And So the Garden Make-Over Began

In the north-eastern corner of the rear garden, a Brown Laurel (Cryptocarya glaucescens, also known as the Jackwood) planted too close to a Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum) and a Bottlebrush (Calistemon) have grown so that their branches are, in places, almost intertwined, creating a thick canopy in the corner, the ground below is covered by a thick layer of residual autumn leaves. The front is bordered by a Meyer Lemon and a Tahitian Lime tree on either side to form a narrow entrance into the corner and a couple of large Murrayas (Murraya paniculata) closely planted on the northern side add further privacy to this nook. 

The Murrayas look magic when covered with their clusters of small white blooms, their perfume heady and strong and a bee magnet.

Murrayas are very versatile plants, they can be pruned to almost any size and shape and are frequently seen as hedging plants. I have chosen to let my two grow as small trees, only pruning lightly to maintain a pleasing shape. Often Murraya blossoming is triggered by rainfall and the trees are almost covered by bunches of delicate flowers, the fallen flowers making a snowlike carpet on the ground below.









By removing some of the lower growing branches of the Brown Laurel and Japanese Maple, evicting the resident spiders and some judicious pruning of the citrus trees to enlarge the entrance, I created my "Cubby" Garden, so named because it is like a small outdoor room, tucked away under the trees, reminiscent of those outdoor cubby houses we so desire as children.

The deciduous leaves of the Japanese Maple provide additional shade in summer and allow in more of the gentler winter sun. And so my first stage of the garden renovation was completed and "The Cubby" was ready for use.

The soil quality in this corner is not great. The resident trees have over the years removed most nutrients.

To overcome this I placed a row of smallish sandstone rocks to create a raised garden bed, curving around the trunk of the Japanese Maple and butting up against the eastern fence.

The positive from a neglected garden is that the compost bins hadn't been raided for years either so there was a plentiful supply of very well rotted compost available to fill the raised garden bed.

This new garden bed is now home to pink and white Impatiens,  dormant Lilies of the Valley, Japanese Windflowers and Belladonna Lilies lie below the surface. I don't know how successful the raised garden will be, whether enough sun will penetrate. Time will tell.

 

 

A row of concrete pavers on the floor, alongside the northern fence,  provide a stable base for other potted shade lovers; the Bromeliads resting after their flower are spent and the gingers.

Now, tucked into the deepest depths of "The Cubby" are those plants that absolutely abhor the sun; the cardamom, the patchouli, the pretty pink coleus.





 

My many potted succulents form a visual border along the western side, these babies are tough, they have to be to take full summer afternoon sun.

Hydrangeas also compete for real estate, although theirs is a delicate balance between too much shade (no flowers) and too much sun (fried plant).

We have an old miniature Hill's Hoist (rotary washing line) that was handed down from my in-laws.

We'd never really known what to do with this but were reluctant to part with it, luckily it fitted perfectly into "The Cubby".

Mondo grass planted under the lime tree many years ago has grown quite vigorously, creating the perfect hiding place for felines.

Oh, and there is just enough room for a small round table and two chairs as well.

This is one of my favourite areas of my garden. Its cool shade and the smell of the damp earthen floor are inviting, whether to share a cuppa with a friend or to simply just chill-out on a hot summer day.

NYE 2013

When my daughter suggested I should write a blog about my garden, I was initially quite hesitant because I'm not sure my own little garden in Sydney, Australia would really be of interest to anyone but me (and perhaps my mother, who is my gardening co-conspirator, accomplice and frequent recipient of garden happy snaps), but I decided that it would be OK if no-one else read my blog because I quite like writing, particularly when I get to choose the topic, and because it would be nice to have some kind of a record of my garden evolution.

Anyway, today is New Year's Eve so I thought was appropriate that I make a start.

About Me

I come from a strong background of avid gardeners, some more successful, some less.

My father was a farm boy from the Riverina area of NSW and, as a child, I have recollections of Dad telling us stories from his youth, about Gub-Gub his pet pig, Skipper his pony and about the young bull he fearlessly smacked with a light fence post because he didn't like his attitude, the young bull who was sold soon after and who then proceeded to charge at his new owner! Although I think Dad was happy enough to move to the city, I feel that he always retained something of the farm boy within because he seemed happiest when living on the various hobby farms he owned later in life. About his father, the farmer, I have heard very little in terms of his gardening efforts, perhaps the hard farming life left little time for hobby gardening; and his mother, a teacher, from all accounts did try hard to make her gardens work but for one reason or another it rarely ever went to plan.

My mother is still a keen gardener with a very lovely, mainly Australian native garden. This came about when she decided that she no longer wanted a backyard full of lawn and then proceeded to transform the entire backyard into a beautiful garden that winds around a series of paths and walkways, featuring a large rose garden to one side and backing onto a huge, slightly elevated back deck. Like all gardens, this is still a work in progress. She keeps telling me the garden is full but can always seem to find a spot to tuck in those one or two extra plants.

My mother's parents were also both keen gardeners, although from what I have heard Nanna used to do a much of the planting and my grandfather was a pruning fiend, often cutting back trees and shrubs so hard many doubted they could make a come back, but apparently they usually did.

History of my Garden

We built our house a little more than 20 years ago and this was the first garden I was able to totally design, having previously inherited the legacies left by former home owners. I think my garden reflects much of my own personality. A little quirky, a little eclectic and slightly chaotic due to it being in a state of constant flux.

Our house is best described as semi-Federation so I planned a cottage garden for the front, an Australian native section (so as to attract some of the many colourful and beautiful birds that inhabit the Sydney Hills) and a more traditional English/European section in the back garden.

The roses in my cottage garden flourished for many years until the surrounding trees became so tall that the diminished sunlight resulted in spindly plants and very few flowers. Many of the Australian natives completed their lifespan and began their decline, others had rampantly overtaken entire sections of the garden.  Trees and shrubs were badly overgrown and grasses and other noxious weeds had invaded the garden beds. In other words, it was all a total shambles; so bad we would only invite friends to visit at night when it was too dark for them to see our horrible garden.

I began my garden rebuilding project in August this year, a project I thought I might complete in 3 months but 5 months on I am still hard at work and nowhere near completion. Yes, it is somewhat chaotic and in a state of constant flux, but flux is good because it is easy to change things around if they don't work out first time.