Winter has fully embraced us, and the season is magnificent so far. The comfort of the evening fire and the cold, crisp mornings pave the way for the warmth of sunshine on most days. I never thought I would admit to finding winter enjoyable. However, I have welcomed the season with open arms and the sheer delight of time for contemplation and reverie.
Winter is a chance to hunker down and get things done at our own pace or just as quickly not—a season of slowness, unhurried activity and taking one’s time with little sense of anxiety. If the days are too cool to inspire staying outside for long, it doesn’t matter. If, on the other hand, the garden beckons, then working in the cool air brings a warm glow to both body and mind.
Winter is the time for comfort, good food, warmth, the touch of a friendly hand, and a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.
John Burroughs
Despite the cosiness and charm of winter we all yearn for Spring and longer days. Now that the winter solstice is behind us and we are past the year’s shortest day, there is plenty to be done but with no panic. Once the frost disappears on those cold mornings, there is time to spend a few hours preparing for the coming season and finding places for all the roses.
Facing winter, the fallen leaf is the first sign of Spring.
Mirabel Osler
Winter is restful after the Autumn flurry as we watch the landscape turn from colourful to monochrome. The landscape’s bare bones and the skeleton structure of trees and shrubs are clearly visible; the plants are silently recharging, and the allure of Spring lies hidden but not forgotten. Although cold out, I am grateful that I’m starting a new rose garden project at this time of year and can do so with a sense of calm tranquillity before the feverishness of Spring. It is an opportunity to plot, plan, dream, and research inside with the comfort of a fire and hot tea in hand, a chance for inspiration and expertise from garden books that always manage to inspire creativity. The garden will be all the better for it when one has time to contemplate options carefully.
Contemplation in winter is absolute; there are no fragmented anxieties from a demanding summer garden sizzling with colour.
Mirabel Osler
Full of enthusiasm and taking advantage of the warmth of sunshine, the first steps of my gardening endeavour began with digging out the remains of an old vegetable garden, removing stakes, wire fencing and a few weeds. The thrill of seeing these elements cleared was short-lived because, under the carpet of autumn leaf mulch, I discovered a deep layer of rocks, stones, and pebbles the previous gardeners had laid as mulch. Many hours of extra work are now needed before any soil preparation or planting can occur.
“Perhaps, the beginning is just to say nice things are going to happen until you make them happen.”
Frances Hodgson Burnett
Gardeners have their own approaches, experiences, and knowledge. I am certainly not an expert. However, I think that layers of large deciduous leaves in Autumn, plus stones, pebbles, and larger rocks, will never allow enough rainwater to soak into the ground. I prefer a mulch that will decompose and add richness to the soil. Hence, one of the reasons for removing them from my new garden.
After collecting several bucketloads of stones, and standing back to consider the enormity of the task ahead. I recalled the days when I first started the rural rose garden and the challenge of removing all the Yucca plants, digging up tightly grown lawns, and digging holes for roses in the heavy, dry clay soil. On the other hand, I remembered the extraordinary feeling of accomplishment once the roses were planted and in bloom and the ensuing years of enjoyment of a bountiful rose garden. This gave me the impetus to keep going and collect at least a few buckets of stones a day.
Great works are performed not by strength,
Samuel Johnson
but by perseverance.
So, here we go again, Mother Nature and I, off on another journey with different challenges to embrace in a cooler climate but, nonetheless equally rewarding and worthwhile. Gardening is always a challenge, and we constantly need perseverance, patience, and the ability to roll with the punches; nature demands it.
I prefer winter, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape — the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn’t show.
Andrew Wyeth
The country town of Orange has fertile volcanic reddish basaltic and black loam soil formed millions of years ago from the extinct volcano Mount Canobolas. The mountain dominates the views and vistas of the town and is a well-loved landmark sitting 1395 metres above sea level. It is the highest peak between the Blue Mountains and the Indian Ocean. The unique soil of the Orange tablelands is an aspect of the new garden that I find most exciting, especially after the heavier clay soil in my previous garden. There is nothing like the richness and fertility of some volcanic soil to boost garden growth.
“A garden is a love song, a duet between a human being and Mother Nature.”
Jeff Cox
Today’s images are a selection of roses out in bloom yesterday during a visit to the rose garden and a selection of paintings of roses to inspire as we await the new season. The garden here in Orange sits in an elevated protected position with a few pockets where frost rarely settles. A wall around the house creates a micro-climate of sorts, and I have yet to see any frost on the roses despite temperatures often below freezing. The courtyard is also sheltered and sunny and has a trellis wall that may be the best area for climbing roses and arrangements of potted roses. In particular, the Lady Of Shallot roses growing in large terracotta pots relocated from the rural garden.
“Nature has undoubtedly mastered the art of winter gardening and even the most experienced gardener can learn from the unrestrained beauty around them.”
Vincent A Simeone
“Roses in a glass vase”, 1906 by Danish artist Bertha Wegmann (1847-1926) Oil on Canvas
Mme Alfred Carrière climbing roses are to be grown on the courtyard wall to add a soft white airiness to the area and, make the space appear larger and lighter. The dominant backdrop is an extremely tall hedge of English Ivy, perfect as a dark green screen for privacy from the house behind, but it is very invasive and requires careful attention not to take over the house, surrounding trees and garage.
“The colour of springtime is in the flowers, the colour of winter is in the imagination.”
Ward Elliot Hou
The Mme Alfred Carrière rose has it all. An old-fashioned Noisette Tea rose with lax canes that are almost thornless in white with hints of pink shading that is said to flower continuously all season. It is often described as the first and last to finish blooming with an intense fragrance. Mme Alfred Carrière rose was bred in France in 1875 by Joseph Schwartz and introduced into Australia in 1889 by J Scott & Son. It is a noisette rambling climber with pliable stems and light green foliage that should reach 3 metres wide and up to 7 metres tall. There is little information available on who Mme Alfred Carrière was except this article I came across that sheds some light on this rose’s namesake.
The camellias bloom in Winter when the skies are cold and gray
Francis Duggan
When the sun shines at it’s weakest and the Spring seems far away
Camellia bushes are a highlight of cool-climate gardening and one of the best plants in our garden so far. Our entrance has five or so planted in a small, secluded patio area garden, creating a charming floral display on the passage to the front door. Hellebores are underplanted with the Camellias, but I’ve never been able to grow either of these plants due to the intensity of sun and, high temperatures further west in New South Wales. These and other cool climate plants are bonuses to the new garden, plus, we gain the extra benefit from several older Camellias that hang over the wall from next door.
Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Marina in Italy with pink roses on a terrace”, 1900. Danish painter Anthonore Christensen, 1849–1926.
There are many plants suitable for a cool-climate garden; Hydrangeas, Blueberries, Rhododendrons, Clematis, and Wisteria. I found some ferns this week that love the cold, and I have my eye on Dicksonia Antarctica, a variety of tree fern said to be hardy to about −5 °C. Ferns and foliage plants amongst the flowering perennials and roses are definitely part of the plan going into Spring.
Title quote by Mirabel Osler -‘In the Eye of the Garden’
All content Di Baker 2024
Images Di Baker unless otherwise cited.
