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The Wattle Woods is an area close to the boundary fence, planted with large leaning Wattle Trees and Eucalypts. There are paths winding through the dappled shade, edged with green foliage plants, and there are wooden seats to relax on. The edges of the Woods are sunnier, and summer roses jostle here with flaxes, large grasses and nicotiana sylvestris. Fantails live high in the trees.

The Wattle Woods was one of the first gardens I planted, helped along by loads of compost and manure. The area soon started expanding. Foliage plants battled with roses, groundcover Ajuga battled with weeds. There are spring daffodils and honesty, followed by aquilegias and foxgloves, then roses and lychnis, and finally the huge miscanthus Zebra grass, the sedums and the toad lilies in autumn...

You'll find tough foliage plantings directly under the trees in the dry shade. Renga Renga and Agapanthus enjoy living here and their clean green leaves look great. So does a silver Astelia which has grown huge and beautiful. Every summer I decide that it's too dry here and make plans for mass removals of ailing shrubs... Then I sneak in some of my hoses and water madly...

Wattle Woods Garden

The top of the Wattle Woods 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.

Aargh! Breaking news regarding breaking Wattle trees in the snow storm of winter 2006. Huge areas had to be replanted. But this was a great excuse for new paths and shrubs - like a beautiful golden Pseudopanax...

So think of greenery and warm dappled shade and wander through the Wattle Woods Garden, with a cat or a faithful dog following you. Enjoy the Camellias in spring, and the first red rhododendron flowering. Duck and dive along the path underneath the huge rugosa roses... Ouch! Best not to linger in the gusty nor-west winds, though - unless you're wearing a hard-hat!

Waterwheel and Stream... Tue 21st Feb 2012: A home-made waterwheel used to lift water from the water race to form a small stream, which then wriggled and jiggled its way down the back of the Wattle Woods. I used to love the waterwheel - the soft, sloshy noises it made - and, of course, the running water.
Head Gardener in the Glass-House... Wed 2nd Mar 2011: The glass-house is a peaceful place for a gardener. I can't hear the phone, but my cats can still find me.
Glass-House Garden Benches... Sat 13th Nov 2010: Two rather oddly sized garden benches sit on the edge of the lawn either side of the Moosey glass-house. They are perfect for placing garden tools, gardening gloves, etc. on - and, of course, for a gentle rest in the shade. But...
Wintering Over... Sat 5th Jun 2010: The glass-house in winter is always full of half hardy plants wintering over. The Moosey winter garden gets chilly, frosty mornings, and pelargoniums and daisies in particular wouldn't always survive.
Glass-House Garden Roses... Fri 22nd Jan 2010: The Glass-House Garden started out filled with easy-grow perennials and shrubs like Hebes, Lavateras, red Cordylines, and Ake Ake. I liked this busy look, but the garden was so sunny and sheltered - perfect for roses. Hee hee - a temptation I just couldn't resist.
Wattle Woods Camellias... Mon 19th Oct 2009: 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!
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!
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!
Dog in the Wattle Woods... Thu 30th Mar 2006: Rusty the dog loves zooming through the network of paths in the Wattle Woods. He's well behaved, though, and never cuts the corners - even when he's chasing a bumble bee or a bird.
Glass-House Tomatoes & White Fly... Fri 10th Feb 2006: My glass-house is situated on the back lawn near the Wattle Woods, almost underneath the trees. The burbling water race is nearby.
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.
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.
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. I love these brilliant foliage plants!
Red Yellow Dahlia... Fri 4th Jun 2004: There are many small surprises in the Wattle Woods Garden - particularly in the area just underneath the glass-house. 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.
Wattle Trees - Flowers and Seed Pods... Mon 23rd Jun 2003: The Australian Wattle trees (or Acacias) near the fence-line flower right in the middle of winter, with cheery yellow flowers. My goodness, they look stunning - especially to a colour-starved gardener. And later on they produce artistic seed-pods.
Shady Garden Bench... Mon 22nd May 2000: The Wattle Woods garden bench, deep in the shade of the Wattle trees, is a place for calm meditation. It's surrounded by mass plantings of Renga Renga and Japanese Iris. Overhead the huge trees give welcome shade in summer.
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.
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.
Red Dahlias By Glass-House...: Some red dahlias were dumped in-between the potting tables behind the Moosey Glass-House. They've decided they like it here. No problem!