Sunday, August 28, 2011

Bud Burst at Spring and Some Heirloom Gardening


We visited grandma yesterday for a Saturday roast.  It was an eventful trip to say the least.  The first Beach House Brat was complaining of a sore tummy, so I gave him a plastic bag in case of emergency and told him to tell me if he wanted me to stop.  He seemed to doze off so I forgot about it for most of the 45 minute trip.  But as we turned into grandma's street, said child lost the lot all over the back seat and car floor.  Not sure why he couldn't make it into the plastic bag or wait the 2.5 nano seconds until we got to grandma's, but no.  So I spent the first half of our visit disinfecting the back seat.  He is fine now....what a difference 24 little hours makes.


Anyway the day got decidedly better.  My mother's garden is definitely at it's best in Spring.  It is at the bud burst stage now and will look magical in 2 weeks, when it is in full bloom.  Gardening is a challenging past time in Australia, especially if you move away from natives, which was the trend back in the 1960'2 when my parents lovingly laid these garden beds out.  The lack of water and the searing heat in Summer kills lots of things, but after nearly 50 years of trial and error, this garden has reached it's strides.


This garden came together when no one had any money and you did it all on your own.  Not just the gardening, but the stone work, the paving and the building of all the structures.


When the sewer was put on.......That's right in those days you bought the block uncleared and unsewered.....the septic tank became a fish pond.  It is not unusual to find a black snake out here in high Summer trying to eat the frogs milling around the pond.  The snakes tend to be more scared than us though, so left alone they just go away.


But you never garden out here in Spring, Summer or Autumn without gloves and shoes.

My dad built this BBQ area and pergola out of wood sold off from the Big Dipper, when it was dismantled.  It was a very famous roller coaster at Luna Park, well known by any child growing up in Sydney in the 1970's and before .


The garden is full of potted orchards, which I hope to show you in full bloom in a couple of weeks, if the cockatoos don't get there first.  They are simply stunning.  They were obtained from neighbours, when they moved to America in the 1970's.....we got their dogs as well.


There are lots of nooks around the garden for just sitting and watching the world go by.  All a bit chippy and aged now, but still very calming for the soul.


Here's another example of my father's handy work.  A very elaborate filter box, a bush stone wall and some paved stairs.  He even built the back wash drain you can see in the far left of the shot.


Water tanks, a must in the hot Summer months when watering restriction come into play. And the brick paving was completed by us, the weekend before my 21st first birthday.  A sit down lunch around the pool for 75 people.  A juke box playing next to the BBQ area, which became the dance floor, made for a wonderful day and a now treasured memory.


And here's a well recovered boy being a boy, climbing a Jacaranda tree that was sown in a jam jar by his great grandma 50 years ago.  He had to resort to old fashioned pursuits, as the last computer bill at grandma's blew out due to his over use....so now he is banned from using it and has to entertain himself in other ways. He seemed to manage though!!!!


What with annoying the dogs and climbing trees, I think he had a ball.


And I love that you can bring some of the outside in.  The fragrance from these little babies was divine and always revives wonderful thoughts of Spring, which is just around the corner, as our little part of the planet awakens from its Winter slumber.


Today I am linked up to

21 comments :

  1. Very beautiful and charming post. Love the last three photos. The dog is adorable. Love the story about the tree and little Mr. BH looks so cute in it. I want to be where those lovely flowers are having iced tea.

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  2. I enjoyed seeing your parents beautiful flowers and reading your post. Thanks you for sharing:)

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  3. What a lovely garden tour, Its nice to see families enjoy their gardens.

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  4. your mum has a lovely garden.the jacaranda is beautiful, a great one to climb. x

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  5. Beautiful garden! I really like to see it in Spring time. :) Please give my congrats to your parents, Carolyn. :) They did wonderful job.

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  6. What a beautiful garden. Thanks for sharing with my newbie party.

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  7. Lovely little spot.... love it! thank YOU for bringing me here and for participating in Show Off Your Cottage Monday! I shall be back soon.

    Cielo

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  8. What a beautiful garden your mother has!!! As a child, we often frequented Luna Park, but I was never game enough to ride on the Big Dipper. How wonderful to have that pergola built from a piece of Sydney's history.

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  9. I loved your mom's garden. What a wonderful retreat!

    I hope that you will visit my lovers!

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  10. wow your mom's garden looks like a beautiful botanical garden. You can definitely tell all the hard work that has gone it to it and it just lovely. I would love to enjoy a cup of tea out here. Just beautiful, thanks for sharing it with us.

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  11. What a very lovely garden, beautiful spring freshness, glad your little one is well now :) x

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  12. Your parents garden is just gorgeous!!! All that work that they have put into has paid off and then some! I can't wait to see it in it's full bloom.
    So glad that your son is feeling better, not a great way to start the day.
    xo

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  13. Jacaranda trees are one of my favourites and just amazing when all the blooms drop! Lovely garden with so many blooms.

    Veronica

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  14. What a beautiful garden. Isn't it amazing, the battle gardners have with the weather the world over? Here in Ireland its the frost that is most dangerous to plants.

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  15. Very pretty! Can't wait till my Jacaranda tree gets that size. This is only her second year in my garden so it'll be awhile before anyone can climb her.
    Jeanni

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  16. Beautiful, I wish I had a green thumb. Thanks for linking up!
    Emily
    domesticdeadline.blogspot.com

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  17. Such a beautiful garden! So many flowers out already! We don't have that many out in Tassie at the moment but the first ones are starting to bloom now after a couple of weekends with some sun! Hooray! :)

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  18. What a beautiful place to relax and listen to the water garden, Carolyn! It's fun to hear you speak about springtime in your beautiful country, while we begin the trend toward autumn here in the States. :)

    xxo laurie

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  19. What a beautiful garden and it looks like everyone is enjoying it! Thank you so much for linking your post up at Savvy HomeMade Monday!

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