Petticoat Lane

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Petticoat Lane

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Photo courtesy of Ozoldroser

Rose (public) Garden

Listing last updated on Mon Apr 2025

Petticoat Lane
Penola, South Australia 5277
Australia

USDA Zone: 9a (20 to 25 F / -6.6 to -3.9 C)

The garden is a collection mainly of pre-WWII HTs, and Chinas, on the "Murrell block" of land owned by the National Trust of South Australia. It was one of the first areas to be built on after European settlement of the district, in the 1850s. The lane was given its nickname due to the predominance of female children born in its houses.
The adjacent NT property has two tiny wooden cottages from the mid-1800s, where a pioneering couple raised their 15 children. Behind it is a herb garden manned by National Trust volunteers; it provides considerable revenue from herb sales, especially to local restaurants, via an honesty box. It doesn't sell roses.
On the other side is the original Mary MacKillop schoolhouse, where Australia's first saint taught poor children of the district, as well as the wealthy children she was employed to teach.
Planting of the rose garden began in winter 2016. It was an initiative of Sue and John Zwar, and they have done much of the planning and work. The National Trust provided the funding for redgum timber borders to the garden beds, and Heritage Roses in Australia provided an explanatory sign via a David Ruston OAM Grant.
In 2020 an old redgum slab hut was relocated from the Penola High School to the Murrell block.

Petticoat Lane, though small, has become a very significant repository of old HTs following the loss of such roses from Ruston's and from Thomas for Roses nursery. Some are no longer listed by overseas gardens or nurseries using helpmefind.