Lavender Bay - Wendy's Secret Garden

 

Wendy Whiteley's Secret Garden. At considerable personal expense, Wendy started to clean up and landscape a large patch of derelict land adjacent to her home in Lavender Bay, owned by the NSW Rail Corporation. It was choked by weeds and overgrown with lantanas, and strewn with old train carriages, abandoned refrigerators, rotting mattresses and broken bottles, and some homeless people sometimes slept there. Wendy treated the garden like a giant painting, structuring, planting, pruning, moving things around, and letting nature work its own magic. Over 15 years, it has become a coveted spot for those who have heard about or chanced upon it, with random benches in quiet spots, secluded paths, and a spectacular view to the Harbour Bridge.  A wide variety of birdlife previously unknown to the area has arrived. It has been described as rivalling Claude Monet's garden. It is affectionately known by locals as "Wendy's Secret Garden", although the public have always had free access.^[