A Rose is a Rose is a Rose

“A garden is not a place it’s a journey”

There is nothing like needing space to put plants in to make one get cracking on challenging tasks and with cooler mornings of late, I’ve made slight inroads into restoring the garden after summer. My strategy has been to tackle the garden accompanied by a range of plants ready to go in the ground. The…

Autumn is here, and I could not be happier for the garden loves Autumn…

Autumn in my region brings a reprieve from the heat and an expectant air of cooler days to come. It is a time full of promise as we fill the gaps with plants after summer pruning, execute our plans for next season’s Spring display and anticipate the beautiful new release roses we ordered for winter…

“A late summer garden has a tranquility found no other time of year.”

The weather is humid, and looking around the garden, it is undeniably late Summer. There are a few scorched leaves from the afternoon sun but not too many this year, thousands of spent rose blooms, a few signs of rose hips where I didn’t deadhead quickly enough, plus a variety of salvias dancing in the…

“If you go, go in Peace it makes the flowers sweeter along the path”

The Peace Rose has soft yellow flowers that fade to blush-pink at the tips. The blooms are large and double and have a light fragrance. The Peace rose repeat flowers and is disease resistant and very easy to grow to be hardy, vigorous and a brilliant performer. “The Peace Rose is the most Famous and…

Gardeners, I think, dream bigger dreams than Emperors.

According to the calendar, the end of the season is approaching, although it still feels like Summer, and the roses will bloom for many more weeks to come. As long as I keep deadheading, some will bloom right on through until May. In fact, early Autumn is one of the best times in the year…

“Of all flowers, methinks rose is best”

As summer rolls on, the landscape is unseasonably lush. The lawn is rapidly making the garden beds home. On the one hand, the garden is superb, brilliant green, but also far too moist, humid, and overgrown, so in need of serious attention. It is the complete opposite of a few years back when drought was…

“Turn off the news and get into the garden!”

“We all have an idealised picture of the garden that we have carried around in our heads from the moment it became ours and which, I guess, is never the same as the growing reality. Over the years that the garden is coming into being that image carries you forward and inspires you, but when…

“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 enjoy both to the fullest? I love my rose garden and want to see all the roses in full bloom and to enjoy the delights…

“Colours are the Smiles of Nature”

When I first began growing roses, I was like a child in the lolly shop, unable to decide which ones to choose from all the beautiful colours and styles. My choices were not always suitable, and I could not resist the enticing rose names so I often overplanted. Some didn’t survive, but most have flourished,…

“You must fail at gardening to master it.”

Nature wins this week in the garden. If ever there was a time one needed some inspiration to garden, this is it. Forget the heat and typical summer weather; the number of mosquitoes since our floods and storms are extreme and make being in the garden almost impossible. I usually head out in summer with…

Le Pigonnet -A garden where Cezanne wandered…

Le Pigonnet is a beautiful Hotel in Aix en Provence, France, tucked away from the town centre, albeit not far away. Le Pigonnet is from the French word Pigeonniere ( Pigeon House). As you enter along a magnificent tree-lined avenue to view the hotel, you would be surprised by the humble entrance. Le Pigonnet was…

“Gardening is easy. Stick it in the ground the right way up and most plants will grow perfectly well.”

I must admit the garden this season has been a humbling experience with unseasonal weather that gave me a false sense of what a garden can be; lush and green, an array of prolific blooms and loads of growth. It was stunning, some days, I even thought that the garden looked like a ‘proper garden’…

“The fragrance of the rose lingers on the hand that casts it”

Walk through the garden on any Spring day and you are immediately taken by the rose fragrance. Not least of all roses bred by Delbards in what I like to call my French garden; Belle Parfume, Dioressence, Belle du Seigneur, Chatreuse de Parm, Grand Siecle, Mitsouko, Sour Emmanuelle, Cote d’Azure, Lousie de Amade, Madame Delbard,…

Carla Fineschi Rose Garden, Tuscany

It is time to re-post my story about the Carla Fineschi Rose garden in Arezzo Tuscany because it has been renamed “Gianfranco and Carla Fineschi Botanical Rose Garden Association” according to their website. “The ROSETO BOTANICO GIANFRANCO AND CARLA FINESCHI ASSOCIATION, commonly known as “Roseto Fineschi” since 2015, has replaced the “Roseto Botanico Carla Fineschi…

I’m in the garden…

I have always wanted to grow Alliums and this year I have finally been successful. Alliums are ornamental onions with unique ball-shaped mauve and purple heads that sit gracefully amongst the roses, and perennials making the garden more appealing and complete. The showy Allium Giganteum is the largest that I’m growing and has a beautiful…

“Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are.”

I have few words left to describe 2021 so instead, I have a collection of my favourite shots of the roses in the garden this Spring and early Summer. The garden has had a fantastic year and the roses are wonderful due to the unseasonal weather. Like the rose and the thorn, life has two…

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 Louis Stevenson Did you know that rose perfume is at its most intense very early in the morning and the scent will gradually become less…

“Flowers don’t tell, they show.”

I’m in awe every day in the garden at the exquisite nature of the roses and the surprising array of rose blooms that at times appear so delicate, soft and angelic and yet some are bold, exotic, and majestic whilst others create an eye-catching display that is charming and elegant. The rose never fails to…

“I look upon the pleasure we take in a garden as one of the most innocent delights in human life.”

The early stages of Spring in the garden this year were magnificent. The full flush of blooms I missed though, as I had to be away for several weeks. As expected, I was greeted by thousands of spent rose blooms ready to deadhead and thriving rampant weeds on my return to the garden last week….

“A flower is not a flower alone; A thousand thoughts invest it”

Flowers are the universal sign of happiness, love, forgiveness and condolence, and a natural way to brighten our decor and mood. They are an integral part of our lives and adored the world over; the perfect table centrepiece, lavish display in a foyer; the wedding bouquet; the remembrance wreath, or admired in beautiful gardens, estates,…

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 House. We were early for our appointment to visit the famous vines of Le Clos Saint-Hilaire, the Chais and anticipated Champagne tasting so, we had…

”The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”

The unpredictable nature of rain has caused a few heartaches lately in rural areas where crops almost ready for harvest have been decimated from excess water. In the garden too, rain has been both a blessing and a curse. After the brilliant start of Spring this year, the roses have been ravaged by wind and…

I have never had so many good ideas day after day as when I work in the garden.

Gardening is a means by which you can attain many valuable hours of solitude without being thought of as unsociable. John Erskine Isn’t that the truth? The allure of a quiet reverie and time in solitude to think one’s own thoughts uninterrupted is often out of reach. Well, the garden is just the place to…

A Sense Of Place

Gardens are a refuge, a solace from the world. We all at some stage, have been awed by a place where the buildings and landscape just seem to feel right, where a sense of harmony exists. In areas like this by simply being or planting a seed, or watching a rose bloom, or glimpsing a…

The Joy of a Well Designed Garden

To design gardens that look and feel appealing and are a joy to visit think like an artist and use the basic design elements such as colour, line, texture, form and scale.By using the basic design elements and their combinations will provide the tools to create balance, unity, harmony, transition, repetition, accent and proportion for…

Just Peachy

As I worked in and around the garden last week, the colour of the peach roses took my breath away – they are the best I’ve seen so far. Crepuscule, Lady Of Shallot and Peach Profusion, are standouts. Roses in this colourway range from softest shell pink to rosé, peach, salmon, apricot and coral or…

“Avoid being impatient. Remember time brings roses.”

It is official, the roses this year are a triumph, and I could not be happier with the results. The chilly slow start to Spring and natures reluctance to bring out the sun has seen blooms open at a regal and leisurely pace, but now the brakes are off, and full bloom is upon us….

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”

Another week into October, and the rain has gone. This week is all about florescence, for everywhere you look, buds are unfolding, and blooms are appearing all in their quiet, natural manner. The distinct seasons in rural life have their charm, but Spring has to be the most enjoyable. It is like a party where…

“Life is trying things to see if they work.”

My garden has always been an experiment to see if, despite the rural location and tricky climate, creating an inviting, lush and colourful outdoor space was possible. I’ve tried things out with no certainty that the plants would grow and there have been many setbacks and disappointments. As time went by I’ve become more informed…

“How lovely yellow is! It stands for the sun.”

I’ve always admired the soft yellow flowers of a climbing plant that I see covering archways, fences and pergolas as I drive into our local rural town. They are always a welcome sight at the end of winter. The words in the quote of Vincent Van Gogh above could easily have described this charming climber’s…

“To everything there is a season”

The expression ‘ a watched pot is slow to boil’ has been around since Benjamin Franklin first wrote the text in 1785. The quote has come to mind lately as anticipation of Springs first flush grows each day. A few buds are appearing, and the arrival of first blooms, but Spring in the garden seems…

“Je vois la vie en rose”

Je vois la vie en rose means: I see life in pink; I am looking at the world through rose coloured glasses. Why not live with an ability to see beauty in everyday life and have a positive and optimistic outlook – a rosy way to see the world? One of the first roses to…

“Nature does not hurry yet everything is accomplished”

Spring is unfolding at a leisurely pace, and almost all the roses are covered with new glossy foliage that looks healthy and fresh. Because I’m at home in lockdown, I’m more aware of the steady renewal of the new season. Apart from the gorgeous lavender spires everywhere Spring appears slow due to the late cold…

“Spring work is going on with joyful enthusiasm.”

The energy of preparing for Spring has been going on all winter despite the rain. The garden has undergone a renovation of sorts that has been almost like starting a garden from scratch. Suddenly, the weather this week has changed from winter to summer overnight. The winter mode of heading outside after the frost to…

“I love being in my garden. I don’t plant a lot of exotic flora, but I do spend a lot of time outside doing manual labour. ”

Spring is on the way and the tell tale signs add vibrancy to the air but unfortunately, this week I’ve had to do a bit of a cull in the garden. It is necessary and has freed up space and allowed the best of the roses to have a bit more air and circulation around…

Serenity has to be three-quarters hard work to be worth having.

Yes, it’s true peace and relaxation are often won by a bit of hard toil most of the time, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. There is nothing like relaxing at the end of the day, knowing you have made headway shaping the garden. Recently I’ve found more surprise roses hidden under some…

“The more I garden the less I know, but the more pleasure I get from it.”

The anticipation of Spring is in the air. Back to basics is the motto of the new season, and as it should be, the roses are at the heart of the garden. Taking one day at a time, I’m preparing whenever I can, and I’m noticing a change in my method this year. The initial…

“One who plants a garden plants happiness.”

Today brings a sense of déjà vu, I’m inside again due to more rain. We’ve only had a few days of fine weather that lasted long enough to be out gardening recently. Surprisingly, at the end of the day last time I was out in the garden, despite the aches and pains after heavy work,…

”The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain.”

The sun is out like a welcome visitor after heavy fog, cloudy days and rain. Reminiscent of living by the coast, the recurring rain and storms have been a part of almost every day that stands as a stark contrast to, not that long ago, when it never seemed to rain at all. Rain always…

”She who loves roses must be patient and not cry out when she is pierced by thorns”

The romance of the rose and its alluring fragrance is momentarily forgotten when a prickle imbeds your leg or fingers as you work in the garden. I say prickle, not thorn, because, despite the popularity of poetic quotes on the rose thorn, they are called prickles. The rose above is Summer Sun Rose by Kordes….

“Potager or Jardin de Curé.

Why does the vegetable garden need to be a separate garden rather than part of the total garden landscape? With this at the forefront of my mind I’m planning a new garden in the style of a French kitchen garden known as Potager or Jardin de Curé. An old French-inspired graceful garden of herbs, flowers,…

“I like solitary pursuits, such as reading or pottering about in the garden. ”

Fortunately some of us enjoy solitary pursuits because we sure have spent some time lately secluded. Here we are again at the end of another fourteen-day self-isolation, and more lockdowns for greater Sydney. Farm life is the same anyway; life is isolated with only the necessary grocery trips into town and rare social get-togethers. Otherwise,…