A HISTORIC estate set up the Syme family will open to the public, SARAH HUDSON reports

Bolobek, a sprawling 570ha property at Macedon, has variously been described as one of Australia's finest gardens and its most written-about.

The estate, which hosts the Australian Open Garden Scheme's annual plant fair in March, was first created by the Syme newspaper family's purchase of various pieces of land between 1910 and 1914.

The farm came to further prominence under the ownership of botanical artist, illustrator and dedicated gardener Lady Joan Law-Smith and her husband, Sir Robert, a former director of BHP.

More recently, Bolobek has become a poster child, featuring in numerous books and magazines, both locally and internationally.

Current owners, Brigid and Hugh Robertson, who farm a self-replacing herd of Angus cattle on the estate, understand the attraction to the property all too well.

Brigid has called Bolobek home since 2006 and describes it as a critical part of Victoria's social and historical fabric.

"The reasons a property becomes famous are often intangible and difficult to quantify," she says.

"The Symes and Law-Smiths were both well-known in Melbourne society and the property developed a cache as a result of that.

"It is a property that has always been well-known in the district and over time it has developed a mystique and has become part of the public's conscience."

Bolobek means gently undulating land and for more than a century the property has been a farm - dairy cattle and mixed cropping. The only hint of the dairy operation today is the remains of a rail track.

The original house was pulled down in the 1970s by the Law-Smiths and Brigid says the modern residence "relates beautifully to the garden".

The 3.6ha garden, of course, is the piece de resistance of the property, with its park setting, walled rose garden, herbaceous border and linden, poplar and crab apple walks.

While it has been modified over the century, Brigid says elements of the Symes' original design still remain, while much work was carried out by Lady Law-Smith and to a lesser extent, the series of subsequent owners.

Since purchasing the property, the Robertsons have taken a slow and cautious approach.

"There was a period of time where the garden was owned by a number of different people and it fell into disrepair," she says, adding that a gardener and manager help to oversee the property.

"We spent the first 12 months just observing the garden and have since commenced a program of restoration, but in a slow and considered approach.

"People forget gardens are like people, they pass their prime. It's an old garden and trees come to the end of their lives and the drought has meant parts of the garden have declined significantly."

Brigid, who cherishes her privacy, says owning such a grand property carries with it obligations - hence the decision to take part, for the second time, in the Open Garden Scheme's plant fair.

"When we were first approached we had some initial reservations, but it (the 2008 plant fair) turned out to be the most wonderful experience.

"They (visitors) were extraordinarily respectful. You'd never have known we had 6000 people through. I think after it had finished we picked up one piece of rubbish.

"We have something special here and it's very nice to share it.

"Bolobek seems to take a special place in people's heart and it's fascinating to observe that."

OPEN DATES

Garden lovers can visit just some of the following Open Gardens in regional Victoria:

October 16-17 - Dalvui and also Wigandia, in Noorat, in the Terang district

October 23-24 - Narroghid, Colac; also Flint Hill, Woodend

October 30-31 - ABC TV's Gardening Australia presenter Stephen Ryan's Tugurium, Macedon; also The Croft, Flinders

November 6-7 - Naringal, Lismore

November 13-14 - Les Viornes, Beechworth

November 27-28 - Ercildoune, Burrumbeet

December 5 - Dame Elisabeth Murdoch's Cruden Farm, Langwarrin

March 5-6 - Plant Fair at Bolobek, Macedon

April 2-3 - Wodonga West Primary School kitchen garden