It’s hard to decide what is most amazing about Villa Botanica. There’s its extraordinary location overlooking the Coral Sea; the gardens themselves, built to display one of the most spectacular cactus collections in Australia; and the house – rich in Balinese texture and pattern yet imbued with the bearing and grace of a grand old home. Then there are the delightful, quirky and visionary owners themselves!

Sydneysiders Ralph and Janet Hogan had always wanted to live in Tropical North Queensland and, in 1993, they heard about land for sale across the bay from Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays. Although the only access was by boat, they knew this was the right spot as soon as they stepped ashore at tiny Barefoot Beach and clambered over the black granite boulders on the foreshore.

It took nine frustrating years before they could create their personal tropical paradise, but today Villa Botanica is a testament to their vision and hard work. Every detail reflects their love of the place, including the astonishing garden that Ralph created, which has experts and novices alike wide-eyed with wonder.

About one hectare of terraced gardens was formed with more than 1000 tonnes of boulders, some weighing as much as 15 tonnes each. Then there’s Ralph’s love of unusual plants, which borders on obsession. His extraordinary collection includes about 160 species of aloe, 180 species of agave, 150 Euphorbia, numerous Cycas, Kalanchoe, Sansevieria, Yucca, Nolina, Puya, Dyckia and countless  bromeliads. Free-draining soil is key to their survival, so massive soil works were brought into play, utilising slopes, gravel drains below beds, custom soil mixes and stone mulch.

“For me, gardens are art,” says Ralph. “I love the scale of tropical plants and the crazy armature of succulents. I love huge, sculptural cactuses and weirdos like my spiny, frilly-leafed Pachypodium namaquanum, which is still only a foot tall after 30 years.”

The jewel in the crown is Villa Botanica’s cactarium, designed by Ralph and officially unveiled to the public last October as part of Australia’s Open Garden Scheme. This pavilion-style building provides the pride of the cactus collection with shelter from tropical rains. Open sides encourage free air movement and allow the natural integration of the cactarium with the surrounding garden.

Twenty exquisitely carved stone pillars hold up the pavilion, and each features a different cactus design, hand drawn by Ralph and carved by Balinese artists in the Paras soft sandstone from Lombok. Seats within the cactarium and large pots at its entrance also feature carved cactus motifs. The cactus collection itself includes rare specimens such as seven huge golden barrel cactuses (Echinocactus grusonii), grown from seed since 1954.

Elsewhere in the garden, fruit trees include mango, avocado, jaboticaba (Myrciaria cauliflora), mulberry, custard apple, black sapote (Diospyros digyna), fig and citrus. Meanwhile, explosions of colour surround the house thanks to bougainvillea, frangipanis in many hues, adenium, allamandas, gingers and fiery aloes.

Tucked into a sheltered gully is an equatorial rainforest with Mackay cedar, tulip oak and burdekin plum, as well as hundreds of palms, jungle aroids and ferns. A series of paths invites exploration, and is punctuated by marvellous sculptural benches made from giant teak roots. In a sunken garden, amid the tinkle of water spouts that empty into a long pool, palms are planted in a grid. Their trunks are adorned with bromeliads and vanda orchids, while the turquoise flowers of jade vines drip down from above.

Ralph enjoys experimentation. “A green thumb is a euphemism for an interested eye,” he says. “If you find plants interesting, you’ll eventually learn how to look after them. I could stock a dozen garden centres with the plants I’ve killed over the years!”

Having created their paradise on earth, Ralph and Janet were keen to share it with others, so Villa Botanica is now offered as a wedding location. Ceremonies take place in an outdoor pavilion, while intimate receptions for up to 70 people are held on the house’s generous, covered balcony with 180-degree views from Hayman Island to Cannonvale. Newlyweds may even stay in a guest house that has an open-air terrazzo bath with views out over the Coral Sea.

And did I mention the spectacular garden?

Villa Botanica 1800 795 990