The Ashcombe Maze & Lavender Gardens home to Australia’s oldest and most famous hedge maze in Shoreham, Australia. In addition, a beautiful circular rose maze, and the year-round flowering Lavender Labyrinth, all set among 25 acres of world acclaimed gardens.
The traditional hedge Maze is planted with more than 1000 cypress trees and thousands of meters of pathways. Now more than three meters high and two meters thick. One of the most interesting features of the Ashcombe Hedge Maze is how it is maintained – there are no string lines or straight edges used in trim so the overall effect is very organic. The constant trimming ensures that the juvenile lime green soft foliage of the cypress features all year round. The Mazekeeper and his team of gardeners cut the hedge 3 or 4 times a year using electric hedge trimmers, ladders & stilts. You cannot cut a hedge in the rain or in the heat, and each load of hedge trimmings has to be loaded into the wheelbarrow and pushed through the maze to get out! It’s a big job — each time taking about a month to finish the task!
The challenge of the Ashcombe Hedge Maze is to find each of the four mosaic flags in the two halves of the maze. The task takes you through hundreds of meters of winding paths in the South Maze through to the Centre Garden – then you tackle the North Maze. While not overly complicated it does take a little while to make your way through. Each half of the maze has a totally different layout, so any tricks you worked out while making your way through the first part, mean absolutely nothing in the other!