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Wattle Woods Tour

The Wattle trees have always been here on the boundary line. The Wattle Woods was one of the first gardens planted, helped along by loads of compost and manure. Later a path was built, following the route that the dog took, with shady seats to rest on.

Wattle Woods Garden

Then the area started expanding. Foliage plants battled with roses. Groundcovers battled with weeds. Each storm saw more and more fallen Wattle branches, as these trees indulged in some self pruning. Now in the outer gardens, each season has a totally new look. Think of spring daffodils and honesty, followed by aquilegias and foxgloves, then the roses and lychnis, and finally the huge miscanthus grass, the sedums and the toad lilies in autumn...

You'll find tougher plantings directly under the trees, in the dry shade. Renga Renga enjoys being here and its clean green leaves look good. So does a silver Astelia which has grown huge and beautiful. I often do lots of sneaky watering to keep this area functioning properly, but enough of that! Every summer I decide that its too dry to attempt to grow anything in here, and make plans for mass removals of ailing shrubs, to be replaced with giant screens...

At the top of the Wattle Woods there is a special seat which looks at the JAM garden. This part of the garden has a special history. In the Christmas of 1997, midsummer, my friend Judith Anne decided to shift to England, and I moved her whole garden out here. I chopped out unnamed roses, dragged out rhododendrons, hostas, bergenias and ligularias. No-one believed that her plants would survive their summer shift. Ha! They were wrong! The Judith Anne Memorial (JAM) Garden survived, though with some unseasonal pruning and a lot of sneaky watering. In the winter of 2003 several of the Wattles came down in a snowfall.

Memories of friends do live on in plants from their gardens. I'm sure you'll know what I mean - plants can be as quirky and surprising as the friend who gifted them. So think of warm dappled shade with a cat or a faithful dog following you, and wander through the Wattle Woods Garden.

Aargh! Breaking news regarding more breaking Wattle trees in the snow storm of winter 2006. Huge areas have been replanted!

Wattle Woods Garden Bench... Wed 29th Oct 2008: At the back end of the glass-house is a garden bench made from a railway sleeper and two columns of bricks. It faces the water race, and the garden behind is full of Camellias. This is a delightful place to sit in all seasons.
Spring in the Wattle Woods... Sun 12th Oct 2008: The winter of 2006 marks a huge change for the Wattle Woods Garden. Most of the huge wattle trees were destroyed by a particularly wet snow storm. Suddenly there was sunshine, light, and more garden space for the Rhododendrons and Camellias to enjoy.
Glass-House Garden... Wed 12th Dec 2007: In the winter of 2006 I had a brilliant garden idea. The Glass-House would be much happier with a proper garden embracing it. It would be flowery and colourful, and feel connected to the water race nearby. What a caring, thoughtful Head Gardener!
Variegated Mallows... Thu 25th Oct 2007: Variegated mallows are one of the most under-rated foliage plants in my garden. Well - not by me, but many other gardeners consider them a total weed. Think again!
Wattle Woods Garden Paths... Tue 29th May 2007: The Wattle Woods is a large garden, and needs quite an extensive network of paths. The main path weaves underneath the large wattle and gum trees, through waves of Renga Renga and Japanese Iris.
Rugosa Roses in the Wattle Woods... Fri 3rd Nov 2006: My first 'collection' of rugosa roses was planted early in the creation of the Wattle Woods gardens, just down the slope from the Glass-House. A small path wiggles through, and there's a rickety archway to keep the roses from falling over.
Wattle Tree Damage... Sat 21st Oct 2006: One wintry week in July 2006 we experienced a different type of snow storm. Wet, heavy snow in the evergreen trees caused much damage. Crack! Crack! The Wattle Woods were falling down!
Wattle Woods Camellias... Wed 19th Oct 2005: All the Camellias in the Wattle Woods are planted in a gentle arc, starting from the back of the glass-house. They are all rejects, given a new lease of garden life at Mooseys. Can plants show gratitude? These particular shrubs seem to know how to!
Red Rose... Sat 26th Feb 2005: One summer early in the Wattle Woods history I dug out some old roses from a friend's garden and moved them into the country. This red rose came with hardly any roots - yet it has survived!
Rugosa Rose Hips... Wed 16th Feb 2005: In the middle of summer my Rugosa roses by the glass-house garden have already formed red rose hips, as well as starting to flower again. The Rugosa rose in this close-up photograph is possibly Frau Dagmar Hastrup.
Growing Tomatoes & White Fly... Thu 10th Feb 2005: My glass-house is situated on the back lawn near the Wattle Woods, almost underneath the trees. The burbling water race is nearby.
Wrong Place for Rhododendrons... Thu 11th Nov 2004: This extension to the upper Wattle Woods Garden was one of my biggest garden mistakes. Rhododendrons will not grow under Wattles, and since this archive photograph was taken the poor suffering plants have been shifted twice to try out new homes.
Wintering Over... Thu 5th Aug 2004: The glass-house in winter is always full of half hardy plants wintering over. In the Moosey garden we get frosty mornings, and pelargoniums and daisies wouldn't always survive.
Wattle Woods Flaxes... Fri 9th Jul 2004: When I sit on the garden bench by the pond I can see the sweeping curve of the Wattle Woods, and enjoy the New Zealand flaxes planted on the edge by the lawn.
Red Yellow Dahlia... Fri 4th Jun 2004: There are many small surprises in the Wattle Woods Garden - particularly in the area I call the JAM garden. Here you'll find roses, perennials and annuals, and this delightful dahlia. I have no idea where it came from - it must be a Moosey hybrid.
Dappled Sun... Thu 3rd Jun 2004: Some of the tree trunks in the Wattle Woods are on desperate leans. This is the view looking from the seat down towards the Pump House gums.
Hellebore Garden... Thu 3rd Jun 2004: At the top of the Wattle Woods I have a shaded garden where I grow lots of Hellebores. Their flower colours are creams and dull pinky-reds. They make a beautiful mass display in winter.
To the Glasshouse... Wed 19th May 2004: This is the view of the Moosey Glass-House standing under the yellow Banksia Lutea rose looking across the back lawn.
Red Dahlias By Glass-House... Mon 30th Feb 2004: Some red dahlias were dumped in-between the potting tables behind the Moosey Glass-House. They've decided they like it here. No problem!
Garden Foliage & Flowers... Wed 21st Jan 2004: In this part of the Wattle Woods garden there is quite a bit of sun, and I can grow a mixture of foliage plants like New Zealand flaxes and flowering plants like the large white Nicotiana Sylvestris.
Wattle in Flower... Mon 23rd Jun 2003: The Wattle trees flower right in the middle of winter, with cheery yellow flowers.
Wattle Woods Garden Seat... Mon 22nd May 2000: This seat, deep in the shade of the Wattle trees, is a place for calm meditation. It's surrounded by mass plantings of Renga Renga and Iris Japonica. The cats know that I sit here in summer, and it's never long before one of them arrives.
Iris Japonica... Thu 11th May 2000: Iris Japonica, also called Japanese Iris, is a foliage plant that I use everywhere. I can transplant it at any time of year, and within weeks it will be established. My Iris Japonica has bright bluish white flowers in spring.
Iris Leaf Insect Close-Up... Tue 9th May 2000: Here is another insect photograph of an unknown bug sitting on a green Iris Japonica leaf. My photographer son insists on spending time and money stalking these wee critters.
Glass-House Garden Cat... Fri 28th Apr 2000: Sifter the cat often comes out to the glass-house for the winter sun. Here he is sunbathing on the bench in the middle of the plastic pots.
Gardening Coffee Cup... Wed 5th Apr 2000: It's one of my new blue and white gardening coffee cups, and it's gone cold. I often bring a drink out to the glass-house and then forget to drink it.
Sifter the Garden Bench Cat... Thu 30th Mar 2000: Sifter the cat has ulterior motives for sitting here in the Wattle Woods. These are home to a large group of fantails, and these birds hover near people, hoping for insects.
Cotinus & Miscanthus... Sat 18th Mar 2000: The seed heads and autumn colours of these shrubs are lit up in the afternoon sun. The Wattle Woods are behind in shadow. The plants in this photograph are a Cotinus, a Miscanthus grass and a Rugosa rose.
Chrysanthemums... Thu 16th Mar 2000: There's a riot of colour in Autumn as the sedums and chrysanthemums which are planted in front of the glass-house door erupt in colour. When the sedums are in flower I have to run the bee gauntlet to get in and out.
Commelina... Thu 16th Mar 2000: These bright blue bulbs are summer flowering, and are in the garden by the glass-house.
Acacia Tree Seed Pods... Tue 14th Mar 2000: These are the Acacia (or Wattle tree) seed pods close-up. The ground in the Wattle Woods becomes carpeted with them.
Head Gardener in the Glass-House... Thu 2nd Mar 2000: The glass-house is a peaceful place. I can't hear the phone, but Jerome the cat can still find me.