Early Days 1 - Digging
The Tree Stump Lawn
The Stumpy Garden was a slow but sure expansion of garden area over the water race. When in doubt, dig! Digging started in the grass of Stumpy Lawn, around the lines of large tree stumps. The original shelter belt of gum trees had been felled in 1999.
So many plans...
I had so many plans! Waterside irises and other marginals along the water's edge, majestic New Zealand Phormiums, and an Oak tree grove in the grass, with swathes of naturalised daffodils. Maybe bluebells?
I was in my English Gardening Phase - had been reading far too many English Garden books. I was thinking natural, wild, and English romantic. I was possibly thinking about a higher rainfall than we get here...
The Willow Stump
Waterside...
Alas, I had give up the idea of lawn gently sloping down to the water race - the resident mower of lawns didn't fancy falling into the water. Funny, that!
By late 2001 the lure of some controlled ornamental gardening by the water proved too much. So I dug the waterside part of Stumpy Garden, following the water race from the Car Bridge downstream to The Plank.
Past the Willow Stump...
Slowly but surely I dug my way on past the Willow Tree stump. The garden shapes were dictated by the straight water race bank and the remaining tree stumps in the level ground. I applied liberal quantities of horse manure, pea-straw, and newspaper for mulching.
Then I moved back to the grass, planted some fastigate Oak trees, and dug a garden around them. I filled it with daffodils. Yeay! This was the Oak tree grove of my dreams! Sad to say it didn't eventually work out, but that's another story...
Then I dug the end part of the garden near the Car Bridge. This was to be a rhododendron area, but I changed my mind.
Another Garden Area Dug
Birthday plant presents from London son, including a 'Wedding Cake Tree' (my second most expensive purchase ever for the Moosey garden) filled it up instead. I won't tell you how long that beautiful Viburnum shrub lasted. Oops...
Garden in the Making - Summer 2004
So everything was going really well. The digging was finished, and there was plenty of room. The shrubs I'd chosen seemed sensible, and there was enough sunlight for the plants that required it. But oh boy - this would all change.
Daffodils by the Gum Tree Stump