Semi-makeover 2 1 2012

The ex-vegetable garden now looks like this:

My last post (1 1 2012) showed how it looked yesterday and my plan, which has now changed a bit. I have taken out the marjoram and I am going to plant a small box hedge immediately above the lavender. I ended up getting English lavender from Swane's because they said they had French lavender, but when I got there the French lavender looked like what I thought was English lavender and visa versa. Anyway, because I was too impatient to wait for the weekend and go to Honeysuckle Cottage I ended up compromising. Doesn't matter, it looks fine. I just won't be able to make Chanel No 5.

I am now going to spread the white gravel under the lemon tree. I am also toying with the idea of whitewashing the exposed fence, brick-work and steps, but we are painting the house this year so I might wait.

So far it has taken 11 hours (not counting planning). Three hours clearing weeds, two hours shopping, six + hours laying weed mat and planting. Cost: $150 for the gravel and weed mat and $80 for the plants; six  lavender and one red geranium.

I have to decide whether to buy small tube-stock box at $3.30 per plant or larger plants, which will have an impact sooner. Having watched tiny peach and apple trees grow from tube-stock to productive plants in 4-5 years it's probably worth getting the smaller plants and watching them grow.

Bowral on Thursday and it's about the right time of year to take camellia cuttings from Mick's garden.

The more I look at the photo the more I think white-washing with lime is a must.

New Mediterranean Garden January 2012

I am going to turn this:

into this:

Actually, no I'm not. But the picture did inspire me, as does the New Year, to do something about my ramshackle former vegetable garden and make it habitable for something other than snakes and bees.

Here is my plan:

For this project I will need:

• Lots of white gravel
• Weed mat for under the white gravel so weeds don't grow though the gaps in the gravel. Newspaper doesn't work, even lots of it because it breaks down. I learned this the hard way. 
• 5-6 x French Lavender, "Grosso" or "Provence", which I will buy from Honeysuckle Cottage Nursery
• Red geraniums. I already have terracotta pots to put them in. 
• Various varieties of thyme, also to be bought from HCN, so I can plant a thyme carpet that will look like this:

9thymelawn.jpg

sequoiagardens.wordpress.com

• 
  
• A seat. I would like a Lutyens seat like this:
• A seat. I would like a Lutyens seat like this:
• 
  

http://www.andrewcrace.com/garden-furniture/garden-seats/five-seater-patio-benches/large-lutyens-seat.htm

But I will have to wait a bit and use my existing seats for the time being:

 One day I would also like a little fountain.

Now I am going to weed the area and transplant the star jasmine from one part of the garden to my new garden. I would like to plant a gardenia in the new garden, but the garden will have to survive on rain water pretty much and gardenias love lots of water, so I will just spray gardenia spray around the kitchen and pretend the scent is wafting in from the garden. 

Spring garden

15/10/10

Today I planted two eggplants, 'Bonica' and 'Fairy' something and a capsicum. I also sowed some mint and sage. When I was tootling about, picking up some sugarcane mulch, something caught my eye in the composting grass clippings-a potato! I put some potatoes in the clippings in Autumn and then watered them only when I remembered and they grew and I have enough now for a potato salad! Yay! I have also been harvesting the broad beans, silverbeet and carrots.

The more I harvest, the more I am inspired to grow out own food. It is so satisfying to wander out to the garden and choose the evening meal based on what it ready to pick, pluck or dig up.

I planted out the cosmos this morning around the base of two standard roses. I have reached a stage where I am maintenance weeding-a short-lived victory that I will not take for granted, the garden will run away from me once I am back into studying.

Last weekend I prepared lots and lots of box cuttings. My goal is to plant low borders around my garden beds-it defines them. I also did some cuttings of curry plant and the chilien Guava. I am unimpressed with that plant, having failed to tip prune it to promote bushiness, it has become leggy and pointless. If the cuttings fail I will ditch both plants, if they work, I will make cuttings out of both plants and ensure I prune them more diligently.

Here are three different white roses from the garden.

Blossom

2/10/10

Just read an old post from April, where I described removing jasmine from a cherry tree in Bowral. I worried the tree was beyond hope but the worry was needless, as this picture attests.

Before and after

2/10/10

Here are some before and after shots of a bit of garden next to my driveway. I planted a rose that is ailing-I thought it had died and I almost chucked it, but we'll see how it goes. I also planted a small May bush, taken from a Bowral cutting, a pink pelargonium and some lambs ears.

I am obsessed with geranium/pelargoniums at the moment. This morning T and I went to Geranium Cottage, in Dural, to buy some. I bought the pink one in the picture as well as a variegated scented one that will have mauve flowers and one with deep burgundy leaves. There were to be planted beside the drive as well, but I couldn't bare to have them tucked away where I will hardly ever see them so I think I will put them in the front garden somewhere.

The sweet smell of spring

15/9/10

Today I went for a walk and the air smelled sweet because of the jasmine and other spring blossoms. On Monday I planted some pansies, verbena and greeny-creamy petunias, which should complement my little 'seafoam' roses.

This afternoon I sowed some seeds that had a best before date of 2008-Queen Anne's Lace and white cosmos. We shall see if they germinate. I also sowed some red and pink cosmos-"red dazzler" and "Sensation" and some alyssum. Finally, I planted a punnet of basil as companions for my tomato plants.

Miscalculating

5/9/10

I walked for an hour with T today, then tidied up the garden by the driveway. I pulled out some scrambly native violet and planted a variety of succulents. I chose succulents because whatever is in that garden must survive on rainfall and cosseting isn't on. I also planted some red pelargoniums (from cuttings, as were the succulents) and mulched the agapanthas. I planted those about two years ago and they are thriving.

My broad beans are vigorous and I fear they will topple under their own weight once they heavy with beans. I miscalculated when planting them and placed them near small pyramid supports. I have had to tie to the support with string and the plants now tower above the pyramids. I should have known better.

Whenever I visit a good friends place, I take a few cuttings. The succulents I planted today are cuttings from three different gardens and whenever I look at them I think of my friends.

On our walk today I found some beautiful grass seed-heads. I have also posted two photos of two very different coloured broad bean flowers.