Mac Rating: 5.00 | Votes: 1 | Date: 04/06/2026 14:03:00

Home to what is described as Australia's oldest and most famous hedge maze, Ashcombe Maze & Lavender Gardens occupies about twenty-five acres of the Mornington Peninsula near Shoreham. The traditional maze is grown from more than a thousand cypress trees, now standing over three metres high and around two metres thick, and a keeper clips the hedges several times a year to hold their curved, sculpted shape. Finding the centre and then the way out is the original drawcard, but the site has grown well beyond a single puzzle. Alongside the cypress maze are a circular rose maze, planted with hundreds of fragrant varieties that bloom through the warmer months, and a lavender labyrinth that the gardens promote as flowering year round. Gravel paths wind between the formal plantings, ponds and lawns, and the property is laid out as a garden to wander rather than rush. A cafe serves meals and lavender ice cream, and the combination of mazes, flowers and food makes it a popular day out for families, couples and garden enthusiasts. The gardens sit a little over an hour from central Melbourne, in a part of the peninsula known for wineries, farm gates and coastline, so many visitors fold a stop here into a wider day trip. Seasonal events, from rose season to evening sessions in summer, give regulars a reason to return at different times of year, and the maturity of the plantings means the place has the settled feel of a garden tended over decades rather than a recent attraction. Quiet corners, birdlife and the scent of lavender give it an appeal that is as much about slowing down as solving the maze. Admission covers access to all three mazes and the surrounding gardens, and the site is generally open through the day with extended hours during peak flowering periods and special evening events in summer. Because it lies away from public transport, most visitors arrive by car, and the drive through the rolling farmland of the southern peninsula is part of the appeal. The gardens are popular for weddings and photography, particularly when the roses and lavender are in bloom, and the cafe gives walkers a place to rest after working through the cypress maze. Dogs on leads, picnics and the changing displays of seasonal colour all feature in the experience, and staff are on hand with hints for anyone who finds the centre of the maze harder to reach than expected. Its long history as a tended garden gives it a depth that newer attractions cannot match.