end-of winter, beginning-of-spring garden - what's growing?



It was a cold, wet winter and the garden's flourishing. Here are a few of the plants growing, individually and in groups to form pictures ...

Trunk of Snow Gum with self seeded Borage around contrasting Lomandra grasses

Magnolia stellata
Euphorbia Silver Swan
Ipheion uniflorum
Periwinkle flowers growing on the fence, weed but lovely
Viola odorata - English Violet
Ginger Lily - gone to seed
Eucalyptus gregsoniana - Snow Gum
Indigofera australis, Australian Indigo
Gastrolobium celsianum - Swan River Pea - growing through Westringia fruticosa 'Blue Gem'
Self seeded Borage, loved by bees
Acacia floribunda - Gossamer Wattle
Acacia spp.
Euphorbia characis
Westringia fruticosa 'Blue Gem' - Native Rosemary
Eucalyptus leucoxylon
Borage with ladybird beetle
 distinctive serrated leaves of Banksia marginata - Silver Banksia
Euphorbias in front of Santolinas, Rosemary in backkground
Side path with Rainbow Ferns and white and red Camellias in background
Echiums in front of Snow Gum with flowering Euphorbia characis behind 
Tangle of ferns and different species of  lilies
I want to link this post with the Lessons Learned meme at Plant Postings. To participate you need to share what you have learned in the garden during the season that has just ended. I don't think you just learn something and then you know it.  I think learning is ongoing and cyclical. I knew that in time things would grow, but I kind of forgot that I knew this. At the start of winter I was quite depressed about the garden because so many of the new plantings were still too small and insignificant to give a pleasing picture. But after 3 months with lots of rain, it's looking good again, and I've relearned, or learned more deeply, that plants grow in their own time, and they will grow. You just have to be patient.

I'm also linking this post with the End of month view at The Patient Gardener's Weblog, in Helen Johnstone's blog. This post gives a snapshot of my garden at the end of August. For details of Helen's garden in the same timeframe, and many other gardens all over the world, it's definitely worth checking out this blog.

Comments

  1. Your Spring garden is very nice. I have some borage in my garden now and also the english violets, we will have in our spring. I wish you a nice spring and summer. We had a lot of rain this summer and colder than usual. It's beginning to feel like Fall now. take care Thelma xo

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    1. thanks, Thel. I hope your autumn and winter go well, and it doesn't get too cold. Apparently we're gearing up for a hard summer.

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  2. Your words are so true. I'm feeling that way about my garden now that summer is winding down. I'll have to keep the hope alive for next spring and summer. You have some beautiful Euphorbias in your garden! Thanks for joining in the meme, Sue. I hope to have the post up in a couple of days for your link. Cheers!

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    1. Hope is so important. I just listened to a Ted talk by George Monbiot that Deb from Deb's Garden recommended. He talks about the importance of hope and his enthusiasm is catching.

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  3. Love to see your early spring garden, the Acacias, wonderful Euphorbias and a beautiful shot of the Ipheion flower. Spring is on your way we are slowly going into autumn......

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    1. Hi Judy, spring is definitely sprung here now, such a cheeful optimistic season.

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  4. Very green! And the green is my favorite color. It's so nice to see some plants which live in my garden too - especially, euphorbia!
    I agree with you Sue - patience is important!

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    1. Green is my favourite colour too. Lots of people forget that green is a colour. I think I'm getting too many Euphorbia, may have to do some culling ...

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  5. I've just bought 'our' river indigo - not yet planted.
    And oh the garden lessons, learned again and again.
    Always yet another thoughtful layer to add.

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    1. look forward to seeing your indigo. The thoughtful layers to add applies to our blogs as well as our gardens, doesn't it?

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  6. What a joy to see your garden's spring blooms and growth. I am glad you had a wet winter as you and your garden seem happy for it!

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    1. Hi Donna, apparently it wasn't as wet as I thought, but still the garden's doing very well. Spring is definitely the best season for it to show off.

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  7. I forgot to cut some things back and let wild asters take over because they're so loved by the bees. I'll need to go on a search and rescue mission after they've bloomed to find the plants they've suffocated. But one thing I've learned is to not be so hard on myself when a design doesn't work out. It's crap, really. Life's too short for such absurdity.

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    1. Wise, wise words, it's word to stop trying for some weird ideal of perfection that we get in our heads.

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  8. I really must try growing borage. I hear such good things about it. Your rainbow fern doesn't look anything like what I call a rainbow fern here in the States. Yours look like trees!

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    1. I get lazy and don't use botanical names enough. I forget what the rainbow ferns are. They're more like bracken than ferns, very hardy and don't need watering like ferns. They just hate sun. In my garden once you have borage you always have borage, but I don't mind, the blue flowers are nice and attract bees. And they're edible in salads.

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  9. It's all looking lush and lovely, especially the Euphorbias.

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    1. thanks, Denise, although I'm starting to think the Euphorbias are too much of a good thing.

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  10. I love the Indigofera australis! It's great to see your garden spring back into life. We had a lot of snow and ice this winter in the blue mountains and a lot of the newly planted shrubs and trees were destroyed. But then, when the weather warmed and weekly snowfalls turned to rain, the garden went into a frenzy. Nature is truly amazing

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    1. I didn't know it got that cold in the blue mountains. It's a relief when newly planted shrubs and trees survive long enough to get strong and resilient. I hope this summer will be Ok and not too many bushfires.

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  11. The garden looks great!! Spring can be so refreshing. It just renews the spirit. I'm always hoping for a wet winter. I love the ipheion. :o)

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    1. thanks Tammy. I love the ipheion too, they just pop up each year without any trouble.

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  12. The plants in your Spring garden are looking lush. For a few reasons, Spring is the time of year I like best, mainly because Winter is a long way off. Cold and wet down under, bet you don't get many Winters like that, there again, what do I know Sue.

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    1. Dear Alastair, what do I know too? I thought it was a wet winter but then the weather bureau tells me it was a dry winter! Go figure ...

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  13. I enjoyed seeing your early spring garden. I especially like the view of the euphorbias in front of santolinas, with rosemary in the background. This is a very pleasing combination. Your Australian indigo is also lovely. Best wishes for a wonderful spring!

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    1. thanks deb, the Australian indigo is spectacular, it's a fairly new inhabitant of the garden, since I discovered the important of indigenous plants.

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