Living in a climate with distinct seasons, Spring is a dramatic change that delights every day as new buds and blooms catch the eye each morning. Spring is the reward for all the planning and hard work of Autumn and Winter. Spring is an old English word with Germanic origins related to the Dutch and German “Springen.” It is defined as “to leap, burst forth, or fly up.”  Spring is a beautiful time of year of awakening and transformation. This definition perfectly captures the vibrancy that Spring brings.

The roses are finally budding up and set to burst open over the next few weeks. A few stragglers, planted as bare-root roses, look a few weeks behind, but we’ll have blooms galore by the end of the month.

“The sooner the gardener loses certain kinds of innocence the better, and there is no better place to begin than with the weather.”

Henry Mitchell

The weather in Spring is fickle and quite temperamental; breezy at times with cool nights and sunny days that are a glimpse of summer. Just when you think it’s time to put away the coats and jackets the temperature plummets and the breeze becomes a biting wind. Nonetheless, it is magic weather to garden in and I’m finding that the time spent gardening is much easier and less harsh than the rural garden.

“Gardening always has been an art, essentially.”

Robert Irwin

Pierre de Ronsard Buds, Iceberg and Grahame Thomas

Our local gardens, once barren and monochrome in winter, are now ablaze with a riot of colour, from the delicate pinks of blossoms to the exotic vivid tulips that are just opening. The diversity of spring colour is not just a feast for the eyes, but is also motivating. Starting a new garden at this time of year Nature is on my side with sunny, longer days and assured growth. It’s a time when we feel most connected and in tune with the environment, working in harmony with nature’s cycles.

“Remember that children, marriages, and flower gardens reflect the kind of care they get.”

H Jackson Brown Jr.

Although the garden is taking shape it is still in its infancy, with a while to go before any clarity on plant positions’ success (or not) will become evident. Much of this garden is a gamble and an experiment because I am still determining the climate and the more unpredictable weather plus keeping an eye on the extent of the sun’s reach across parts of the garden. There have been significant challenges in planting like the masses of rocks and old tree roots in the soil that had to be removed or ignored. I’ve trialled both scenarios in various spots, so it will be interesting to see which works or which becomes a source of trial and error. After all, every gardener will make mistakes, and let’s face it, we have all planted things that died.

A beautiful plant is like having a friend around the house

Beth Ditto

Our inside garden is very private and hidden from view, but the outside garden runs the full width and length of our block. Hence, when out gardening, one is fully exposed to walkers, cars, and bikes going past. I had not anticipated this aspect of a garden/house in town, which is a huge contrast to the isolation and privacy of a rural garden. It is an easy way to meet one’s neighbours especially those interested in gardening.

“Everything grows for everybody. Everything dies for everybody, too.”

Henry Mitchell

Now that the foliage is forming and the garden is beginning to take shape, I’ve been the recipient of numerous compliments and congratulations from people walking, cycling or driving past our corner, some who stop, wind the window down and call out. ” The garden is going to be gorgeous”, or “Great job, it’s looking fabulous”, or they come over and chat whilst walking the dog to inspire me and express how much they appreciate someone “gardening” on the corner rather than setting and forgetting as was the case before. It is encouraging and reaffirming my belief that gardens do not always need to be ” Low Maintenance” because the maintenance, the actual gardening, makes up a considerable part of the fun. 

With gardening, it’s really all in the doing.

Monty Don

Shade, an attribute I’ve not had much experience with in the past, is proving to be a fascinating learning curve. In our previous rural garden, full sun was the norm. But here in the more sheltered country town of Orange, with its abundance of trees, we’re navigating dappled shade, full shade, and afternoon shade in parts. As the season progresses, shade becomes another intriguing aspect to consider while gardening. What I had initially thought of as shaded areas is, with the season changes too hot for some plants. Observing the sun’s path each day over the last few weeks and using one’s imagination has been vital in deciphering the best plant positions, but I’m not convinced I’ve got it right yet. Time will tell, I am sure.

“We all make mistakes; we are all learning. Let’s share that. That’s how you learn.“

Monty Don

Our gardens are one of the only places I know where, without formal training or expertise, we can still be quite successful as designers, labourers, artists, researchers and scientists. And if we fail, nature is forgiving. Our gardens and plants will survive periods of neglect, over-exuberance in planting, poor choices and decision-making. These can all be covered up, but we do, however, have to decide which aspects of the laws of nature are essential to follow, like providing water and sufficient nutrients, the right amount of sun or shade, and which ones we can bend a little. Nature has a way of keeping us on our toes in this regard.

“The best time to plant a tree was 25 years ago. The second-best time to plant a tree is today.”

Eliud Kipchoge

No gardens are the same and even within a local area there are subtle differences with many microclimates in the same region or even the same property. Although things are taking shape I’m not in love with the garden as yet. It’s a compromise as often is the case. I’m hoping as time moves on and the lavender and roses mature, we use the spaces created and live amongst the plants, trees and, courtyard I will come to feel more at home in the garden with a deeper sense of satisfaction.

Wherever humans garden magnificently, there are magnificent heartbreaks…..

Henry Mitchell

“A garden is a complex of aesthetic and plastic intentions; and the plant is, to a landscape artist, not only a plant – rare, unusual, ordinary or doomed to disappearance – but it is also a colour, a shape, a volume or an arabesque in itself.”

Roberto Burle Marx

So, there you have it. The garden is in, with only a few more large pots to fill around the pool deck. The next few months will be all about maintenance and nurturing the garden through the summer. I’ve inherited some stunning bulbs and a few shrubs to make up for all the stones and rocks, plus truly beautiful fruit trees. It is and continues to be fabulous to have a wider variety of plants and trees and the diversity that a cooler climate brings to a garden.

Title quote by Ruth Stout

Content Di Baker 2024

Images Di Baker or as cited

Title Image Iceberg Rose, the first to bloom this season.