An Exhibition in Paradise
Against a stunning bush backdrop at the end of Connaught Rd in Blackheath, husband and wife team Caroline Nelson and Dirk Romeyn have created an inspiring paradise in what was once an abandoned quarry.
Over Easter, they’re opening the property to the public to give everyone a chance to see how dramatically they’ve regenerated the site in just over a decade - starting initially by planting trees in large cardboard boxes and gradually building up soil around them.
Susan Templeman MP will also open an exhibition of Dirk’s artwork in his outdoor studio on the property at 11am on Saturday, March 31.
Caroline describes herself and Dirk as two peas in a pod, who complement one another at the same time as helping each other make their dreams a reality. It’s their complementary skills that have helped them achieve what would feel impossible to most people … turning a rock pit into a food forest and outdoor art gallery.
The Quarry Garden, once a source of the gravel that now makes up Blackheath’s footpaths, has become a food lover’s paradise, with abundant crops, orchard, and even a glasshouse built by Dirk, in which Caroline grows ginger, turmeric, sweet potatoes and a range of other tropical plants - the envy of many gardeners in one of the coldest towns of the Blue Mountains.
Dirk has also built Caroline an outdoor food drier to help preserve some of their prolific harvests.
While Caroline gardens, Dirk also works nearby in his outdoor studio which he built from the old tyres, timbers and other materials salvaged from the quarry site. The floors are paved with slices of pine-tree trunks, and coloured glass bottles are embedded in the walls.
For the Easter weekend, this rustic workshop will be transformed into a gallery showcasing Dirk’s paintings, drawings, prints, cards and beautifully handcrafted timber furniture, bowls, platters, bread boards and spoons.
Dirk’s paintings reflect his passion for the surrounding bush and the gems he continues to find there. “It’s a joy to find them,” he said, “especially the hidden beauties that many people miss - like tiny orchids, fungi, lichen, and leaf litter.”
He’s also passionate about the light in the Blue Mountains - the sunlight on the cliffs in the Megalong and the soft evening light.
Currently working to restore a 19th Century farmhouse in Bathurst, Dirk has been salvaging the old shelving to create the frames for his paintings. “They’re oregon and kauri pine and definitely pre-date plywood and melamine,” says Dirk, as he lovingly runs his hand over the beautiful timbers of one of his bowls … a red box and red cedar bowl carved into the shape of two intertwined fish.
The one thing that’s clear as you walk around his workshop and the adjacent Quarry Garden is that everything on this once abandoned site has been produced with love - no wonder it now feels like a paradise.
The exhibition and garden will be open from 10am to 4pm from Friday, March 30, to Monday, April 2, at 177 Connaught Road, Blackheath (turn left off Govetts Leap Rd).