My disastrous garden

Here are, I hope, a few photos of my current disastrous garden. The block is very odd-shaped, so impossible to get a photo of the entire spread - it tends to disappear into odd corners and angles. Here is a photo taken of the side garden in April (Autumn here), and then one following showing its current disastrous state once the builders and roofers have used it as their workshop for months. I have had the entire block surveyed, and it will be landscaped into terraces and raised beds using sandstone walls (hideously expensive ... but seeing as this garden is going to be my final statement in the world I decided to go for it). Behind the big walnut tree in the background the block just vanished into a jungle - all of that is going to go to be turned into a woodland garden.






Here is a shot of the front of the house, showing some of the overgrown rose garden (all going) and what fun the roofers and builders have been getting to. What has currently vanished is the gorgeous iron work wrap around verandah which is currently off being restored. Views out over both mountains and water - stunning. (I didn't realise I had these views when I bought the house - I'd flown down to view it on a dismal raining day and all the views were completely obscured.)



And finally a shot of a plant I can't identify - can anyone help me? Lovely thing ... I can't really get to it at the moment to see whether it is a shrub or a climber or a struggling tree - the builders have got too much scaffolding and 'stuff' around it to make the expedition safe.



And finally, finally a link to one of the first plans the landscape architect came up with for the garden - it has since been modified: http://www.nonsuchgarden.com/IMAGES/gardenplanfinal.jpg

 

Looks better than ours did! The bones are there, it is possible to see the way the flesh could be added. Mature trees are also a bonus, unless they are in the wrong place, like leaning up against the house wall! Cannot help with the plant except to say it looks like a weigleia perhaps?

 

lovely pic's great potential

 

Beautiful pictures - your gonna have a lot of fun with this project and from the design a lorra work. It will be great fun for us to see it evolve over time.

I would agree with Palustris - the flower and leaf shape and shoot looks weigelia to me to. Right time of year for it too (for you that is). Its a very vigorous shrub - lovely spring flowers, and then for me a bit boring the rest of the year - I prefer the variegated or darker purple forms. More interest through the year.

Thank you so much for sharing your pictures -

 

Weigelia - fantastic, thanks. I've never seen it before. It is absolutely gorgeous in flower (I keep having cars screech to a halt outside my house and furtive women dash over to snatch bits for cuttings LOL) - I have taken cuttings myself (before the rest of Hobart takes it) and set them out in my propagating trays - will make a nice addition to the back of my perennial borders. Thanks again for the info.

One of my most recent joys in this garden has been the emergence of a flowering pear. Absolutely lovely.

[ 30. October 2005, 10:15 PM: Message edited by: ellengray ]

 

Hi Ellen, lovely house and garden,you will have to keep sending pictures as it progresses. The weigelas are a common garden bush here, if you like them there are many varieties, eg variegated leaf, dark red leaf, yellow leaf,and flower colours from very. pale pink to dark red . They are supposed to be scented but I haven't noticed any scent from any!

 

Over the past 24 hours I have been opened into the world of weigelas - interesting, and I've never heard of them before, not on the mainland.

Mine doesn't have any scent either!

 

What a project you've got on your hands! I wish you all the very best with it and thank you for 'inviting' us in!