Sunday 6 June 2010

Farm garden tour - Part 3

I am glad so many of you are enjoying our walk through the garden. Thank you for all your kind comments on my last two posts. Feel free to ask questions as we walk! Passing across the front of the house, you look left over the front lawn to a stand of lemon scented gums.


Straight ahead of you, I've planted three silver birches, under grown with Australian native violet. This is what you'll see in the spring:


In the autumn, the late afternoon sun lights up the white papery bark of these birches.



And in the winter, there is the brilliant pink of a Taiwan cherry nearby to brighten an otherwise dull garden.

The path kicks around to the left at this point.

... around a Betchel crabapple (Malus ioensis) ...


... and on to our tennis court.


When we built the tennis court, we had to remove some dirt to achieve the correct slope on the court for drainage. This excess soil became a low sculpted hill next to the court. It is the highest point in our otherwise dead flat garden! And a great spot for a picnic & some tennis spectating. The hill is planted with lime green gleditsias for shade.


A connecting path meanders around the hill, and allows me more room for garden beds, and more roses!


One of my favourite views of the garden is from this path, looking back across the front lawn to the house.


If you keep wandering along this path, it eventually turns back onto the front lawn, through a mass planting of 'Double Delight' roses. If you know this rose, you may well be able to imagine how amazing it smells as you walk through here.


Fellow plant lover, KaHolly and fellow quilter Quiltsalott both commented perceptively that this garden represents 'a lot of hard work'. Well yes, that can't be denied. But it doesn't feel a chore to me. It is therapy. A way to relax. And a way to keep a little bit fit, supple and strong. I find a (weird?) physical pleasure in aching from a hard day's work in the garden.


Suzi-q hopes that I have my own gardener! Other than me, my Sweetness, and our three garden slaves, otherwise known as children? Nope, no gardener. I figure the day I need to employ a gardener is the day I had better downsize!



Mary Ann asks if we charge admission! Haha! There has only been one occasion when admission was charged. We opened our garden a few years ago for charity.



We had 1500 people visit our garden that day. It was unbelievable!



Amazingly, the garden held up well after all those visitors, and you could barely tell anyone had been there at the end of the day.


And in the true way of gardeners, there was not one plant damaged or a skerrick of rubbish left. It was a wonderful day for us, a very special opportunity to share our garden & help towards raising funds for our local cancer support group.

19 comments:

  1. I am just amazed. You achieve so much in your crafty life and you have time, to create such a masterpiece of a garden. I would love to see it in real life !

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  2. This is absolutely breath taking ,no wonder you had so many visitors ...wonderful ...love Jan xx

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  3. I would defintely support that charity and come for a stroll in your gorgeous garden.... a wonderful credit to you and your therapy..
    hugs Dawn x x x

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  4. Stunning garden , thanks for showing us around !!

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  5. What an amazingly creative and touched by love space!

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  6. All I can say is WOW! Once upon a time I worked hard on my properties and like you, found it to be relaxing and restorative. Today I delight in 'weeds' and native plants that choose to adorn my rock garden on their own. I even have a 'no mow zone' when the 'weeds' are in bloom! Everyone laughs at me, but that only adds to my delight! When I scroll through your pictures, all I can think of is how many young ladies would love to get married amongst your beautiful roses! ~karen

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  7. Oh how beautiful your garden is!!! I'd just love to walk through your wonderful rose garden ... all those double delights!!! We have one in our rose garden and the smell is divine ... I can only imagine how lovely it would be to get a whiff of all of those ... mmmmm ;o)!!!
    Hugs
    Joy:o)

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  8. I am so enjoying the tour around your beautiful garden. What a delight and inspiration it must be to you. Thanks for sharing it with us.

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  9. So inspirational, you definately are one creative soul! I agree with everyone and can understand totally why you head home as often as you can...

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  10. thank you for theese photos! it's a dreaming tour...for a dreaming garden!
    can i ask you something? did you start with a plan, a drawing, a design or it came out so beautiful step by step, with your only inspiration?
    thanks...
    Hanady ( who lives in Egypt)

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  11. Your garden really is a work of art! I have a question about your paths...what material have you put down? Looks like decomposed granite to me or is it just dirt (nasty word, I know)?

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  12. Amazing! I just spent $15 to see 5 local garden, that aren't nearly as gorgeous as your's. Thanks for the tour. If I'm ever in town, I'll give you a call for a personal tour, complete with smells. Take care

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  13. Beautiful. My garden is much smaller, but I can barely keep the weeds under control. In fact, they are winning at the moment!
    Blessings,
    Lorilee

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  14. Your garden is HUGE! And gorgeous! Well done, it is beautiful. Gardeners are such lovely people, aren't they? Such contributers I think.

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  15. Your garden is absolutely amazing! I love your roses. Birch trees grow in abundance here in New Hampshire and they are definitely my favorite trees. I had no idea gum trees had a scent - are there other scents besides lemon?

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  16. I Have Really Enjoyed our Journey through Your Beautiful Gardens...ThankYou for Sharing...
    cheers

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  17. oh BLoom, its beautiful, have been too busy to visit lately and have missed your tour. I think you are in NSW - where exactly? I am going to send your link to my mum who has a similar garden (not so big) in SA and over 500 roses, mostly david austins too. She is not very computer literate but hopefully be able to scroll through. Its just as beautiful as your stitching! hugs, Helen

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  18. Absolutely gorgeous domain.

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  19. Your three garden slaves - haha LOL! Oh my! Your garden is just spetacular! I'm always dreaming of buying a large property out in macedon or there abouts and gardening it but I would have no idea where to even begin! Do you have any advice for beginners. I have no idea how to even pick a good site. Do I pick tasmania or victoria? tasmania suposed to be colder and not so bush firey and less doughty butvictoria seems to have a lot of gardeners. How do you learn this stuff? I have a couple of books like the dk encyclopaedia of plants and flowers and dk how to grow practically everything but... eh I have no idea how to pick what to grow with what? How do I knw it will mesh well together in the soil? Did you do a course? Or read lots of books? Oh well if you can answer any of these I would be grateful! Thought I suspect you may have trouble understanding my random ramblings =P

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