Meet Kim — Expert Guide for Our Garden Trips

When you first meet Kim Woods Rabbidge, you notice her enthusiasm and warmth right away. She speaks about gardens not just as places filled with plants, but as living works of art. For Kim, gardens are a reflection of the destination, and she loves helping others discover them.

In May 2027, Kim will lead our 9 Days Chelsea Flower Show & Great English Gardens trip. Bringing her eye for detail, her love of photography, and her warm approach as a guide, Kim is the perfect companion for exploring the gardens of England.

Tell us a bit about yourself… How did your love for gardens first begin?

I grew up in Australia’s New England Region in New South Wales, a beautiful part of the countryside.

My father was a man of the land. He taught me how to appreciate mosses and lichens, little orchids in the bushland that smelled like chocolate or looked like swans, and different types of wattle, acacia, that were flowering throughout the year. So my appreciation of nature started when I was a little girl, and it evolved into gardens as I grew older.

You started out in the arts. How did that lead to garden writing and photography?

After I graduated from Sydney College of the Arts, I became an art director at Australian Consolidated Press, working on magazines and books. In 2005, I became the Queensland coordinator for Australia’s Open Garden Scheme. That was a nationwide program opening private gardens to the public.

As a coordinator, I wanted to promote the gardens that were open, so that the owners who had put in so much effort to make their gardens look beautiful, had the maximum number of visitors. Because I had a background in art and design, I had an eye for layout and for what made a good photograph. So I started taking more photos of gardens to help promote them.

At the same time, newspapers were cutting back on reporters, so there was no one to cover gardens anymore. Since I was already writing promotional material, they agreed to publish my articles. So I stepped in and that’s really how I got started with garden writing and photography.

I document gardens and landscapes on my Instagram. It’s called Our Australian Gardens but I also cover gardens I visit overseas.

Tell me a bit about your gardening experience. What’s been the most challenging part of converting the old farm into a garden?

When we bought our property in the Northern Rivers, it was full of weeds and rocks. We have to constantly keep up with weeds. I’m very lucky my husband doesn’t mind hard work (though he does start to shake when I say, “Oh Michael, I’ve had an idea!”, because I have lots of ideas). What was once just a paddock with a tiny fence around the house has become our 1 hectare garden.

We plant as if we’re going to be here when all the trees are mature. You really plant for future generations, knowing that those trees are going to give somebody enormous joy in another 50 years.

If you could give one piece of advice to a gardening newbie, what would that be?

Walk around the neighborhood, take photos, identify what’s growing well, research it, and ask local gardeners. Lots of people are very, very good gardeners and very knowledgeable, but not necessarily about your area. So it’s really good to get local advice.

When did you start leading garden tours?

I began when I was with Open Gardens Australia. I organised a few days’ visit in Far North Queensland. I chose the gardens, liaised with local designers and architects, and worked with the owners. That was very successful.

Then a group in Brisbane asked me to take them to Tamborine Mountain, where we had lived for a few years. It’s only an hour south, but about five degrees cooler, so quite a different climate. We visited in winter to see jonquils, daffodils, freesias and early blossoms. One of the travellers asked, “Why are all those trees dead?” They weren’t familiar with deciduous trees because Brisbane is subtropical. Then I realised that when people travel, they learn so much about so many things!

After that, I was asked to lead a tour to the UK – my first overseas . Then I was approached by another company, Opulent Journeys, and I’ve been working with them for many years, leading a couple of tours annually. Some I design myself, but the focus is always on gardens, art and culture. They all overlap.

What do you think makes visiting gardens abroad so special?

When you visit gardens in another country, you’re transported into a time and place as you do when visiting a local gallery. Each garden is so reflective… you learn so much about the heritage of the place, or if it’s contemporary, about its spirit. It’s like stepping into the culture, but under the open sky.

9 Days Chelsea Flower Show & Great English Gardens

May 21 – May 29 2027