Early Days in the House Gardens
The house garden borders were already organised when I moved to Mooseys, with tiled patios and a decking already laid. But the planting scheme was completely functional, consisting mainly of evergreen Pittosporums, and the soil was covered with thick bark chips laid over weed mat. No flowers, no roses! That changed immediately - in went the collection of roses I'd brought from my old garden.
new dawn - from the archives
After that initial burst, other plants came and went. There were so many changes, reflecting my gardening mood (and budget) at the time. One year the borders would be filled with flowering annuals, next year the fountain grasses would overwhelm everything in sight. Then it was the Year of the Pot (particularly for succulents, Astelias and coloured Cordylines), then the Year of Extreme Pinkness, when weedy Campion filled every available piece of soil.
Garden patio steps in summer 2001
Of course, every year was the Year of the Rose, and I added to my collection of climbers by planting Compassion roses to lean up and over the patio pergola. An inspired choice - what a beautiful rose this was. And still is!
House Patio Gardens
Not suitable...
Many of my original ideas just didn't suit the location, the sun/shade ratio, and the watering issues - for example, the mass Phlomis planting in the hot side house border, and the Lavender edging I had high hopes for.
The catmint, too, which I thought would love being planted in the hot dry garden by the path. Not so.
And then there were those hybrid striped Phormiums which were supposed to stay small, compact and beautiful. Hmmm. They didn't, they squashed everything nearby, and quite early on I dug them out. They look pretty in the old photographs, though!
Each year I'd faithfully record the new additions. These notes puzzle me now. Where did those species tulips actually get to? At least some early plantings were successful - like the tall pale blue asters and the climbing rose Masquerade I'd brought from my old garden. My earliest photographs may not have the sharpest focus, nor might the colours be the most appealing. But (for me at least) they bring back great memories.
Pergola House Roses - Summer 1998
I remember the early planted roses struggling a bit. I suspected that much of the soil had been soured by building rubble, dumped in the ground when the house was renovated (before we moved in). Chunks would come up whenever I dug in the bay window garden.
mary rose in the garden - 1998
I took a lot of photographs in the summer of 1998. The Mary roses were grown on their own roots from cuttings, and had to survive some dry times in this garden. Naturally they were not as healthy as grafted bushes.
house gardens - 1998
One thing I notice looking at these old photographs is how much the permanent plantings in the background have grown. Take that shrubby conifer in the distance, for example - I wish it was still this size!