In anticipation of Spring, my hands have been deep in the dirt lately, pulling weeds and digging out grasses that are so prolific and thick on the ground. I'm also trying to resist the urge to prune the sad-neglected-looking roses, as the experts say in cold regions, to wait until after the last frost for… Continue reading “[Gardening] is a means by which you can attain many valuable hours of solitude without being thought unsociable.”
Once again, I've been saved from garden watering by obliging clouds and another deluge of rain over the last three days. It was predicted and arrived on schedule almost to the hour, beginning as quiet stillness in the air that made me think of the phrase, the calm before the storm. Followed by soft Irish… Continue reading “A gardener learns to play the hand he’s dealt”
Spring is in the air and there are signs that the garden is coming together. Over the time I've been gardening, the climbing roses have been the trickiest to get right. I initially envisaged an abundance of rose blooms cascading around the front door and verandah posts of the old Australian farmhouse (1910 ) where… Continue reading “In the garden as in writing, punctuation is needed to clarify structure and meanings. A garden without punctuation is like prose without full stops or music without a beat.”
Today is crisp and beautiful; the sun shines after yesterday's wet day. Sheep graze in the long grass and the new roses that were 'heeled in' are now all planted. The days after rain have an allure all their own that no amount of watering can replicate. It's like waking up to a promise of… Continue reading “All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today.”
Claude Monet in his garden Many great painters from the past were also avid gardeners who chose to paint their surroundings and families enjoying the garden. Why not? The garden is so full of colour through the months of spring, summer and autumn, with beautiful spaces to view and capture in paint. At this time… Continue reading “Nothing is more the child of art than a garden.”
Today was a real treat as I was able to spend three hours this morning involved in a Horticultural Symposium hosted by Michael McCoy, a first for me. Michael had curated a rich and diverse lineup of speakers, including Fergus Garret, Ed Flint, Sophie Thomson, Jimi Blake, Donna Somerville, and Casein Schmidt. To say it… Continue reading “Apprentice yourself to nature. Not a day will pass without her opening a new and wondrous world of experience to learn from and enjoy.”
If we were playing the dinner party game where you chose people, past or present, that you would like to meet, then one of mine would be Mirabel Osler. From the moment I heard of Dame Mirabel, I was captivated. Her free-spirited approach to life, gardening, and travel hold many truths for me. In her… Continue reading “I’m not a garden expert in any sense of the meaning, only someone who blunders about in the shrubbery.”
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… Continue reading The Perfumed Garden