Leslie Darby Boucher was Fletcher Jones brother-in-law and he began work on the gardens in 1949 - the year after the opening of the factory. There were 5 acres of quarries, boxthorn and rubbish to contend with. Darby was a miner and knew about explosives and that's how he started out - by blasting the quarry holes and filling them with old cars and tanks and loads of beach sand. Apparently Darby was very enthusiastic about the job! Tag Walter, the famous Warrnambool architect who Fletcher commissioned to put a facade on the war surplus buildings moved on site, gave "artistic" help for the garden design. Darby and his wife according to Fletcher "had green fingers!"
While the gardens are dedicated to Darby Boucher, the gardeners that followed him continued to build on the garden's features and enhance their reputation as an outstanding example of an industrial and private garden. The beauty and ordered, manicured perfection of the gardens delighted, inspired and in many ways set the standard for suburban gardeners of the 50s and 60s.
