A garden peregrination

Winter, a lingering season, is a time to gather golden moments, embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour. John Boswell

Care to wander with me around our back garden?

We'll start in the Kitchen Garden.

We've got peas, carrots, rocket, cabbages, broccoli, strawberries, coriander, lettuce and silver beet growing this winter. In the green pot you'll see our bay topiaried Bay, and near the hedge with a white label you spy one of two pillar apple trees.

If you walk northish you'll get to the Children's Garden.

This is our view when we do maths. The two pots in front hold arum lilies. To the left of the path here are pink belladonna lilies and a pretty pink perennial that I don't know the name of. I'll show you when it flowers. To the right you'll see the cubby and sandpit. There are lots of things to climb in the children's garden too. Along the path to the cubby the hyacinths are pushing their way through. Jemimah's garden at the foot of the steps contains pansies, parsley, grape vines that should eventually cover the front of the cubby, and snapdragons amongst others. She has full control over this bed.

At the rear behind the two topiaried lillypillies you'll see wire mesh, which our sweet peas will shortly smother with their sweet scented blooms. As you pass the peas and the trampoline on their right you enter the Native Garden.

The beautiful Cootamundra wattle holds pride of place here at the moment.

Like our own Australian bushland, it's much harder to see the beauty in this part of the garden, but if you follow the path edged with what will shortly be a flowering grevillia hedge and wander past the firepit, you'll come to:

- the hakea in full bloom,

...and the beautiful pea flower of the 'Happy Wanderer', Hardenbergia violacea which is galloping along the back fence at break-neck speed.

Jemimah's favourite part of the Native Garden is the swing. You'll see why she was wearing a crash helmet shortly...

The hammock forms the border between the Native Garden and Daddy's English Garden. These two areas are also bounded by lawn, which is Jemimah's favourite place for riding her bicycle.

Riding past more of the native garden...

...and into the White Garden, which is mostly full of different daisy species at the moment. Lots coming here shortly though, and all sorts of interesting plants are peeking through the dirt...

You can see the bare wisteria walk in the background, one of my favourite garden features in spring and summer. This area of gentle exotics leads to the driveway and the front of the house, but if you take the left path here you'll arrive in the Courtyard Garden, nearest the house.

This Claret Ash is bare of its beautiful autumn finery, but provides endless hours of amusement for the New England Honeyeaters and Silvereyes, which nestle in its branches. Look at that winter sky!

The almond tree - that harbinger of spring is in this garden,



...with a carpet of erlicheer daffodils at its feet.

You'll find a table and chairs here, under the ancient pear tree. Just the perfect place for us to have a chat and a cappuccino, don't you think? Would you like some of Jemimah's brownies as well?

The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size. Gertrude S. Wister

This was how we spent our Saturday. It was just wonderful to spend time in God's creation with my beautiful family. He is good.