The living landscape of Montalto

The gardens, originally designed by the acclaimed landscape architect Andrew Laidlaw, have evolved over the years under the careful stewardship of Wendy Mitchell and the current Produce Manager, Julie Bennett. Andrew helped Wendy design and plan the original Piazza gardens in 2002, now affectionately known as Wendy's Garden. 

The Montalto kitchen gardens are a patchwork of unique microclimates and soil profiles, each area contributing to the diverse range of heirloom fruits and vegetables grown on the estate. From heritage raspberry canes and rhubarb plants to citrus groves and seasonal vegetable plots, the gardens are a living landscape of colours, textures, and flavours. The north-facing Piazza gardens, founded by Wendy nearly two decades ago, showcase an assortment of heirloom herbs, edible flowers, and vegetables, easily accessible to the Montalto chefs who harvest throughout the day. 

The estate's dedication to permaculture and organic principles is evident in every aspect of the gardens. No soil is ever turned over or disturbed, and old crops are either twisted out of the soil or cut off at soil height, allowing the earth to retain its natural structure and nutrients. Composting is an essential part of the gardening process, with all green and brown waste kept on-farm and used to enrich the soil. 

Julie Bennett is a passionate advocate for rare and endangered heirloom vegetable varieties. "These are the vegetables our grandparents grew and saved seed from with the knowledge that every year, these seeds would grow 'true to type' just as their parent plants had," she explains. "They were grown for amazing flavour, colour, vigour, disease resistance and for abundance, unlike today's varieties that are grown for uniformity, even-ripening and the ability to transport well over long distances and to last a long time on a supermarket shelf." 

Bennett's commitment to seed saving is shared by Wendy and championed by the estate's chefs, who take the time to create beautiful and respectful dishes that showcase these outstanding varieties. The Montalto kitchen gardens are not only a source of fresh, organic produce but also a vital repository of genetic diversity in an era where 93% of food seed varieties have been lost worldwide. 

The gardens thrive under Bennett's holistic approach, which incorporates organic pest management, companion planting, and crop rotations. The abundance of edible flowers encourages nectar-feeding pollinators and predator insects, helping to maintain a delicate balance within the garden ecosystem. The estate's bees and chickens also play a crucial role in the gardens' success, with the bees pollinating the crops and the chickens providing rich manure for composting. 

The Montalto kitchen gardens are a prime example of what can be achieved when a commitment to sustainability, organic practices, and the preservation of heirloom varieties is combined with a passion for exceptional produce. As visitors stroll through the gardens and savour the dishes crafted from the day's harvest, they are not only experiencing the flavours of the season but also bearing witness to the legacy of the estate's dedication to nurturing the land and preserving our agricultural heritage. 

Visit Montalto this July to sample the freshest seasonal produce, including kales, broccoli, cauliflower, leeks, radicchio, Jerusalem artichokes, rainbow chard, radish, turnips, beetroot, broad bean tips, and citrus, all lovingly grown in the magnificent Montalto Estate kitchen gardens.