Tucked away in a sheltered corner of the plateau at Uralba lies a garden that feels more like a private botanic wonderland. 

For six years, Lyn Crehan and her partner, horticulturalist Broni Carthew, have poured their energy into shaping Crew Garden into a living tapestry of palms, orchids, clivias, fruit trees and rainforest plantings. 

It is also the place they chose to marry, a personal sanctuary now being shared once again with the public.

The six-acre property began more than two decades ago under the care of its first custodians, a French–Thai couple with a passion for plants.

Lyn says their legacy can still be seen in some of the towering specimens.

“They planted the teak tree with its enormous leaves, and unusual fruit trees like star fruit. It’s a mix of the subtropical and the exotic, with microclimates that allow things to thrive in one pocket that might not survive in another.”

Broni has since added her mark, drawing on years of nursery work and occasional appearances on ABC Radio’s Saturday gardening show to expand the plant palette.

Palms are her passion, and they now form a canopy that shelters native birds, while orchids and clivias –  including rare cream and green varieties grown from imported South African seed, bringing bursts of colour through the seasons.

Everywhere you wander there is something unexpected: a Balinese-inspired bamboo hut beside a frog pond, bougainvillea cascading over the charred trunk of a camphor laurel, or the sudden flash of a Regent Bowerbird darting through the canopy.

 “On our wedding day one of the males came down to bathe in the bird bath,” Lyn recalls, standing beside the intimate corner where the ceremony was held (main photo above).

“Moments like that make the garden special.” 

Beds of kangaroo paw and heliconias now provide cut flowers for florists, while the orchard produces everything from red and blue bananas to pomelos destined for homemade marmalade. 

There are finger limes, Davidson plums and even a star anise tree, part of what Lyn calls the “constant experiment” of discovering what will flourish in the rich volcanic soil.

Although the couple open their garden only occasionally, the impact is lasting.

 Visitors, Lyn says, are often surprised not just by the diversity of plants but by the atmosphere itself.

 “Some people walk out of here absolutely blown away. It’s not just about what grows –  it’s the feel of the place.”

That chance will come again this weekend when Crew Garden opens its gates for the annual Zonta Open Garden fundraiser, this year timed to spring rather than summer. 

The event runs this weekend: Saturday September 20 from 9am to 4pm and Sunday September 21 from 9am to 2pm at 131 Platypus Drive, Uralba. 

Entry is $12, concession $10, with food and drinks from 10am and plants for sale. All proceeds go to the Zonta Club of Northern Rivers, which works locally and globally to support women and girls.