
mooseyscountrygarden.com » Garden Tour	« Hen House Garden \| Island Garden Border »

Forums

Newsletter

House and Garden Tour

The Moosey house is framed by Wisteria and climbing roses which cover the patio pergola. There are continuous displays of roses in each house garden, with carpets of pansies and catmint. You'll see flaxes, some beautiful sedums and euphorbias, and some delicate flowing grasses. Relax on one of the patios and enjoy.

The two tiled patios and the decking are definitely good places for a cat to snooze, or a gardener to relax apres gardening. Cushions, books and old cups of tea are often left out here overnight. Gumboots and gardening tools are often discarded here. You can admire the house garden and lawns, or settle comfortably with a coffee and a book by the fragrant rose Compassion. Then there are the patio steps, cluttered with pots and containers. This is the traditional cat muster station, the place where gardeners often sit and think, 'What shall I do first?'

Housey

One of our lounges has a bay window which looks out to a dry and hot border - Cerinthe suicidally insists on self-seeding. This side garden started off with a silver Astelia, a large colony of Phlomis, and some cool bluey-leaved Euphorbias, all keeping the bright pink Flower Carpet Rose company. It keeps changing...

The gravel driveway separates the house borders from the gardens and lawns beyond. Jeremy, a black and white fluffy cat, is quietly composting under the newest rose plantings. Each year there are new additions - a tall, well-behaved striped grass (spring 1998), a cool sedum (autumn 1999), some species tulips and stachys limelight (spring 1999), a subtley variegated Corokia (summer 2001)...

The piano lounge has a bay window where Mary Rose and perennial friends are planted. Nicotianas self-seed in between the roses, and in spring the forget-me-nots run riot. Resident bellbirds visit the nearby bronze Phormium in summer to drink the flower nectar.

Enjoy your visit to the house gardens! And please try not to notice the weeds, or the black spots on the rose leaves...

Yellow Mums (Chrysanthemums)... Sun 9th May 2010: I'm fascinated by seasonal symmetries - for example, the time when spring days are the same length as autumn's. To deliberately balance spring's beautiful yellow daffodil flowers I grow yellow autumn Chrysanthemums near the house.
Pots and Ferns... Fri 13th Nov 2009: Peeping around the side of the house towards the Laundry Garden there are many beautiful late spring surprises. Where did those luscious Lupins come from? And the ferns? Every year there are new clumps of this and that in my house gardens.
Disney Garden Gnomes... Tue 27th Oct 2009: Oops. I'm lowering the tone of my house gardens by allowing a group of freshly painted Disney gnomes to take up residence. Their bright red hats are clearly visible from the house patio.
David Austin's Mary Rose... Thu 1st Oct 2009: The small garden immediately outside the big bay window features Mary Rose, one of David Austin's famous English roses. There are also white Flower Carpet roses planted in here, with lots of self-sown blue forget-me-nots.
Crab-Apple Tree... Tue 29th Sep 2009: An original Crab-Apple tree, possibly the variety 'Jack Humm', has always been a focal point of the house gardens. I enjoy the blossom in spring and the bright red apples throughout winter.
Pergola Wisteria Flowering... Fri 7th Nov 2008: The Wisteria was planted to grow up and over the house patio pergolas, replacing a pair of rust-prone New Dawns. It's a delicate pale purple shade when in flower - but what a beautiful fragrance!
Mexican Daisy... Thu 16th Oct 2008: Mexican daisies self-seed around the patio steps. These beautiful little plants are actually considered undesirable in New Zealand, and aren't allowed to be propagated or sold in nurseries. No-one told them about seeding!
Watering Cans... Thu 16th Oct 2008: My two blue plastic watering cans are extremely useful for the patio pots. No point in hiding them away - they're used twice a day in the heat of summer.
House & Garden Patio Path... Fri 1st Jun 2007: A short paved path leads to the house patios and the doors. When I first arrived at Mooseys I was in my Cottage Garden phase, and immediately planted catmint to sprawl over the patio path edges.
Rose Compassion... Sun 1st Apr 2007: Two strong climbing Compassion roses are a delight growing on the house patio pergola. They are beautifully fragrant, and flower from late spring well into the beginning of winter.
Catmint... Sun 14th Jan 2007: I am not supposed to show any cat-favouritism to my beautiful, photogenic, white cat called B-Puss. But I thought I'd get away with popping this beautiful photograph into the Moosey Garden Tour.
Wisteria on the Pergola... Fri 18th Feb 2005: The new Wisteria which now covers the house pergola is in its second summer. How much should I prune it? When will it flower? Will it grow into a monster and be another of my gardening disasters?
Wooden Patio Chair... Tue 8th Feb 2005: Sheer and shimmering summer style - how else can I describe this special home-made wooden patio chair? Particularly as I would like at least two more, to go with the stylish outdoors table.
Statue of a Piglet... Sun 30th May 2004: There are few statues in the Moosey garden, apart from this mass produced piglet who stands guard in the centre of the path to the house patio. He has considerable sentimental value, and provides visitors with an interesting obstacle to step over.
Rose Golden Tribute... Fri 28th May 2004: In New Zealand we often feel isolated from world events and news. Not so in the year 2001, when I planted this rose called Golden Tribute to make my small statement for world peace.
Head Gardener... Thu 27th May 2004: The head gardener can often be found relaxing on the house patio. This is the perfect spot to read a gardening magazine in the sun, or just snooze and enjoy the ambience.
Fairy Rose and Pink Flax... Fri 30th Apr 2004: The patio gardens are a source of pink warmth and wonderment in Autumn and early Winter when The Fairy Rose flowers alongside a pink leaved flax. In mid-winter the warmth of the coloured flax is most welcome.
Outdoor Garden Light... Sat 20th Mar 2004: The lamp which sits in the corner of the garden by the car lay-by is the only outdoor light in the garden. It's never cleaned because of its resident spiders.
Big Gum Tree... Tue 11th Feb 2003: Standing in the car lay-by by the house entrance there are sweeping views looking over the lawn towards the BIG GUM. These lawns are mowed regularly with a ride on mower.
Garden Patio Steps... Mon 3rd Feb 2003: The patio steps are such a nice place to sit with a cup of coffee and some cats for company. Each year the pots here get filled with my latest favourites. The climbing rose Compassion on the pergola at the side of the steps is very fragrant.
Westerland Fragrant Rose... Sun 19th Jan 2003: I call the garden outside the side bay window Stephen's border. I am training the rose Westerland up the drainpipe. This part of the driveway gets baked in the afternoon summer sun, and plants in this border have to be tough.
Patio Roses... Tue 14th Jan 2003: As you walk around the lawn past the big bay window, the many roses in the patio borders can be appreciated. The plantings sprawl over the edge, and I've encouraged Angelica to self-seed in behind.
Mixed Plantings In Jeremy's Border... Sat 11th Jan 2003: Around the corner from Stephen's border is a small garden in which Jeremy the cat has her final resting place. I have planted some of my favourite foliage plants in Jeremy's Garden, like variegated Miscanthus. There are also many roses.
Sedum & Bumble Bee... Mon 19th Jun 2000: I've planted a sedum which has creamy white flowers on the edge of Jeremy's border. Its leaves are clear light green and fit well with the underplantings of Stachys Limelight in here.
Succulents In Pots... Mon 19th Jun 2000: There is another collection of pots just by the sliding doors. These are filled with several varieties of succulents. The largest pot contains a warm red flax which is squashed in and still seems very happy. Strange plant.
New Dawn Rose... Sun 11th Jun 2000: I've forgotten to tie this new rose cane of New Dawn in to the pergola post. Its flowers are the palest prettiest pink.
House Rose Arch... Fri 2nd Jun 2000: This photo from the archives shows the New Dawn climbing rose forming a beautiful archway and gently dropping its pale pink petals on the patio beneath.
Garden Table Cat... Thu 1st Jun 2000: There is an outdoor table on the top patio, put here specifically for cats to enjoy the late afternoon summer sun. It's hard work being a cat at Moosey's. You have to ask some pretty important questions - for example, where is the sun? Where is my food? When is my food?
Garden Patio Cat... Wed 3rd May 2000: Jerome, pensive, sits on the front patio. The heavy plastic garden chair provides security in case of over-boisterous dog arrivals. I bought these chairs really cheaply and they have been most comfortable and sensible.
Stumpy Cat Claws... Tue 2nd May 2000: Stumpy has just climbed up the pergola on the house patio, and looks like she is trying to get back down. The speed she climbs through the New Dawn rose wrapped around the post is amazing.
Garden Castle... Mon 1st May 2000: In the car lay-by garden, partly hidden by some hostas and forget-me-nots, is a small castle. Sometimes when I am feeling totally childlike I try and imagine which room I would live in.
Garden Angel... Tue 18th Apr 2000: My garden angel is a present from a student, and lives by the morning decking near the big brown flax. She gets submerged in Honesty (spring) and Catmint (summer), and often is covered in gum tree leaves.
Big Bronze Phormium (Flax)... Sat 15th Apr 2000: In the small garden between the decking and the house I've planted a big dark bronze Phormium (flax) with a Mutabilis rose climbing up the house wall behind. The various pots which sit in front are changed according to the seasons.
Cat and Mouse... Sat 1st Apr 2000: This is an almost daily drama conducted on the house patio. Looking like symbols of David and Goliath, Stumpy faces up to rodent number 154. The outcome of this particular encounter does not make good family viewing, however.....Goliath won.