The Autumn Rose Garden
“One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides. Autumn is my favourite season of the garden year. Many days and nights lately, I have…
Category: Stories
“There is no gardening without humility…
“There is no gardening without humility, an assiduous willingness to learn and a cheerful readiness to confess you were mistaken. Nature is constantly sending even its oldest scholars to the…
“Success and failure, triumph and disaster. That is the rhythm of life in the garden.”
Like a beautiful new rose bud the new decade begins. But it is a sombre morning today to wake to the shock of the plight of thousands of people in…
A new year is simply the turn of a calendar page — and a beautiful chance for us to turn over a new leaf.
It is customary in Australia to ring in the New Year with the excitement of fireworks, parties, friends and champagne but also the good intentions of new year resolutions. I…
Christmas is the day that holds all time together.
All we need in Australia this year for Christmas is RAIN. Apart from wishing for rain my hope is that everyone enjoyed a wonderful Christmas with family and friends and…
“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller”.
My love of travel and exploring the world is quite a contradiction to that of growing a rose garden. So how can I bring them together in my life and…
“I’ve always felt that having a garden is like having a good and loyal friend. ”
I love inspiring quotes. At times I’ll come across a quote that rings so true to me and is exactly the sentiment I had thought of but not quite been…
Who killed the Lady of Shalott?
The Summer glow that radiates from The Lady Of Shalott Rose is one of the reasons it is my favorite rose. The colours are rich, in shades of deep apricot,…
“Oh, no man knows through what wild centuries roves back the rose”.
As Mirabel Osler once said When I first began with roses, moving into that vast territory of scent, form and colour. I knew nothing. Likewise neither did I, and now…
The Joy of a Well Designed Garden
“Art is the unceasing effort to compete with the beauty of flowers — and never succeeding.” Marc Chagall, 1887-1985 Think like an artist when designing a garden and use the…
“Life is itself a school, and nature always a fresh study.”
It’s pretty tough in the garden at the moment even though the cold and frosty days of winter have been replaced by the colour and fragrance of Spring. We have…
“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow”
In almost every garden, the land is made better and so is the gardener. Robert Rodale When I reflect on the past few years of growing a new rose garden,…
Giardino della Gherardesca
In between the 15th century Palazzo della Gherardesca and the “Conventino”, a 16th century Palazzo, which was once a convent is an 11 acre botanical garden in the Renaissance city of Florence.…
Heirloom Roses
Roses exude charm and beauty but why are there so many different types and where did they originate? Today I’m uncovering the mystery of rose classes and what is meant…
Fragrance always clings to the hand that gives roses
Spring is here although in some areas the season has been slow in starting with unusually cold, frosty mornings contrasting with high daytime temperatures. Patience is needed, as I wait…
A Green Thumb
My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant’s point of view. Evidently the idiom having a ‘green…
Hand in Glove
This week I had the joy of working in the garden, hand in glove with one of my son’s. Our main task was to mulch the garden in preparation for…
Spring is nature’s way of saying, “Let’s party!”
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” Spring has begun and the garden sings…
A Country Garden
“In all the recipes for happiness I have ever seen, ‘something to look forward to’ has been given as an important ingredient. Something to look forward to! How rich the…
The Perfumed Garden
Today is about the perfume and scent of roses…. It is a golden maxim to cultivate the garden for the nose, and the eyes will take care of themselves. Robert…
Rustic Charm
What makes gardening so enthralling is you can become the Queen of your own private Kingdom. You can create your own particular dream, working within the parameters of what you…
Love Lavender
‘As Rosemary is to the Spirit, so Lavender is to the Soul,’ Anonymous I love growing lavender in the garden. When I walk down the front path my legs brush…
The name of a rose
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, By any other name would smell as sweet. Unexpectedly, an added bonus of loving roses is learning the history of roses,…
Thrillers spillers and fillers
“My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece.” —Claude Monet I love gardens made in pots and containers. Whether you have room for a small or a larger garden or have…
Gardens to visit- Al ru farm
“Gardening is the art that uses flowers and plants as paint, and the soil and sky as canvas.” -Elizabeth Murray If you love Gardens then Al ru Farm at One…
Carla Fineschi Rose Garden
“But he that dares not grasp the thorn, should never crave the rose” Anne Bronte Our long awaited day to visit the Rosa Botanica -Carla Fineschi Gardens in Cavriglia Italy,…
Vallee des Roses Morocco
There is simply the rose; it is perfect in every moment of its existence.Ralph Waldo Emerson El-Kelaa M’Gouna Rose Festival in Morocco Have you ever wondered where all the roses…
Jardin Remarquable in Epernay
Walking around Epernay along L’Avenue de Champagne we came across the Town Hall that sits within the lush greenery of an enchanting French Garden. It is part of the Remarquable…
Le Pigonnet -A garden where Cezanne wandered…
In Aix en Provence quite close to the town centre there is a beautiful Hotel, called Le Pigonnet from the French word Pigeonniere ( Pigeon House) . We fortunately were…
The Garden at Billecart-Salmon
Arriving at BilleCart Salmon in the Champagne -Ardenne region of France, I was in awe of the beautiful à la française jardin or The French Garden that surrounded the Champagne…
There’ll be days like this….
As the Van Morrison song goes ‘When all the parts of the puzzle start to look like they fit, my Mama told me there’ll be days like this’ Van’s lyrics…
Antonio Canova Gipsoteca
Giardino in Passagno These lovely, pastel pink blooms are from the Giardino at the Gipsoteca in Italy. The gipsoteca means ‘the plasterworks’ and is where the Antonio Canova museum is…
The Romance of the Rose
“To grasp the nettle” – to tackle a problem with bravery I have vivid childhood memories of growing up in a beachside location with my parents who were keen gardeners.…
The Lady Of Shalott?
“I am half-sick of shadows,’ said The Lady of Shalott.” ― Alfred Lord Tennyson, The Lady of Shalott Lady Of Shalott is one of my most favourite Roses. The colour…
