Come For a Wander Around My Garden

Greetings lovely friends & readers

(Warning - Photo Heavy Post)

Today on my table we have Remember Me Rose - I have 2 bushes now, one for each of my parents  🧡 It has the most divine fragrance.

 

As my garden finishes it's first flush of spring flowers I thought you might like to come for a little wander with me so I can share some of it with you.  Tours are normally 5 cents but you get yours for free today   😉

Pippi has decided to join us - won't that be fun😐

As you drive in my gate you can either go to the left (first pic) or you can veer to the right which takes you past my house.  Directly to the right is a large native garden that I try to keep a thick layer of mulch on, to curb the weed growth.

The left hand side takes you past my house & this is a flowering garden that leads to the deck.  This little silvery groundcover was purchased a couple of years ago as a punnet - I have no idea what it is but this is the first year it has flowered & it's delightful.  Please leave a comment if you should know the name of it.  

Up past the deck we go - self seeded Granny's bonnets & Poppies in here - people tell me they are "weeds" but I love them.  

Directly to the right is the Grapevine which runs the full length of our section - the Agapanthus were purchased as miniature but sure have grown to full size!!  I used to weed down this & it would take me 3 solid days but now I prefer to "weed" with a sprayer (!!)

I have had a lovely display of Foxgloves this year which are coming to an end - another plant that people tell me are "weeds" & that I Love!

Petunias & Lobelia

Past the corner of the deck we go - my hanging basket is lovely this year despite the wind it gets.  

Down the driveway past the carport.  Red Dublin Bay Rose on the trellis - no scent but still beautiful & dries wonderfully for potpourri.  

Over to the left is a large garden under the trees with lots of self seeded annuals & hellebores, geraniums, hydrangeas & heucheras. The trees in the background are maples. 

Bill & Ben & Bob - my flowerpot men, sitting on stumps in the shade ... looking a little dilapidated but I still adore them. 

To the far left of this garden is where I walk through to my clothes line & this has a buxus hedge around it.  I grow dried flowers in here, statice & strawflowers & a couple of herbs.  The tree is a Bay tree & I use the leaves in my citrus potpourri & cooking.

When we first moved here you could buy buxus plants for $1 each & that's how I started this hedge, adding to it with cuttings that I took over the years.  The "dips" in it are where I've had buxus blight before & had to remove some bushes & replace them.  

Past this garden are my two raised veggie beds, full of produce at the moment & then beside these is my Hothouse.

My tomatoes are fruiting which excites me, but no colour as yet. 

Remember back in * this post * where I said I wanted to grow Giant Sunflowers outside my hothouse ... well they are growing but are hardly Giant ... more up to my elbow than above my head 😐

Looking past my cottage towards the end of the section where the depot yard is - our property is rectangular shaped running parallel to the road & surrounded on 3 sides by paddocks. 

As you walk down the driveway the pond is over to the right - that's the Grapevine in the background.

The pump has sat like that for years - the stones were positioned to make a water feature & nothing further was ever done.  I live in hope but it's wearing thin  .   .   .  😉

Directly across from the pond on the left hand side is my large rose garden.  This is filled with roses & penstemons & an old Seed Drill.  I have planted a few dahlia bulbs in here this year also.  

From the depot yard end looking back towards the rose garden & my cottage.  Yes The Mr has mowed & I need to get the blower out to clear the driveway cobbles.  

A small sampling of the many collections of Old Things that I have dotted around my garden  (including myself !!!)

Well dear friends - that concludes our garden tour for the day & if you're anything like our Tour Guide - you're worn out!!

Thank you so very much if you stayed through this VeRy photo heavy post,

Sending much love & friendship to you all,

The Garden Ramble

Greetings lovely friends & readers

Phew - it's been awhile 😯 

For today's flowers we have a lovely vase of Iris's.

 I have a huge clump of these in my garden which I intend to divide up once they've finished blooming.

Also my very first picking of Roses for the year - mine are later to bloom this year, which I don't mind at all as many people's have already finished their first flush 🌹

Looking towards the street                                             Looking towards the Studio at back 

On November 2nd we had the Garden Ramble at my friend Gail's home.  After a great deal of dreadful weather leading up to it, the day turned out beautiful, the sun shone & the sky was the bluest blue.  

Gail has a wonderful urban garden, very deceiving from the street frontage.  You come through the side gate, down the pavers, then there is a large private back area.  People were surprised & many said "Oh gosh - there's all this tucked away down here, you'd never know". 

It was a lovely day - busy with constant traffic from 9 am til 4 pm when it ended.  People were enjoying themselves & so in good spirits.  We both saw lots of faces we hadn't seen in many years & it was lovely to catch up with folk again.  

I worked for Gail in her Giftware Store for just under 20 years ... so you can imagine the faces that were familiar.  (Some of course, you would not want to catch up with again ) 😉

I loved the way Gail had hung a large mirror on the back fence to give the illusion of extra space.  

A cute little cane seating area outside her dining room doors.

She had half the house open for viewing as well (just the living areas, kitchen etc, not bedrooms) & people could sit on these couches & remove their footwear to go inside.  

Several years ago she had this Studio constructed where there was originally a barbeque area.  We set it up as a shop to display our wares for sale & some of Gails artwork.  People were interested & had a good browse, we both had good sales.  

Gail sews the cushions & childrens jackets from vintage wool blankets & I sold my potpourri, mushrooms & seedling packets that I've shown in previous posts.

The Garden Ramble was a yearly fundraiser for our local Altrusa Club & they sold 400 tickets.   At $30 per ticket they would've raised $12,000 which they donate back in to the community. 

 I've had my garden in the Ramble twice before (tho' the last time was 8 years ago now) so I was more than happy to assist Gail with hers.

She has a large raised veggie garden that was bursting with produce.  

This is a small succulent garden outside her bedroom doors.  The mosaic heart was made many years ago by my friend Carolyn.  Gail had broken a precious Vase of her late Mum's & commissioned Carolyn to create this heart from the pieces.  I loved it.

In the corner opposite the veggie garden she has a large enclosure that she uses for potting up & sometimes as a cattery when she is looking after other peoples cats.  

She shut her Ragdoll Cat Lily in there for the day as she is not friendly & quite "swipey" to folk.  Lily repaid her by sitting at the grate crying all day long, getting sympathy from anyone possible & became quite an attraction in her own right.  Gail let her out about 3 pm when it quietened down a little & she swiped the first lady that tried to pat her!  She is a true Princess 👑

I did not get any photos of the interior on the day (I forgot) but I snapped these two last Monday when we were at Gails for craft.  She has set up her Christmas decorations & it looked magical.

This is her formal lounge - she has two generous sized living areas.  

And Yes dear friends, I have nearly finished my own Christmas decorating as I have friends & groups coming to view this weekend.  I finished my deck table yesterday, always one of my favorite areas to decorate - I have a tall wire tree to go at the end but this area is currently housing a large ginger furry decoration that I am reluctant to move (!!) 😉😖

Thank you for staying through this photo heavy post - I hope to post more regularly from now on but knowing me - anything's possible!!

Wishing you a wonderful rest-of-the-week,

Sending much love & friendship to you all,

A Birdcage, Knitting . . . & Looking Back

 Greetings lovely friends & readers

On my table today my first bunch of Lilacs for the year.  

Oh how I adore them & they remind me of Mum who loved them too 💜

"Oh Looky - how lovely that she has put these here just for me !!"

It would seem that someone else likes them too. 

As mentioned in my last post I have been helping my friend Gail prepare for the local Garden Ramble.  She asked me to dump this rusty old birdcage in the rubbish hole at the farm & - of course - it had to come home with me 😉             I sprayed it with CRC rust remover & then spray painted it in my wood shed (out of the wind) 2 coats Coastal Green.  I am thrilled with how it came out & when I sent a picture to Gail she replied "Great I'll have it back now thanks!!"  (sorry No)

When I revamped this thrifted table & chair set in * this post * last year, I wasn't sure how it would last being that it was so rusty.  I've kept it on my deck out of the weather & it's still looking good.  I touched up a couple of spots on the chairs while I had the spray paint out.  The birdcage looks great hanging above it & I plan to put a small plant pot in it when I can find the right size. 

- Knitting -

I'm not a very good knitter & am painfully slow, but I do enjoy it at night when my eyes are tired & I can knit the dishcloths - I find it methodical - plus I can watch TV at the same time.  Next year I plan hope to learn to knit an actual garment 😵

One of my daughter-in-laws favorite colours are orange & pink.  I bought this gorgeous teatowel for her to tuck in with her Christmas gifts & knitted 2 dishcloths to go with it.  I know she uses these, as I've witnessed in her kitchen.

The usual pattern I use is the diagonal one, a free download from * here *    I also tried out this moss-stitch pattern (above) which I really liked - another freebie - go * here * tho' I made mine not as large.

On my way to the Sewing Retreat back in June, I purchased a ball of this Abbey Road cotton yarn in Taupo.  I liked the variegation of it & so far, I've knitted 4 dishcloths & it looks like I still have enough left for another two.  The four I've shown are all from the same ball of yarn. 

Last week I decided to knit some scrubby cloths to use up the scrub yarn oddments that I had.  I made matching dishcloths as I thought they'd make nice gifts along with a cake of soap.  I loved the Christmas colours sitting in my soap dish, top right.  Very festive  🎄

After I'd used up all my scraps I went online to purchase some more & saw this colourway called "Jolly".  How beautiful - Yes Please 💓

I've made one scrubbie so far & will be interested to see how many I get out of the ball.  Again, these will be wonderful tucked into christmas parcels. 

I've just about mastered the art of knitting with a large ginger furry being parked on my lap at nights now, tho' the odd stitch gets dropped!

- Looking Back -

Spring is a busy time in my garden with so much to do.  When it feels overwhelming I've found it helpful to look back at some photos from this time last year when we had the Septic Tank debacle.  It helps me to see my progress & realise that I've actually come quite a long way.  

Looking down the section towards the depot yard - last year left pic,  last week, right pic.  I did sow grass seed but the birds ate most of it so I still have patchiness but it's okay, it's better than a sea of dirt. 

As I wait for my foxgloves to bloom I remember this garden last year with its holes & the trenches all the way down the driveway.  I also had a nice flowering of bulbs in here this year as I painstakingly sifted every single bulb from the dirt the men dug out.  

This photo below shows the lavender hedge I had leading up to the Pond - this is an old photo from December 2017, & I had removed the right hand side lavenders as they were woody & just left one side planted.

The pile of dirt below left shows where I rescued some of my lavender plants from under - it was a sorry sight indeed.  But I took cuttings & babied them along in my hothouse & I've managed to get about 6 or 7 to strike.

These plants above right are the healthiest & I planted them out a week ago.  I am hoping as they increase in size I can take more cuttings in the future as this was always such a lovely variety of lavender.  

Thank you dear friends, for your ever-welcome visits here today,

Wishing you a wonderful rest-of-the-week,

Sending much love & friendship to you all,