A walk to the bottom

Our property rises and falls on its rambling acre. I love the low side: the light is different as is the air. There is a meandering water course that is mostly dry and overgrown with ivy.

It’s a very typical mountain bush block with some surprises here and there: ferns and pink rhododendrons.

My two cats, Albert and Whitey (guess which is which😂) have taken to following me down. They peer into the wombat hole before watching me weed and rake.

My goal this month is to trim back the ivy which is slowing engulfing the maples, ferns and azaleas. Colin built a little foot bridge to make it easier to get to the other side.

I hope you had a good gardening weekend.

A Garden Odyssey

November is the time when all the magnificent Open Gardens are on display. I visited one such garden this morning in its splendour. Set on eleven acres and around one hundred and forty years old, Dreamthorpe, is a woodland wonderland with unique garden architecture and, my favourite, the wistful, wisteria walk!

Of course, my interest is stone walls, as I described in my last blog on the Edna Walling cottage garden. As I entered the property, a magnificent stone wall welcomed me beside manicured green paths.

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A unique garden also displays unique garden architecture. This garden was no exception: terracotta urns, classical statues, wildlife habitat and some modern pieces.

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This one is reminiscent of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and good times. This garden revels in its own beauty!

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Fancy a new home for your bird life?

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Yes, I did promise some modern garden pieces – which do you prefer?

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However, it was the design layout and the plants themselves which stole the show. Here are but a mere snapshot of their breathtaking beauty….

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A wall of pink rhododendrons.

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a hedged narrow path – leading where?

To a lake, of course!

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My favourite was this spectacular lavender wisteria walk – magical, secluded and other worldly!

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This property is more notably recognised by its row of gothic ancient cedars which, on a cold, foggy night, are eerie sentinels watching over the garden.

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Dreamthorpeis a must see in autumn and in spring. Open gardens give us inspiration and preserve the magnificence of nature in all its variety and possibilities – an odyssey any garden lover would like to undertake.

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The Bush Beckons

Why do we enjoy living here? This is the question I alluded to last time. I’ll give you four reasons.
1. The four distinct seasons
Having grown up in the sub-tropics, moving to a cold climate, seven hundred metres above sea level, has been an intriguing experience. One of the advantages, and there are many, is that the seasonal changes are so noticeable. Compared to hot and humid, here Winter is cold, Spring is wet, Autumn sees the leaves fall and Summer can be a varied experience, hot, cold, and mild.
Earlier today, for example we took advantage of a superb Spring morning to burn off our increasing pile of bush debris. Colin repaired some of our pathway steps, while I raked and trimmed. Our neighbours too joined in the seasonal clean sweep.
The rhododendrons, azaleas and hellebores are out and the kookaburras could be heard overhead. This brings me to the next reason why we live where we do? The wildlife. Stay tuned.

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