The inaugural event, a fund-raiser for Braidwood's not-for-profit preschool, will provide visitors with a rare glimpse into a unique part of the town's rich history.

In the lead-up to the weekend, each week we have featured one of the four properties - first Bedervale, then Durham Hall, Mona and now14 Solus Street.

Other activities on offer at the gardens will include face painting, pony rides, carriage rides, Devonshire tea, a sausage sizzle and guided tours of Bedervale homestead and its rare collection of National Trust-listed furniture and contents.

Entry is $5 per garden (under 18s free) and opening hours are 10am-4pm both days.

For more information, visit braidwoodgardens.com.au.

14 Solus Street, Braidwood

Twelve years ago, Cheryl Raper's two-acre property was little more than a sheep paddock and a collection of weeds.

Today it is a lush and manicured oasis of lawn and colourful garden beds, the fruition of outdoor "therapy"she began after taking a step back from running a busy restaurant and the local paper.

Cheryl says she inherited her love of gardening from her Polish father who, when she was growing up in Melbourne's suburbs, utilised every patch of dirt on their block - even growing veggies on the family's nature strip.

Her passion has resulted in a vision of calm, tucked away behind her and husband Don's impressive pre-1900s home on the sweeping bend into Braidwood from Canberra.

Out front, a towering English oak stands guard, a stately specimen that at 120 years old is listed on the Register of Australia's Biggest Trees.

Cheryl has divided the garden into "rooms" for different purposes: some - like the fruit and vegetable section - for utilitarian purposes; others for sheer enjoyment and relaxation.

Step out the back of the house and the first thing you hear is the burbling of Monkittee Creek which runs through the rear of the property.

No need for water features here.

"Some people have fairies at the bottom of their garden, we have a platypus," Cheryl says.

The tranquil waterway can be crossed by an impressive suspension bridge that was a labour of love of ex-engineer Don. On the other side, the creek's verge has been cleared of blackberries and replanted with natives and provides the perfect place for a shady meander.

Don's man cave at the rear of the house is as neat as it is impressive while off the house, Cheryl has created two sunny courtyards brimming with spring colour and perfume where she can escape for a quiet cuppa or reading session.

She explains that the original 1840s bluestone cottage at the heart of the current structure was the old Mona manager's cottage. Since moving in, they have added architecturally-designed extensions which marry seamlessly with the original bones of the house and provide a stunning backdrop for the real showstopper: the garden.

MONA: Wandering among Mona's grand gardens, you'd be forgiven for thinking you'd stepped on to the set of period drama Downton Abbey.

Stands of mature elms, oaks, cedars and poplars create dappled sunlight and the clipped box hedges and walled par terre garden leave no doubt that this is a formal garden of the black-tie variety.

Along the property's wide and meandering paths lined with stonework and past its Georgian-era outbuildings is the dressage arena, where owner Rose Deo can be found putting handsome gelding Odysseus through his paces.

Nearby, her children are heading off for a late afternoon ride and to the west, the sun is sinking behind Mount Gillamatong.

It was only nine months ago that Rose and her family left sunny Brisbane for Braidwood but already they feel at home. Even freezing winter mornings didn't faze them.

"I grew up in Rugby near Crookwell and have always preferred the colder climates with their wonderful seasonal changes," Rose says.

With a wish-list that included a local highschool, stables for her horses, a big homestead, established gardens and extra accommodation for guests, Rose says Mona ticked all the boxes.

"I have always wanted a big rambling old house in the country and when I saw Mona with her beautiful old trees and winding garden paths, I felt like I had come home."

A work in progress since 1837, Mona's award-winning gardens present postcard views in all directions.

Its 120 acres have been developed following the principles of English landscape designer Capability Brown, whose forte was the middle-distance landscape garden: scenes of sweeping lawn accentuated by groups of noble trees, contours sloping to glimpses of water and rising to melt into the skyline of encircling woodlands.

Formerly operated as a luxury accommodation business, Mona features a coach house, stables, a shearing shed-style function centre and a Roman bath house that was originally built as a manger for the property's working horses.

Standout features of the property include a picturesque lake, stone Palladian-style bridge, poplar walk and an elm wood underplanted with bluebells, daffodils and jonquils.

Rose says her favourite part of the garden is the stand of trees overlooking the lake and the view over the paddocks to Mt Gillamatong. 

"In summer it is like a Tuscan scene with the golden grass and I can see my mares and foals."

She says maintaining such a large and historic garden can be a daunting task.

"I've discovered it's a lot of work but I think it's worth it. There are not many properties around like Mona and I don’t think it could be replaced.

"I’m still discovering new things about her, and there are a lot more things I’d like to do in terms of restoring buildings and the gardens. I am probably not the most expert of gardeners but I do enjoy it, and I'm learning quickly."

DURHAM HALL

Past the neighbour's alpaca flock and down the track flanked by gangly spring calves sits 1830s historic cottage Durham Hall. 

Set on 760 acres of prime grazing land, the property at Jembaicumbene - pronounced locally as "Jimmy-cum-been" - is framed by Braidwood's Mount Gillamatong and the 

blue-hued Great Dividing Range in the distance. A sprawling lawn, mature shade trees and an old tennis court provide a glimpse of what life would have been like in early Victorian times. 

It's not hard to imagine horse-drawn carts approaching the stone steps along the now waist-high box hedges that line the looped carriageway that these days act as a maze for the daughters of owners James and Belinda Royds. 

Last opened to the public eight years ago as part of the Majors Creek Meander,the garden was first established by Anne Badgery,wife of William Henry Roberts, in the 1840s. 

Their daughter married Thomas Molyneux Royds, who bred racehorses on the property, including Archer,the first winner of the Melbourne Cup. 

The property and gardens have since been under the custodianship of the Royds family for five generations. One of the first gardens to be mapped and surveyed by the Australian Garden History Society, it has been recognised for its heritage significance and has been listed on the Register of the National Estate. 

The centrepiece of the garden is hard to miss. Standing majestically at the northern side is a massive Atlantic cedar, its branches reaching up 30 metres. "People often say that I must've loved climbing it as a kid, but look at it, I'd need a ladder to get to the first branch," James laughs. 

One of the grand features of the garden is the enormous wisteria which graces the garden's entrance. From the gnarled trunk it spreads its ancient limbs across sheds and climbs into the upper branches of a venerable pine. 

While these days it has fewer flowers, James says there are photographs of it in its glory,draping the entire scene in purple. Other plants of interest, dating from the 1880s, are the Osage orange, or bow wood tree, and the rare Desmodium amethystinum, a Chinese shrub with sprays of pale blue flowers in autumn. Old roses include Fortune’s Double Yellow, Mrs Dudley Cross, gallicas and Pink Radiance. 

BEDERVALE

Dotted among the 2.8 hectares of gardens at historic Bedervale are ethereal sculptures created by the sister of owner Sonia Royds. Ahead less skirted lady, "All Heart", greets visitors as they enter the homestead from the rear and milky white arms reach their hands to the sky from the understory of flowering shrubs. This modernist touch provides a counterpoint to the historic colonial homestead and outbuildings that were built by convict ship captain John Coghill after he purchased the land for 1400 pounds in 1822. On the captain's death in 1857, Bedervale passed to his daughter Elisabeth and her husband Robert Maddrell whose descendants lived there until1972 when Sonia's family bought the property, house and its contents. The Georgian Colonial-style house, which was designed by well-known Australian architect John Verge, was built by emancipated convicts between 1836 and 1840 using bricks made on the property, and stuccoed and lined to resemble sandstone. Today it is listed as a building of historical significance by the Heritage Council and its rare historic furniture and contents, including a collection of Coghill family portraits, are owned by The National Trust of Australia. Sonia says the impressive facade was crafted to give the impression of grandeur as Coghill was setting himself up as a gentleman in the colony of NSW. "As it was originally only a three-bedroom house, it was really all show and no go," she laughs. 

The current garden was first established in 1974 in an informal style which provides a sweeping panorama from all angles. Massed planting and mature shade trees provide structure and the rolling rural vistas take in the nearby lake. Standing to attention not far from the house is an enormous Bunya pine, a species which can grow to45 meters high and develop cones weighing 10 kilograms. "As there were no roads or signs in the early days, they planted trees like this to let passers-by know that this was a homestead, it acted a a landmark" Sonia says. Old stables, a coach house, school room and kitchen edge the rear courtyard and to the west there is a gardener's cottage, productive orchard, original vegetable garden and historic family graveyard.