New Girl, non UK (Sorry)

I hope you don't mind me joining this forum - I actually live in Cornelian Bay on the island of Tasmania, south of Australia ... but there are no gardening forums in Australia suitable for my garden, which in both climate and plant life is far more English than Australian (I looked and looked and couldn't find anything suitable :( ). I'll just have to be either six months behind you, or six months ahead, whichever you prefer, and we'll just have to meet periodically at the change of seasons.

I moved from the mainland of Australia about 6 months ago specifically to be able to develop my love of gardening. I had lived in a very dry and arid part of the country,and after years of drought and water restricitons and of watching beloved plants die I cursed, stamped my foot, and moved kit and caboodle a few thousand miles south. I bought a crumbling Victorian residence, complete with crumbling, sprawling, completely overgrown Victorian garden (the estate agent was appalled that I intended to garden the mess rather than subdivide it for townhouses LOL). Am in the process of restoring house and garden (house taking preference ... garden filled with cursed builder's rubbish) but hope to be able to really start on the garden next year. Until then I am restricted to gardening in pots. Frustrating.

Cornelian Bay, where I live, is one of the older surbubs of Hobart, which is a lovely Georgian city sandwiched between mountain and water. Rather parochial, very sweet, very old fashioned, rather away from it all, which I love.

My house was one of the original houses in this area ... and it bounded by an ancient hawthorn hedge ...which I have been told is a heritage-listed hedge. I have a great deal to learn about its care, but seeing as it has survived at least 150 years without much intervention I can't see myself murdering it just yet. I hope. LOL

Looking forward to chatting with you all.

 

Hi Ellengray, and welcome to the gardening forums

Sometimes my garden looks a bit tasmanian with a couple of dicksonia antartica, dicksonia squarrosa, cyathea brownii and various NZ ferns

 

May I just add that there are many of your country folk on most of the Garden Forums in the UK. I think they find the discussions very useful.

 

Hi ellengray and welcome!

Sounds as if you have a fair sized project to deal with there.

The first year with an old garden can be quite exiting because you will start to see all the plants that have survived the neglect coming through and later as you make inroads into the wilderness and disturb the soil, seeds that have lain dormant for years will start to germinate so you may well have some very interesting varieties there. Photgraph, record and try to identify as much as possible.

Please post some photos if you can and remember someone elses rubble is your feature fountain, pond area or rockery so don't be disheartened.

 

just saying hello and good luck.

 

Seems we've really gone international now. :D Nice to see members from the other side of the world, welcome ellengray.

 

Welcome Ellengray - sounds like you got a lovely job on your hands - but as others have said keep piccies of the before and after. This is clearly a labour of love.

If your climate is similar to ours, then your Hawthorne if the same as our hedges should be fine. Here there are still some farms and others that "lay" their hedge rather than just prune it.

Me I grow Hawthorn as small trees, for both the spring flower, and the berries for the birds in the winter. Lovely plant whether as tree or hedge - but just a tab viscious with its thorns :D

 

Hello Ellengray,If you need your house painting give my Brother in law a ring...He lives in Benjafield Terrace,Mount Stuart.

 

Hello and welcome Ellengray.

 

Thanks for the welcome! Actually, I do need my house painted ... LOL

The hawthorn has already claimed the eye of one of my cats (thorn punctured his eyeball, ut fortunately it has now healed), the builder's dog and the builder's uncle (stuck with hawthorn as a child, subsequently died of blood poisoning). Subsequently I am rather careful of it. LOL

I'm actually fairly grateful for the delay in getting to the garden as I am indeed discovering strange little things creeping up from the soil, plus it gives me the time to watch how the sun travels over the garden. I am very fortunate in that I have a 'warm' block - lots of sun all day which is going to be wonderful.

Re photographs - am I allowed to post in the post itself or just put links? (I help run another forum where we are vicious about photograph protocol so I am being extra careful here ).

My profile gives a link to the website devoted to my garden. Not much there now save an online diary in which I whine a great deal. Once things get happening in the garden I'll post piccies there.

I love English gardens - periodically I pack up and move to England for a month, take 10,000 pictures, then fly back home again, utterly glutted.

 

Well, at least you have the pictures!

Welcome on board, ellengray. Nice to know you!