When I started to garden, I knew nothing. The evocative names and romantic nature of roses was appealing and enticed me to focus mainly roses: the array of styles, colours and perfume was addictive. The first year after planting, the roses have demonstrated their true nature and the idiosyncratic way they fill the garden spaces….
Tag: perennials
“And the sun took a step back, the leaves lulled themselves to sleep and autumn was awakened.”
The season is changing, and the allure of Autumn is in the air. The mornings are becoming cooler and soon, Autumns magic wand will cast a spell on the trees, turning them to rich, earthy golds and reds accompanied by the susurrous sound of the rustling leaves. “If a year was tucked inside of a clock,…
“Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party’!
Yes, it’s party time, and like the best celebrations, there is a quiet moment before a party is in full swing when everything is ready: the venue is decorated, music on, food prepared, and the drinks are chilled, but not everyone has arrived yet. Well, the garden is much the same at the moment. Spring…
‘Is the spring coming?,’ he said. ‘What is it like?’…’It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine…’
Today is one of those amazing mornings after a day of rain when the sun glistens on every leaf, like hanging crystals. It reminded me of the quote above from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, so I’ve added it as the title. In my eagerness to plant today, I went out early only…
“Gardens are a form of autobiography.”
Spring is unfolding with daffodils, buds, blossoms and warmer days. Garden centres are bursting with colour, and the frenzy of growth is just around the corner. After a recent trip to Bell River Nursery, several trees are now waiting to be planted: a Teddy Bear Magnolia, Bay Tree standard, Silver Birch Trees, and several large…
“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.”
Recently, I’ve embarked on a month-long adventure around New Zealand and am looking forward to visiting some of the country’s extraordinary gardens. It is always a thrill to head off from home with hopes and dreams after all the planning that goes into travel. The bucket list of what we hope to do and see…
Like sunshine in a garden, yellow roses whisper tales of hope and resilience.
Yellow is magic. It can lift our spirits and create cheerfulness and optimism. The golden hue of yellow roses spreads joy, happiness, and positivity wherever they are seen; in a garden landscape amongst lush green foliage, a wedding bouquet, picked fresh from the garden for a friend or a vase in the home. Yellow roses…
“Queer things happen in the garden in Spring. Little faces forgotten appear, and plants thought to be dead suddenly wave a little green hand to confound you.”
It is no secret that I’m fond of quotations, and this one perfectly describes the spring start in the garden this year. Once dead twigs are now verdant lush growth and the perennials appear as a carpet of varied foliage with colour peeking out under the roses. It also feels like we have had every…
“Gardening is a work of a lifetime: you never finish.”
Early morning this week was slightly cooler, creating perfect gardening conditions. As the sun came across the lawn, it still felt like summer but not so intensely hot. It’s a small sign but very welcome and reminds me that Autumn may not be too far away after all. Usually, garden work is brief or…
“To sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment.”
Recently I visited the Botanical Gardens of two New Zealand cities, Dunedin and Christchurch. It was an uplifting experience to wander in the gardens and see a snapshot of the plants and trees of New Zealand’s South Island especially the roses here. As the quote above states, I left feeling at peace and grateful that…
“Wild roses are fairest, and nature a better gardener than art.”
A tousled abundance of roses and perennials was my intent on creating a garden; sure enough, a profusion of roses and other florals now permeates the garden as spring nears the end of its reign. Copious roses hang from arching canes and interweave amongst the lavender, herbs and geraniums. Some stand upright with the sky…
“The colour of spring is in the flowers; the colour of winter is in the imagination.”
As I walk through the garden now with winter well and truly here, I am surprised to still see beautiful rose blooms opening despite the cold mornings and nights. The tenacity of some of the roses is remarkable, refusing to give up and rest. When my eyes rove across the garden they don’t see what…
“Wandering clouds— Short spells of rain, poetry!”
Is there any sound more lovely than the sound of rain on the roof after a dry spell? Although the coastal areas of Australia have had far too much rain further inland, it is still a welcome treat in most areas. Light rain showers to boost the newly planted crops and a holiday for gardeners…
“Seek to be the Purple Thread in the Long White Gown”
As I look around the garden this year, my eye is drawn to the mauves, lilacs, purples, lavender, and deep amethyst shades in the roses, underplantings and even weeds along the roadside. I notice the purple at home probably because the colours of roses, Love Potion, Twilight Zone, Dusky Moon, Vol De Nuit, Angel Face…
“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…
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…
“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,…
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…
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…