Icebergs and artemesia

Bought and planted two Artemesia arborescens 'Powis Castle' ($11), commonly known as wormwood, from which absinthe is made. It needs regular pruning to keep it tidy and should be cut back to base in winter. It can be propogated from hardwood cuttings. I bought it for it's silver foliage.

Powis Castle is in Wales, by the way.

The garden is ready for spring. The man at the rose shop talked me out of buying blood and bone and dynamic lifter for the roses and convinced me to buy "Better Bloom" instead. Fifty dollars for 10kg and $55 for Lucerne Hay for mulch, so it was a very expensive day.

Artemesia in the foreground. The scrubby, pathetic looking thing at the back is a lavander that was overshadowed by a rosemary hedge and didn't get enough sun or water. I can't bring myself to pull it out. 

Mulched with Lucerne Hay and ready for spring. 

I also planted a climbing Iceberg ($20), probably a bit far from the fence. The rose was bare-rooted and first I soaked the roots in a weak solution of Seasol, then planted with some well-rotted cow manure and soil and wet the soil until it was like a slurry. This removes any air-pockets around the roots. I am supposed to give it nine litres (a watering can full) of water daily for six weeks and fertilise in about three weeks time.