A Wedding at Bloomfield Cottage

Last weekend was our first wedding at Bloomfield Cottage!  It was only a small gathering as the actual ceremony was in Thailand a few weeks ago. However, for all their relatives that couldn`t make it O/seas, and to actually make it legal in Australia, a small ceremony was performed right here in our beautiful garden setting.

And no - the bride didn`t wear her wedding gown for us, but looked lovely in a soft flowing floral - perfect for a garden wedding. There was quite a bit of cleaning (and de cob-webbing), moving of furniture and potted plants, mowing and watering to keep everything lush for the day in our hot weather. Only days earlier we had a scorcher reaching 42 degrees! 

The tables are set and guests are starting to arrive.

The bride and groom supplied a lovely High Tea style luncheon and as the day warmed, so the Champagne and beer flowed. The gardens were looking lovely even though the first flush of roses had finished. There were still plenty of spot flowering roses though, with Weeping Dorothy Perkins - surrounded by The Fairy roses still showing off beautifully. And of course the stunning Cape Chestnut - Calodendrum was a pretty pink backdrop.

So now Bloomfield Cottage has a Wedding to add to our impressive list of occasions celebrated in this beautiful setting. Over the years we have celebrated 16ths, 18ths, 21sts, 50ths, Melbourne Cup Luncheons, Neighbourhood get-togethers, Halloween, Easter Sunday brunches complete with 9- holes of golf or Croquet, Open Gardens and many happy Christmas`s. And next year we are hosting our daughter`s engagement to add to the wonderful memories and good times shared here.

Congratulations to the Bride and Groom and to Bloomfield Cottage for hosting this special gathering.

It gives me such pleasure to share our beautiful garden from time to time, and with you, on this blog. Till next time....

It`s Rose time at Bloomfield...

My favorite time in the garden, is the first flush of Spring roses. Coming up to our Open Day here at Bloomfield Cottage, the weather has been fickle. Considering it is still only mid Spring, we had a couple of extremely hot 38-40 degree days, then it dipped back down to a comfortable 22-23 degrees with a light shower or two. Consequently many of the first buds got scorched, and overnight, nasty little Thrip turned up, running amok in the rose petals!

Most visitors probably didn`t even notice, but the day before our Open Garden, was our local Rose Society Show, in which I was taking part. So on Friday night, as I walked about the roses trying to select some blooms, I was almost in despair! They were all marked! I couldn`t find a thing worth showing. I was quite depressed as I trudged back inside - not one rose in my bucket.

Now Iv`e got a lot of roses, and to not find one worthy, well I cant tell you how cranky I was. So the next morning I got ready early and bucket in hand went out for another look. Thankfully overnight quite a few roses had opened up. They weren`t spectacular, but at least I managed to scrape together enough to display for judging. Here are a few photos of this years beautifully grown, displayed and judged roses by various members.

I only managed two Third Places in this years C grade, but I did win First in the vegetable and Photographic section. However, no time to celebrate - I had an Open Garden to ready for the very next day! Thankfully the weather was cool, overcast, and there was even a bit of misty rain to start the day, which is just what was needed for a gentle garden day. Everything looked perky and happy and the cloud cover made for perfect photography. 10am they started wandering in. The urn was bubbling and morning tea laid out. Some quiet garden music was playing softly and the plant stall ready and waiting.      
                                                                                                                                                                    We had a lovely day talking to all sorts of garden lovers and enthusiasts, some budding photographers and lots of friends who dropped by. So here are some photos of the day for you to enjoy ..... ( I did sneak a few pics in that were taken up to two weeks later as not everything was in flower on the day)

Well that`s it for another year. Hope you enjoyed it as much as my visitors did.

Wisteria malfunction - oh dear

The wisteria surrounding the veranda is 18 years old. And in full bloom. It`s just amazing. The fragrance is sweet and strong and the bees are going crazy. But yesterday we had unseasonal strong hot winds. Yep, the wire broke and down she came. Oh not all the way - for the first time I`m grateful that a branch has grown up under the gutter and into the roof, holding the whole lot off the ground. The question is... will it pull the guttering down?

Even galvanised wire wont last forever...

It`s really heavy... and we are expecting rain... oh boy.

And of course my husband is away at the moment, so I thought I could shore it up with some timber to at least save the weight on the guttering. Not going to happen. I cant believe how heavy it is in full flower - won`t budge, just too darned heavy. I cant see out past the wall of flowers that are hitting the ground. This mass is usually right up high.

I`m surrounded by wisteria at the moment. This beautiful area is at the front gate, and is where I took the cuttings for around the verandah all those years ago.

Spring is shaping up to be one of the best in years and don`t forget the garden will be open for one day only in October this year, so if your close enough to come and have a look we`d love to see you.

Bloomfield Cottage open day - 18th October 2015

174B Linden Cresent, Cranebrook, NSW

Bare, Naked, and Beautiful...the garden that is

It`s the second week of Spring, 2015, and Iv`e only just finished pruning all the roses! I`m running really late this year. (thanks to a five week flu!!) but I`m back on track and powering into Spring.

Iv`e never really counted how many I have, although I have miles of diagrams and lists of these newer beds. I will count them up one day, although it changes from year to year as some that don`t do well get dug out and replaced. And this year, I planted out one of my seedling grown, Climbing Rose. It`s parent was Red Pierre D`Ronsard x Unknown. It has a strong and healthy growth so far, with luscious deep pink, tightly petaled flower heads, typical of the D`Rondards. An old world English type rose. Perhaps I`ll call it `My English Rose`. It would be classed as an Australian bred rose. If it is in flower on the garden`s Open Day this October, we might have a suggestion box for the name? 

OPEN DAY, did I hear you think???   Yes

But this year we are only opening  FOR ONE DAY ONLY , to coincide with the

  ROSES AT THEIR VERY BEST and our local Rose Society show. I hope to put up some beautiful roses and perhaps win a ribbon or two.

Free entry, plant and garden magazine stall, tea/coffee

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18TH 2015

I`ll keep you local folks posted, and of course for all my blog visitors I will show you how we go from bare and barren to lush, colourful, fragrant and just darned beautiful. Look at how gorgeous the new foliage is so far and I haven`t even fertilized yet!

Spring has just arrived and It`s going to be a superb season, so keep posted, and happy gardening...

I love `Potted Colour`

It`s a sunny and warm late winters day and I`m playing in the garden...of course. Iv`e just been up to the local garden shop and come home with some POTTED COLOUR among other things.

My Virgo OCD nature kicks in when I see Potted Colour at the garden shops. For me, it`s like being in a candy store, - I find it hard to resist. It`s not just their beautiful fresh flowers but the fact that you get to stand with a basket and select THE BEST ONES, with the nicest colours!

It`s pansy time here in Sydney, which means winter through to mid spring, and although I usually buy mega punnets and bulk trays. I JUST CANT RESIST THE `POTTED COLOUR` !!

Im pretty anal about colour co-ord. in the garden (I like to think it`s the artist in me...) I`m always attracted to blues and mauves first, then the pinks. The hotter colours are placed ONLY in certain areas in the garden...see what I mean. I`ll even go to the lengths of pulling out a misfit that dares to pop up in the wrong colour spots. Yes, I`m brutal and anal. At least I recognise my shortcomings.

Of course it`s not just pansies that I love to buy in potted colour. I found some gorgeous petunias today - even though its a bit early for them - they like the hot summer.
You`ll pay a bit more for them, but the beauty is they must be IN FLOWER when in the garden shop, so your not just going off label pictures as you do in punnets. You can pic up a huge variety of annuals in this way - especially if you want a quick fix of colour in a pot, urn or hanger.

So many pretty flowers and colours to choose from. If you haven`t bought any potted colour before, give it a go this season. Just remember to remove some of the dead flowers and occasionally give them a liquid feed using a product for flowers and fruit - that`ll do the trick.

And this long row of petunias were all individually selected for the combination you see here of raspberry, blueberry and purple petunias...

Such luscious colours

Happy gardening......

It`s Orchid time....Cymbidium`s that is

Yes it`s that time of the year - mid winter and cold - but the Cymbidium`s seem to love it. I move them all out onto the patio to get maximum sun at this time of the year. They cop a lot of wind and cold there, but are all happily flowering. They`re tough old things if your prepared to move them twice a year. I move them back into the semi shade near the greenhouse in the hot summer.

Iv`e had many of these orchids since the birth of my first daughter. You know, instead of giving flowers, give me orchids, and they did! I`ve had to divide them over the years, and of course I added to the collection over time, after all, it was always impossible to resist when you work in a nursery at flowering time. Some have the most heavenly scent too.

I must admit I don`t do much to them, just throw on a handful of Strike Back orchid food twice a year and move them into the shade when it gets hot again.They like a bit more water then.

I think it would be nice to pot a few up for my adult daughter now, and hopefully give them to her when she has her first baby, you know, as a perpetual keepsake.Because they generally grow in pots, you will always be able to take them with you.

How are your orchids growing? If you havn`t got any, do yourself a favour and get a lovely potted specimen. You`ll have it for years and years. And when they do flower, take them inside or put them close to the house to see the remarkable waxy flowers for weeks and weeks.