STORY BY MAHMOOD FAZAL, PHOTOS BY  TENYLLE MARIE AND KATE DEAGAN

Nestled among the lush fauna of the Macedon Ranges, Camp David Farm offers a bucolic escape, disguised as a slice of the country, on a picturesque garden estate. 

Fifteen years ago, the once disheveled property was reimagined by Carolyn and her late husband, David Ward. After clearing the grounds, the passionate duo planted an array of oak trees, hedges, shrubs, carpet roses, elm trees, pencil pines and a sea of David Austin Roses. 

“In the house that my parents used to live in, in Diamond Creek, Mum decided to paint everything white​—​she went through a real French provincial, shabby-chic stage. We called it The White House,” laughs Carolyn’s daughter, Lori Price. “So when Mum and Dad bought the farm, their friends suggested that it just had to be called Camp David. There's even some red Camp David roses on the property.” 

Rosa 'Camp David' is a red hybrid tea rose developed by Mathias Tantau, Jr. in 1984, a bright, well formed rose with full and double blooms in blood red. The roses accentuate the regal gardens, now fully established with grand hedge-lined lawns and flowers that seasonally blossom with kaleidoscopic personality throughout the year. Of the original landscape, only one majestic cypress tree remains.  

This remarkable achievement, and its continued maintenance, is mostly the work of Lori’s mother, Carolyn. “She's got such a natural eye for detail and she just makes things look amazing in the garden,” says Lori. “Mum and Dad travelled a lot through the countryside of France​—​that was their main inspiration. They used to travel off the beaten track in rental cars. They never went on tours or anything like that.” 

When asked about her favourite memories from the property, Lori recalls fond memories of her father. “Dad used to come down and pick up my son in the morning when we were in lambing season, he’d come down and pick him up in the gator and they’d go down and check all the sheeps, how many lambs had been born,” explains Lori. “And then he’d take him up to the house and have breakfast. My son really misses that. Being on the farm with the animals and mum, it’s just such a great place to live.” 

Since leaving Camp David, Lori’s cosy cottage has been made available as a ​bed and breakfast,​ with four bedrooms and two bathrooms that comfortably accommodate up to ten guests. The cottage, gardens and a rustic barn are also available as a dreamscape for weddings where couples can tie the knot on the lawn, framed by views of Mt Macedon and Hanging Rock. What makes it romantic is the love that is riddled throughout the property, in the way Carolyn plants her roses and her late husband would tend to the lambs. Camp David isn’t a venue, it’s what makes a family; a home. 

“Mum and I get so much joy out of having weddings here, as exhausted as we get, we both cry every time the couples walk down the aisle,” Lori’s voice trembles, “We love sharing the property with our couples and their families. It makes this place so very special. We never want to become a commercial venue and will always remain an exclusive venue that is ultimately our family farm.” 

Camp David Farm                                                                                                                                             campdavidfarm.com.au                                                                                                                                                                            Spring Hill, Victoria