Wendy Whiteley's Secret Garden

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Hey everyone I’m so glad that you have stopped by today because I am excited to share with you all about my visit to Wendy Whiteley’s Secret Garden. I always say that it is fun to play tourist in your own home. And so a couple of days ago I did just that. And I went to Lavender Bay in Sydney to visit Wendy Whiteley’s Secret Garden. I had such a lovely time and I took some photos that I want to show you. While I was visiting the gardens I also learnt a bit about Wendy Whiteley and how these beautiful gardens came to be.

Wendy Whiteley

Wendy Whiteley is the former wife of the prominent Australian artist Brett Whiteley who passed away in 1992. She is a famous cultural personality. And she was fundamental in establishing the Brett Whiteley Studio in Surry Hills Sydney.

Wendy Whiteley’s Secret Garden

These days Wendy Whiteley is famous for her work restoring and landscaping an area of rundown land outside her home in Lavender Bay. It’s interesting to note that the New South Wales Rail Corporation actually owns this land. And even though it has spectacular views of Sydney Harbour. Over the course of many years, it had just been left to turn into nothing more than a dumping ground full of weeds and rubbish.

Wendy Whiteley spent many years using her creative and artistic spirit to lovingly restore this derelict land. And she has succeeded in creating what can only be described as a spectacular magical garden. And reports even say that this labour of love cost her millions of dollars of her own money.

A Magical Place

As you weave in and around the garden you will spot benches, tables and chairs. These make perfect cozy spots to gather for picnics. There are also areas where you can lay out a rug, and lie down. Then spend time enjoying the feeling of being surrounded by the dazzling variety of plants. You will also have so much fun spotting the colourful but very shy birds who have made this garden their home. It is just breathtaking and I loved exploring and taking in all the scenery as I made my way around.

I felt like a kid in a storybook as I walked around Wendy Whiteley’s secret garden. It’s quite steep so going down is a breeze if you make sure to hold on to the rails. Just in case you might slip. But going up was quite a challenge and it made me think that I should definitely do more exercise! It was well worth going up all the stairs though. And it was really nice to see locals and tourists having a wonderful time exploring just like I did!