The couple planted everything here, except for an existing row of cottonwoods flanking the driveway entrance. While Nigel understood the science of plants, Chris was the green thumb. They purchased Cooinda –12 hectares of sparse farmland – and moved from Adelaide to Mount George where Nigel could run a small cattle farm and Chris could design her garden that would occupy two hectares of their land. With their children having left home, Chris became heavily involved in gardening while Nigel restored classic and vintage cars. Nigel quickly regains composure when returning to the story of his garden – named Cooinda – which started when he and Chris retired in 2004. Chris was an avid plantswoman who co-founded Australia’s Open Gardens Scheme and was an active supporter of the Mount Lofty Botanic Garden. Nigel is a plant scientist who worked for the CSIRO for more than 40 years and became a pioneer in the field of molecular genetics: studying the genetic information of plants. I’m sure some people do, but I haven’t.” A dam sits at the heart of Nigel Steele Scott’s Mount George garden, which was little more than a swampy paddock when he and his late wife Chris purchased the property almost 20 years ago.

You get used to (her not being here), but you don’t get over it. “We were together for almost 60 years from when we first met. Chris was the architect of this dream garden, but sadly did not get to see it through to completion. “I can’t help it I miss her all the time,” Nigel says, his voice wavering. It’s a scene befitting a Monet painting and yet, in the garden’s extensive beauty, Nigel is sharply reminded of his late wife Chris Steele Scott OAM who died on Mother’s Day in 2014 a time of year that just so happens to be when the garden is at its best. From his dining room table, the retired molecular geneticist takes in the panoramic view of his spectacular Mount George garden, its autumnal hues reflected in the mirror-calm surface of a spring-fed dam. Nigel Steele Scott’s blue eyes mist over and catch the reflection of the morning light. Words Ben Kelly | Photographs Ben Kelly and Peter Knights

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