A Florist & Chef's Garden Cottage

From their weatherboard cottage in Castlemaine, Victoria Dani & Alexander Marano have cultivated a lively quarter-acre garden that feels symbolic of the community they’ve formed here. As a result of their patience and undeniable green thumbs, the pair are able to sustain themselves, their friends, and Alexander’s 14-seater restaurant, Bar Midland. Dani, a self-described ‘renaissance woman’ works as a florist, merchandiser, artist, and runs the local choir - while Alex is an advocate for biodynamic and regeneratively farmed produce, growing 95% of the restaurant’s produce, including linseed to make their own linens. Both live by the rhythm of the seasons, and the slower pace that a regional town expects from it’s residents. Castlemaine is lucky to have them, and so are we - as they invite us into their 1950’s home, like the garden - it’s been graced with the beauty of time and the nurturing touch of the creative couple.

D: Our home is a little 1950’s weatherboard on the edge of the bush. It sits in the middle of a quarter-acre garden that we’ve slowly built up over the years. We grow food and flowers for ourselves, for friends, and for Alexander’s 14-seater restaurant, Bar Midland. What I love most is how connected the house feels to the garden - it’s small, but it’s alive, productive, and always changing. Tucked into the garden is a reclaimed station master’s sleeping hut that we’ve slowly transformed into a comfy little cabin. It sits among the trees and feels like it belongs there, part of the house and garden, not something separate.

D: Our bedroom, like the rest of the house, is small but comfortable for the two of us. I love the tapestry bedhead and the Axminster patterned carpet. In summer we leave the French doors open, and I like lying in bed with a coffee, looking out at the grape vines and the overgrown viburnum. It’s a quiet, easy place to spend time.

In summer we leave the French doors open, and I like lying in bed with a coffee, looking out at the grape vines and the overgrown viburnum.

Alex & Dani's bed is made with our Oversized Heavy Linen Bed Cover in Natural

D: I am a bit of a chaos merchant. I love maximalism and have fairly wide-ranging taste. I’m drawn to design periods like Memphis, Shaker, and the more gilded, chaotic side of Victorian interiors. That said, I think our house would look quite different if we had the budget to pay contractors or buy new furniture and materials. Instead, we’ve embraced a DIY and second-hand approach - every wall and fence picket has been sanded and painted by us, and we’ve even taught ourselves how to tile.

I am a bit of a chaos merchant. I love maximalism and have fairly wide-ranging taste.

Most things in our home have been collected slowly over time, largely from local second-hand places like local opp shops, Barrow Boy Traders and The Mill in Castlemaine, with a few more recent finds from Facebook Marketplace and Leonard Joels. I’m influenced by designers like Beata Heuman, Flack Studio, Luke Edward Hall and Terence Conran, particularly their use of colour and pattern. I love rich colours and clashing patterns - I can’t get enough!

A combination of browns; Chestnut & Cocoa European bedding and our Cocoa Stripe Bath Towels

D: It’s hard to narrow it down to just a few things, as I’m a firm believer that you shouldn’t buy anything decorative unless you’re obsessed with it. That said, at the moment the things that feel most special to me are my tiny chair collection, the enamel splatterware lightshades in our kitchen, and a photograph of my late grandmother’s Christmas tree.

I use my Nonna’s ricotta baskets to make cheese, or my grandfather's homemade saw horses that I have used to work on the house.

A: The most special items to me are the ones that I have inherited and are still in use, for example I use my Nonna’s ricotta baskets to make cheese, or my grandfather's homemade saw horses that I have used over and over again to work on the house. We hang a lot of my uncle's oil paintings in the house, which includes beautiful landscapes of our family farm on the Murray River, to our spring flower garden.

D: I’m a bit of a renaissance woman - a freelance florist, artist, merchandiser and producer. I have lots of interests and I’m always looking for ways to keep work engaging, usually with several projects ticking along in the background.

I work seasonally, primarily with three floral studios - Prunella, Katie Marx and Larkspur - alongside a part-time merchandising role that helps support me year-round. This balance allows me to move between creative intensity and steadier work, which suits both my energy and the rhythm of the seasons.

Alongside floristry, I work with hand-cut paper collage and run a winter social collage series called UNSTUCK. In 2026, I’ll be launching a collage and clothing collaboration with my friend Holly at Pins and Needles, where my collages will be translated into printed patches and incorporated into mended garments.

For the next month, my focus will be Forest Creek Folk, a choir I run with my neighbour James McGuffie. We host four seasons a year at a small local hall down the road and have around 30 members each season. It’s starting to find its rhythm. In February, we’ll be taking part in an artist residency with Australian musician LIOR and performing with him at a local festival. In 2026, we’re also launching a second choir, All In Sing, designed to welcome people of all singing experience levels.

I’m a strong advocate for living a passionate life. I don’t earn heaps of money, but at least I can get out of bed in the morning - and that counts for a lot.

A: I’m originally from Castlemaine. I moved away to complete my chef’s apprenticeship and, after working in Melbourne and overseas, returned home to open a restaurant in my home town. My second restaurant, Bar Midland, which I run with my friend and business partner Loudon, focuses exclusively on Victorian organic, biodynamic and regeneratively farmed produce. From our home market garden in Chewton, I’m able to grow around 95% of the fruit and vegetables we use.

I take a lot of pride in using our small house and garden to support a low-impact, minimal-intervention approach to work. We try to work in a closed loop - growing food, turning waste back into compost, and returning that compost to the garden to continue the cycle.

This summer we’re growing 45 square metres of linseed to produce a very small batch of linen for the restaurant. It’s ideas like this that make the balance between work and living feel thoughtful and genuinely enjoyable.

The table is set with our 100% Linen Tablecloth in Natural

D: Sadly [being a florist], it’s not as romantic as people might imagine. Most of the flowers and foliage that come into our home are prunings from the garden, or leftover stems brought home from work. At work I’m quite focused and particular about what I make, but at home I’m not precious at all - things usually end up loosely thrown into a vase. I’m much more inclined to bring in something en masse and let it be simple.

Dani reads on the sofa, draped in our Textured Cotton Bed Cover

D: Our favourite IN BED set is the navy and mineral stripe because the low-maintenance fabric and colours suit how we live. We’re not precious with our things, so they need to work hard for us - there’s a lot of garden detritus, and plenty of dirty paws, moving through the house. I also love a good pattern clash, and the stripes sit nicely against the more ornate detailing of our tapestry bedhead and carpet.

D: Alex grew up in Castlemaine and his family are all here. I moved in with him in 2019 after living in Melbourne for several years. Melbourne always felt a bit too vast for me - I couldn’t see the edges.

When I moved to Castlemaine, things started to make sense. I love being close to nature, having space for a big garden, and living at a slower pace. I appreciate that many businesses shut on Sundays and that people tend to prioritise work–life balance over constant hustle. There’s also plenty going on, so I don’t feel like I’m missing the city. People here tend to get involved, which gives the place a good sense of momentum.

D: There are so many great businesses in Castlemaine, and they’re all run by absolute legends. Some of the places I return to again and again are Tortoise Espresso, Table Records, Pins and Needles, Barrow Boy Traders, Lover Boy Store, Bar Midland (obviously) Theatre Royal and The Mill Castlemaine. Outdoors, I love a walk at Vaughan Springs and a swim at the Res or Turpin’s Falls. My ultimate social gathering is the monthly farmers market.