, and a wizened quince. There are some serious old trees within the woodland section of the garden, giving an air of gravitas. A towering sequoia, dating from 1853, is especially striking, among rejuvenated copses of birch and elm. The garden’s overarching theme is described as “secret and wild”. Weaving through the woodland’s deep shade, pleasantly lost in time, this feels particularly apt.

 Despite knowing how much work has been done in recent years, the garden feels like it has always been here. Many of the garden’s prolific blooms belie their five years of age. This is particularly notable in the private oasis of the rear courtyard, where tumbling flower beds and hedges frame and soften its formal layout. And though seeped in tradition, the gardens are very much alive with the verve and individuality of the owner/gardener. Personal touches bring delightful details, for example over 80 varieties of roses scattered throughout – a particular favourite.

Another triumph is the thriving kitchen garden, cascading out of raised beds on the verdant lawn. It is as productive as it is beautiful; dense with herbs, vegetables and berries. Alongside, a gravel path with scented arbours of lilac and climbing roses guides you back towards the house’s entrance, or out to the grandeur of the mill and landscape beyond.