Blue Lotus Water Garden from the air, Yarra Junction, Victoria, Australia

Описание: Drone footage of the wonderful Blue Lotus Water Garden in Yarra Junction, Victoria, Australia. Filmed 13 March 2026.

The Blue Lotus Water Garden was established by Geoff and Yvonne Cochrane as a seasonal display garden and plant nursery in 2005. The couple have owned the property for over 50 years, which employs three generations of the extended family along with a small team of dedicated local people.

The journey began back in the late 1960s when dairy farmer Colin Cochrane (Geoff’s father) purchased the property from the Ottrey family to graze dairy cows that had stopped producing milk. A few years later, the young Geoff, who was more interested in growing plants than dairy farming, convinced his father to sell him the property to start a vegetable farm. Geoff experimented growing a range of different vegetables eventually concentrating on Chinese cabbage (wombok). At the time, there was a shortage of Asian vegetables available in Melbourne. Geoff capitalised on this opportunity and continued to use the property to produce Chinese Cabbage until 1990.

In 1991 Cochrane Lake was constructed to provide recreational opportunities for his young family. Geoff and his sons were passionate anglers and stocked the lake with trout and native fish. Witnessing how much his family and friends enjoyed fishing, the idea was hatched to turn the property into a recreational fishing venue. Work began to construct a second lake (Lotus Lake), but there was a problem. The fish were being eaten by cormorants (water birds) and other predators. So, it was decided that waterlilies and some lotus needed to be planted in the lakes to help provide shelter for the fish, oxygenate the water, and improve the look.

Within a few years the waterlilies and lotus plants had flourished. Geoff and his wife Yvonne fell in love with the beautiful flowers they produced, and more varieties were added. Over time, Geoff become a master at growing both species and decided to turn the property into a display garden and plant nursery, instead of a fishing venue. Years of construction began in 2001, additional ponds were added, walking tracks and bridges installed, a plant nursery and basic facilities built. The entire 14 acres was also extensively landscaped with tens of thousands of flowering plants, trees and shrubs.
The Blue Lotus Water Garden and plant nursery was officially opened to the public in 2005. Every year since then, more and more beautiful plants have been added, displays and exhibits improved, and facilities expanded.

Text taken from bluelotusfarm.com.au

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