garden catchup, and thanks to Feedspot

Over the summer the garden drooped, wilted and sulked and I couldn't bear to take photos. It's now come back smiling again, and I feel bad that I forgot how resilient it is. Even when I don't get round to mulching it in time for summer, it's generally very forgiving.



Autumn leaves are falling. June is supposed to be winter, but the days are alarmingly sunny and pleasant, although the nights are cold.



I collected oak leaves from the street and chucked them straight onto the garden, like a cosy blanket to protect it from the cold.

I spent a few days pulling things out and generally rethinking the garden pictures. You have to do this, I have found, every few years, otherwise the picture deteriorates as things get out of proportion.



I realize that I garden for the future, not for the ever-changing now. I love seeing the potential beauty of the garden in my mind, even if it looks currently a bit bare or puny to other eyes. When the Loquat in the photo above self seeded, I decided to clear the growth around it to give it light and the best growing conditions. It will take several years to fill the space, but that's OK. I'll watch its progress.

I appreciate the casual untidiness and contrasting foliage in the picture. I re-arranged the hardy New Zealand Lilies that thrive in shade (Arthropodium cirratum) and dotted them around the weedy but likeable fishbone ferns.

The Correa pulchellas are doing well and blooming prolifically.

The flautist has seen many changes in the garden, but just goes on soundlessly playing. He doesn't mind the informality (a polite term for messiness).

The Crabapple tree has lost its leaves and showing off its gnarled branches behind the row of Correas.

I think it's very important to have a few spots in the garden inviting you to sit down, although I rarely do. Sticky Boobiallas (Myoporum petiolatum) form a see through screen now that I've loved them with my secateurs.

These Winged Spyridium (Spyridium vexillerum) are short lived. I used to have them in the garden, but they died. These are newly bought and planted, and hopefully will last a few years. It grows wild in other regions of Victoria, but is not local to Melbourne.

Wallflowers are one of my very favourite plants. They require so little care and flower so generously, except in summer.

I'm still trying to establish an interesting dry cottage style garden in the front. There are gaps and many plants need to grow larger, but I think (hope) I'm on the way to getting there. Plants that seem to be working include Euphorbia Silver Swan, Euphorbia characis, Asparagus meyerii (Foxtail Fern),  Liriope gigantea 'Evergreen Giant', Helleborus argutifolius, Salvia greggii with white flowers and others with yellow flowers and Echium candicans that self seeded in the back and were moved to the front.

I bought some more Lavender Hidcote to replace the newly planted ones that died over the summer. It was the wrong time then to plant them, but these should get established before the bruising heat returns. These lavenders have dreamy bright purple flowers.

The colours of the Smoke Bush keeps changing. Soon after this picture was taken there was hardly any green left.

Symmetry is employed sparingly in an informal garden, so on one side of the brick path is the sharp foliage of Euphorbia rigida, and on the other is the softness of Cretan savoury (Satureja thymbra) and Seaside Daisies.

...and ... drum roll ...

Thanks to Feedspot for choosing my blog as one of the ten best Australian gardening blogs in 2018 - https://blog.feedspot.com/australian_gardening_blogs/.

Feedspot is a content reader that lets you keep up with your favourite blogs by keeping them in the one place so you can easily see when there is a new post. Very convenient, and definitely saves time - that precious commodity that, in varying degrees - we all crave more of.