Edna Walling Memorial Garden

Edna Walling was a talented and influential garden designer, designing many gardens in Victoria.

Edna was born in England and came to Australia with her family as a teenager, settling in Melbourne. Studying horticulture, Edna started her own landscape design business in the 1920s.

The design of Edna’s gardens included low stone walls, wide pergolas, and paths, and utilised the Australian bush.

Edna Walling retired to Buderim in the 1960s where she intended to produce another village project that she was famous for creating in Melbourne with Brickleigh Vale.

The memorial garden sits in the middle of the carpark at the southern end of Buderim Forest Park. The garden has a low stone wall lined pergola path at the bottom, and a natural pathway leading from the centre through the middle of the garden, a tribute to the style Edna Walling used.

I didn’t know who Edna Walling was before going to the garden. It is a memorial to Edna and if you know her gardens you may appreciate the tribute to her. Without the background knowledge of Edna and her gardens, the garden doesn’t have much in the way of a place to visit.

That it sits in the middle of a carpark doesn’t help it either. It is at the southern entrance to Buderim Forest Park, a place I really enjoyed and would like to go back to. However, having already seen the garden I’d probably choose to go to the northern end of Buderim Forest Park.

To get there:

If heading north on Bruce Hwy, take the Buderim exit (Exit 194) onto the Sunshine Mwy. Take the exit off the Sunshine Mwy for Buderim onto Tanawha Tourist Drv, then turn right onto Crosby Hill Rd. Follow Crosby Hill Rd for 3.5km to the roundabout in the middle of Buderim, with Crosby Hill Rd becoming Burnett St coming into Buderim. At the roundabout, turn left into Lindsay Rd, then after 200m turn right into Quorn Cl with the brown sign for Edna Walling Memorial Garden. Follow Quorn Cl for 450m and turn left with another brown sign. The parking area is 300m further on.

If heading south on Bruce Hwy, take the Forest Glen exit (Exit 200) onto Mons Rd. After about 500m, turn left at the lights towards Buderim to continue on Mons Rd. Continue on Mons Rd for 4.4km, becoming William St, and turn left onto Burnett St. Follow Burnett St 1.2km into Buderim, and turn left at the roundabout into Lindsay Rd. After 200m turn right into Quorn Cl with the brown sign for Edna Walling Memorial Garden. Follow Quorn Cl for 450m and turn left with another brown sign. The parking area is 300m further on.

If on Sunshine Mwy around Mooloolaba and Maroochydore, take the Buderim exit onto Mooloolaba Rd and head towards Buderim. Follow Mooloolaba Rd for 3.1 km to a roundabout and continue straight ahead onto King St. Continue on King St into Buderim and turn right at the roundabout into Lindsay Rd. After 200m turn right into Quorn Cl with the brown sign for Edna Walling Memorial Garden. Follow Quorn Cl for 450m and turn left with another brown sign. The parking area is 300m further on.

Cost: Free

Hours: Anytime

Toilets: Yes

Bins: No

Tables: Yes

Seating: Yes

Water: Yes

Food: No

Wheelchair accessible: Yes, assistance may be required

Pets: No

BBQ: Yes

Playground: No