Bloomfield Cottage, it's a lifestyle

Monday, 28 July 2014

Pansies, Nemisia, Violets - My favorites

We are well and truly in the thick of winter now with 0 and 2 degree nights, even though the days have been quite sunny. Dry as a bone though. Pretty normal stuff for us here near the Blue Mountains - inland from Sydney. Always rains along the coast but we don't get a drop inland.

The garden is semi-asleep now and I`ve begun the laborious task of cutting things back to the ground so they can put new lush growth on for spring. All we need is Rain to get things going. The lawns suffer from early morning frost and lack of water and look yellow and sad. Dosn`t help that I weed- sprayed the lawn for bindii prickles and weeds, to add to the look of general `winterness`.

Soldier Boys - `Lachenalia` are a bright winter flowering bulb

These little fragrant violets always remind me of my Nans garden

All the trees have lost their leaves, the wisteria is asleep and the Roses are all bare stems and thorns that soon need their big annual prune. This is usually a massive task undertaken over the whole month of August. Shrub roses, pillar roses, climbing roses, groundcover roses - oh boy

Even so, there are plenty of flowers here and there to make a garden walkabout enjoyable still. My
orchids are flowering and the Camellia Japonica `Mine-no-yuki`. But the pansies - my absolute favourite garden flower, are all watching me with their little faces. I work in a plant nursery and bring home the prettiest ones I can find - along with heaps of other goodies. These are some of my favorites.

It`s the time when lots of Daffodils emerge around deciduous trees and throughout the garden loads of pretty Nemesia and Linnaria self sow all over the place. I spend a great deal of time moving them about the garden late in the afternoons so they wont wilt. Being particular about the colours when they self sow, I pull out all the yuckie purple and yellow ones. It`s a hideous mix on the one flower so I yank em out when they first start to flower and only keep all the soft pastel colours. Yes, I`m that fussy with colours - they`ve gotta all blend just so.

These little guys don't look much, but they grow into the prettiest small plants full of tiny soft pastel flowers that last for months. And so it`s a bit of a dull time in the garden just now but I know that all my efforts will pay off when it warms up.

Thanks for visiting today. Hope you loved the pansies too. I enjoy hearing from you, so leave a comment if you like.

Thursday, 3 July 2014

Yep, I bought a glasshouse

Only it isn't glass - it`s Perspex. I`m quite excited cause Ive always wanted one. I love the English conservatory style glasshouse, but this ones definitely not like that, although I plan to make it pretty, as well as functional. It`s going to be a hard working, and productive little space for seedlings and cuttings, and of course to protect tender plants in our cold winter. It`s already frosty in the mornings. We are still building the shelving for inside, but of course I cant wait, and have already put lots of plants in.

We`ve had loads of cold and windy Winter days and freezing nights, and I`ve closeted myself in already, even though it`s not even finished. Ooooh, it`s so warm and cosy in there! I just hope it wont be too baking hot in there in summer though. I`m hoping it will get plenty of shade in summer from the big Golden Elm tree nearby.

What a challenge it was, putting it all together. Soooo many componants and sizes of nuts, bolts and panels .Everything was numbered and put together with step by step precision. Mr Beatle was a great help and had endless patience whilst I read the 68 step manual and collected the bits and pieces needed for each step. We were lucky enough to have a suitable concrete pad to build it on and it`s been bolted down for added strength. It`s a solid little structure with two little air vent windows and a magnetised door. I already love it!

This is how we did it. Here we go....... step one, lay out all the parts. BLOODY HELL are there some parts!

A LOT of parts, with different size nuts and bolts and screws. Blimey.

It`s slow going - step by step

It`s starting to take shape now

Time for lunch. Good effort so far and not much arguing either.

By the end of the day it was nearly finished (and we`re still married) phew!

Now to build the benches. We had to purchase these bits separately as no shelves came in the kit. And yes, I`ve already started moving plants in and around.

When she`s up and running properly I`ll show you what`s growing on in there..... hopefully loads of seedlings and cuttings to sell at my Open Garden in Spring.

Thanks for stopping by. I enjoy your comments so please leave me some

Sunday, 1 June 2014

Bees in the Garden.

I mentioned in my last post that we are fortunate enough to have our very own bee hive here on our property. Some may think that`s awful, but we love them. It never ceases to amaze me how scared of bees people can be. I know there are some who are highly allergic to their sting and must avoid them at all cost, however, when I see a child or adlult literally run away for fear of them, well, I just have to shake my head. You should teach your children to stay still as a statue and just watch their busy work. Fascinating creatures really, who are just as happy to ignore you, as they go about their industrious business.

Most gardeners like the little fellows though. We`re not scared of em at all. We know the worth of the bees in our gardens - particularly the vegie patch. If your not getting your fruit and veg to set fruit, most likely you don't have enough bees to cross pollinate. Having a large vegetable garden, I encourage them in with this perennial purple salvia. It`s in flower just about year round and the bees go crazy for it!

Our bee hive is in an old dead tree, which many years ago I planted out with a vigorous old French rose called `Clair Jaquier`. She still flowers each spring even though I haven`t pruned her for a long time. I don't want to upset the residents. Late in the afternoon, especially on hot days, you can smell the sweet sugary honey in the hive. I`m sure that half the trunk is full! Can you see the hive in the middle of the tree

We don't tap into the hive and all that delicious honey though. There`s no way to get at it in the trunk.

And during winter there are very few pollen laden flowers in the garden so the bees live off their hoarded supply.

I love standing close to the tree in the late afternoon when all the busy workers are heading back home for the night. If you stand deadly still, the bees blast right past your face to get to the hive. I remember once, I was mowing the lawns with our ride-on mower. I mowed past the tree - as we do every time we mow, and I upset one of the guarding bees. It decided to give angry chase so I took off at an incredibly slow rate on the ride-on, swatting and yelling like a very slow crazy woman. Bet the neighbours loved that.

Still, for all the bees floating around our property, I rarely get stung - damn wasps are worse!

Please feel free to leave a comment, I love to hear from you.....

Friday, 4 April 2014

A visit to the Hunter Valley Gardens

I was spoilt last week with a 3 day get away with my husband to the Hunter Valley, one of the largest wine growing regions in New South Wales. Full of vineyards, wine tasting, amazing food and great accommodation, we had a marvellous time.
We were actually married there, at the Golden Grape Estate over 25 years ago, and went in search of the vineyard but couldn`t find it! Boy a lot has changed in those years.
Something else that wasn`t there all those years ago is the Beautiful Hunter Valley Gardens, boasting Australia`s largest display gardens. They span about 60 acres with over 8 kms of pathways! Phew, that`s a lot of walking....so we started the day with the little guided train tour to get our bearings and some general info from the guide. Then we headed off on foot to really discover all the hidden treasures.

Here`s a few interesting facts...
* Created by Bill and Imelda Roche as a garden to outlast generations that will bring joy to many.
* Construction began in 1999 and was officially opened in 2003
* Over 6000 trees, 600,000 shrubs and 1,000,000 ground covers.
* 100 km of underground irrigation piping
* Over 500,000 annuals planted each year   (oh my back aches just thinking of planting them!)

So, are you ready to take the virtual tour with us?...here we go ...

                             My excitement was building as we passed the colourful main entrance.
                   I have put off visiting for many years, waiting for more maturity of trees and shrubs.

                                     Don't forget to click on each picture for a better look!