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… Continue reading “Gardening is a work of a lifetime: you never finish.”
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 and especially the roses bred here. As the quote above states, I left feeling at peace and… Continue reading “As I leave the garden, I take a renewed view. And a quiet soul.”
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… Continue reading “Wild roses are fairest, and nature a better gardener than art.”
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… Continue reading “The colour of spring is in the flowers; the colour of winter is in the imagination.”
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… Continue reading “Wandering clouds— Short spells of rain, poetry!”
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… Continue reading “Seek to be the Purple Thread in the Long White Gown”
My landscape dream is a charming, romantic, overflowing garden with a wide range of interesting yet not necessarily rare plants. Plants blend happily in the hot, dry, and sometimes frosty climate and impart an impressionistic outlook that softens the harshness of the rural Australian environs. To achieve this goal, in the beginning, I over planted… Continue reading “All gardening is landscape painting.”
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… Continue reading “A garden is not a place it’s a journey”
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… Continue reading Autumn is here, and I could not be happier for the garden loves Autumn…
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… Continue reading “A late summer garden has a tranquility found no other time of year.”
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… Continue reading Gardeners, I think, dream bigger dreams than Emperors.
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… Continue reading “Of all flowers, methinks rose is best”
“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… Continue reading “Turn off the news and get into the garden!”
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,… Continue reading “Colours are the Smiles of Nature”
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… Continue reading I’m 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 enjoy… Continue reading I have never had so many good ideas day after day as when I work in the garden.