Wallaby1-you absolutely live in paradise-what are you homes like in the UK? I always enjoy seeing the different gardens, as well as the different architecture depending on where people live-I am also looking to build a large aviary, and am collecting ideas-you wouldnt happen to have any of those would you!!
Pam
By special request.
pmulcaire, there is a wide variety of homes here. Many of the older properties on city edges are large Victorian or Georgian style houses on the main routes, once owned by the Doctors, Lawyers etc. Then there are the poorer type housing of workers, often further out of a city and many are terraced, the slightly better off ones being semi-detached. That was times past, and many of these still exist. Probably post war many housing estates sprung up, smaller outlying villages close to a city have become part of the suburban areas with building joining them together. Again, there are detached and semi-detached houses and in this country they are mostly two story, with some 'bungalows' which are single story, what would just be called a house in Australia, which is more the norm there. As with all places, space and prices play a part, but in a colder country it makes sense to have the warmth go from the lower level to the upper level. New large houses being built now have very small gardens, in times past they had large ones where people usually grew vegetables, kept chickens etc.
The house I live in is in a country area, and is part of an old Estate which once was owned by one of the 'classes', the rich people who made their fortunes often through Industrialisation, or further back through foreign investments, such as the sugar industry, plantation owners etc. I don't know the history of this particular one, but the main house was burnt down in the late 1970's when Vietnamese refugees were being housed there. As with many country houses, it had been taken over during war times by the Airforce, they were often used as hospitals and for recouperation of, often, the people in charge such as Officers who were again from the 'classes'. The rooves you can see over my hedge are houses which were built by the Air Force in the 1950's to house personnel and sold off in the early nineties. The house I live in is very old and was probably used to house perhaps the Estate manager, and perhaps head gardener but that is speculation. It was 2 properties as semi-detached well over 100 years ago, but at some time it was converted into 3 properties (over 100 years ago), it may have been done when the top floor was built on as it looks to be an addition, it would have once had lofts in the roof space where people used to keep their grains safe. This particular property was sold by the RAF to the same family in the early 1960's, then it had one acre of land and it was divided into 3 equal areas. It would have been used as Officers housing. The other end neighbour has the old washouses with 3 separate ones for each occupant. In history further back the house may have been used for visiting dignities, relatives, friends etc., this I think because of the name it has been given. It definitely is a good quality build, unlike Estate farm cottages which are built of poor quality brick and are generally quite low by comparison.
Sorry, no tips on aviaries.
Beautiful shot with the house! I love old houses; they each seem to have their own stories to tell. And speaking of old houses, I'm going to be moving to one this spring. The original part of the house is a log cabin, built in the mid to late 1800s (I'll get more details soon). It sets on a hill and is surrounded by farmland. I'm so excited because not only is the house surrounded with mature spruces, pines, and various deciduous trees that will provide great areas for my shade lovers, but there is also lots of SUN! Now poppies, zinnias, dahlias, and of course glads as well as so many of my other sun-loving favorites will an option again! My back hurts already in anticipation of the great excavation that will start late this month, weather permitting. There are also lots of mature blooming shrubs like lilac, forsythia, mock orange, and quince. The really amazing thing to me is how well placed all the woody plants are- how often does that happen? The skeleton of a cottage garden is already there! Thats all a future thread; I have every intention of documenting everything with pics during the building of the garden.
That's wonderful news Neal, I can't imagine having to dig all that you have, then get it planted again. And you have all those new bulbs coming too! I hope you've got a few hundred pots and lots of compost!
Here is the Lily bed again with Aquilegias and Iris, some of my own Poppies, flowering 3rd June. The Lilies are just budding up to follow.
That lovely flower bed just makes me sigh with contentment!!!
And, Gemini, can't wait to see that thread starting - what a treat for you and for all of us!
Janet, just found this thread, every inch of your garden is just awesome but then I knew it would be.
The Aquilegias you can see there are ones I grew from my own seed off the Songbird A. Cardinal, I got very few as they are bred to keep flowering and make very little good seed. They are actually more robust than the original which has mostly died away, they most likely crossed with other older varieties and the height is increased but not too tall, they don't make much good seed either so they keep flowering forever.
You should have a few amongst your seeds Vi, it's time to get Aquilegia seeds in soon. I have been sowing so many seeds with the mild weather, a real bonus on time.
This was on 2nd June 06, probably will be earlier this year, everything was late last year. The path behind the Acacia tree and a Rhododendron, you can see some of the Petticoats Aquilegias there, all seed grown.
I am speechless Wallaby1 at your generosity in responding to my question-you truly do live in paradise-I would love to see more photos or your home-what I am seeing in your garden and home is better than any of the 3 home and garden magazines I have recently bought-you are a blessed man
That last one is enchanting. Reminds me of 'The Secret Garden' :)
pmulcaire, wallaby1 is a lady, and truly blessed with much talent and brains!
Neal, didn't you just move a year or two ago? Good luck with the new "digs". Are you planning a fall move so you can get all your lilies?
pmulcaire you are welcome! I should have mentioned that many of the city or village centres have very old stone or Tudor houses still standing. Lincoln has both, as well as a castle and cathedral built about a thousand years ago. Some city centres such as Edinburgh have houses dating back to the Medieval times, around 600 years old.
I think in magazines you get to see diamonds, showy but heartless and manicured by designers, which some people prefer and some do have their merits. A garden to me comes from the heart and not the mind, a little like falling in love, it can't be 'made' to happen.
Yes as Neal says I am of the feminine gender, oh Neal you are so kind.......I always wanted a secret garden, and this was in my mind when I made my 'secret' pathways where surprises await. There is a magical feeling when you round a corner and spy some delights which had not been there last you looked.
I have a bath tub at the back of the house, and make full use of it (other than taking a dip).
Oh, wallaby, I love the bathtub! I want to have water lilies, but don't want the hassle of a pond, and I promised DH I wouldn't get into ponds. :-) This would solve that issue, as farm sales around here frequently have heavy old bathtubs that sell for a little of nothing. Can you provide details of how the water is set up, drainage, cleaning, etc., or is that too far off topic?
Nothing is off topic in the CG forum -- That is the beauty of Cottage Gardens, they encompass everything. Please Wallaby, tell us about the bathtub! Of course I live in the city and even the nastiest old thing is $500.00, but hey! Maybe someday...
Suzy
Go for it McG! Use silicon sealant to seal the plug in. I use square pond baskets, a curved one at the curved end, held up by bricks. You should sand the surface of the tub to give it a key so the paint sticks, we used black stone chip paint sprayed on, if you can't do that you could paint on matt black with a brush, this was already green enamel inside and we painted it but after a few years the paint peeled off, but green looks good. Water lilies like to be up to 2 feet deep, Irises closer to the surface.
Use a gritty soil, you can buy special soil for the purpose, don't use nitrogen fertilisers as this causes blanket weed, which I have had plenty of but I scoop it out by hand and some years you will find it doesn't grow much, last year it didn't, it was very hot so it possibly didn't like the heat. I emptied the whole thing out after about 5 years and repotted all the plants, the plants seemed to like it. Use pebbles on top of the baskets to hold in the soil, I have lots of them in the ground which I have kept, it looks nice if you put white ones on but they soon get covered with gunge so any will do. Other than that I usually get elbow deep in the spring when it starts to warm up to take out any leaves etc that have blown in it in the autumn, you cuold put a net over but I never do. Last year I had darters lay eggs in there so I'm not too keen to clear it out in case I scoop them out too. I had a fuchsia pot on one corner with a dead stem on it which I left as insurance against being blown off, the Darters liked to sit on it and I got pics of them, I found the female had been laying eggs when I looked at the pics, they are quite small really and pics make them bigger so you see more detail.
Wow Illoquin, $500 is a lot, there is a place near me that sells reclaimed items, they ask a lot (up to £800) but do have some very nice old tubs and some are re-enamelled. I got mine from the city tip when they used to sell items, they don't do it now, it was only £10, less than $20. It even has a date impressed or stood out on the bottom, a specific date in March 1937 I think but I don't remember exactly which one, imagine putting a new date for every day they made them in the moulds, unless that was a start date for that style.
Hi Janet, yes I will get my columbines in soon, we had a real sharp frost here last night and it is cold today and suppose to get even colder next week hopefully it will warm up after that. Hope my columbines look half as good as yours does.
Vi
lurker here, I love this thread and forum and have been working on the cottage effect for many years, some years I do better than others.
Wallaby1 with your tub garden do you have a bubbler or running water in it and is it in the shade or sun. We have a very old claw foot tub that was on our property when we bought it 30 years ago and this would be perfect if I knew what I was doing. Love you paths and gardens just beautiful.
Thanks for letting me but in here and please keep up the great posts. What a wonderful way to ignore the cold and blowing snow outside my window!
Joy
Here is a pic of my house last summer. I need lots more plants but this was early in the season
Wallaby1: What can I say .... Wow ..... Beautiful Home and Garden!
I've always wanted a Cottage Garden, and as I've been "lurking" here on this forum, I am just in Awe of yours. Makes me want to get out in my yard and start digging and planting. My hubby likes very straight lines in the garden and I love curves and free form design ... so it's a slow process trying to get the "Cottagy" look! I would love to get rid of all the lawn/grass and just have natural pathways with different plants everywhere!
I am so glad I decided to check out this forum .... I just joined DG in October and am learning so much. Sure appreciate you posting all your beautiful photo's!
Lin
Oh, Joyous! How wonderful!!! I want to come over and have tea and cookies and look around. It just looks like the kind of place where you'd send all your visitors home with a little pint of homemade jelly and a little wooden flat of plants you dug out of your garden.
Welcome to the forum; I'm glad you posted!
Suzy
Joyous, your house and yard are adorable! So homey and inviting :)
Pat, this spring will wrap up 3 years here. Hoping this is my last move, at least for a long time. And oh yeah, everything is coming with me! In all my mole prone areas the lilies are planted in pots, so those will be easy to move. Others I'll try to dig and pot up as they emerge or as weather allows for the ones that still have some stem showing where they are. Friends will be living here after I leave, so anything I can't get in spring, I can get in summer or fall- Thank goodness! There is a certain amount of dread, but I'm mostly excited. I'll have a barn and out buildings! I wont have to be so careful when taking pics that there is no crap (hoses, buckets, pots, tools, etc.) showing, lol.
Neal
Suzy and Neal thanks for the welcome and kind words. Pictures can be so forgiving with plants and yards but so unforgiving with people! We love our home and yard and have added on to it so much you cannot hardly find the house we bought. the trees you see growing behind the house are in a deep ravine hardly 10 feet out our back door. Our property where we can garden is a pie shape and about an acre and a quarter. I am tempted to start working on the not so deep part of the woods and have a woodland garden but must first find a good source of energy! Age and body are beginning to slow me down.
Neal will you be staying in the same zone? And on moving lilies I have some Madonna lilies that were here when we moved in and I moved them to an area that has become very overgrown (the blue centurea perennial has ruined the bed!!). Can I move these lilies this spring and maybe just lose the blossoms for this year. When I moved them before I was younger and less knowledgeable and just moved them! Knowledge can be a frightening thing. This is a picture of the mess where the lilies are. Woods behind this garden? is where I would like to make the woodland garden.
That makes me laugh, Neal. So often I find garden paraphernalia in my pictures and I don't post those if I can help it! I doubt very much just moving to a larger space will solve that problem, LOL. Only time will tell.
Joy, what a marvelous backdrop to a true cottage garden. Hope to see more posts from you in the future
Look what's blooming in my dining room this morning!
Thanks for info, wallaby! That doesn't sound as difficult as I anticipated. A couple of years ago my sister got an old tub for $2.50 at an auction, so I'm hopeful.
Joyous, that last pic shows lots of promise for a woodland garden, if you ask me!
Hi Vi, we had quite a hard frost last night too, around -5C (23F) when they say -1C, expecting a cold week ahead too and only up to 4C (39F) Tuesday. Your columbines will 'have' to be good!
Hi Joyous lurker, I've done all mine in 8 years but still some to go, I try to do a new bed each year but a couple of years didn't get a lot done. No bubbler in the bath tub, only the rain than falls and it doesn't fall as much as people think here. I have to top it up with tap water in the summer. It's very easy to do a tub, jsut start at the beginning and finish at the end! Mine is in partial shade, the tree gives shade for much of the late morning, it gets a little in the morning and more in the afternoon. Waterlilies need sun but they do reasonably well there, I get some flowers but you need to get a variety that doesn't get huge. I love the effect you have created around your house, it has an inviting cottagey atmosphere.
plantladylin, I guess in your weather you could go out and dig now, I have had 3 afternoons out running, it's been pleasant, still and sunny. I have both straight and curved lines, I try to fit the beds together according to the landscape, and at the same time I 'marry up' lines and curvers from the other beds. Grass is OK if you have run out of plants and have space remaining, otherwise plants are more deserving! Plants have much interest, grass is grass. Glad you're having fun!
Illoquin, did the baking etc. once upon a time, now I only garden, food is as quick as I can make it. I do make some jam from my own fruits, but I don't eat much jam. You would probably go away with a few plants, but I have lots in pots still so no digging necessary! Well, perhaps a little.
From the pergola back up to the bank and the path between the lily and rose beds.
Funny how we all hide away the inevitable stuff in our pics. It will just be easier for me, since now I have no out buildings to store tools and such. Soon I'll be able to hide tons of uglies, lol- we're talking a barn and 2 sheds!
Joyous, that will indeed make a wonderful woodland garden, and is lovely already. I'd recommend waiting till fall to move your Madonna lilies. However that is because I think they are such a lovely and choice lily (and expensive to buy); if I had lots of them, I may think differently-worth the experiment. I'll be in the same zone, so all my plants should have no problems finding permanent homes :)
Ah that wonderful vine in the hanging basket that I can never remember the name of, lol, I love it!
Wallaby1 sounds like something I can do, now where to put it so it fits in, first must move the snow! What are the flowers behind the vine in your last picture, Oh and the vine too. I want to follow that path and see where it goes. Maybe a shady nook with a chair and a glass of iced tea?
Neal yes they are a beautiful lily, thankfully I have them spread throughout my gardens and can enjoy their scent on my front porch, heaven! I think we all try to crop our photos to not show the wood piles, compost bins and just plain junk. I know I do!
I can hear dh now if I say I want to start my woodland garden. Good thing our 20 year old son is still at home, lots of brawn there! Good about helping too. Picture of our house in 1976 when we first moved in but from the east, first pic was from the west.
Joy
just caught up on the CG forum and the photos are all balm for my frozen soul...it's -1 here with windchill of -32.....dreaming of spring.....
Catherine
Joyous, welcome and what a lovely home you have - and what a change from when you first bought it!!!
Wallaby, I just can't get enough of your pictures, not to mention your ideas!
Beaker, what a nice thing to have in your house - do you have any other lilies that will bloom inside? Sure would help as we wait for Spring to arrive. And it will arrive, won't it???!!! Please tell me yes.
Jerseyridgearts, what a splendid photo - made me just sigh big-time with longing for gardening days! Hope you have more photos to share.
Wallaby-my apologies!!! I just assumed such an amazing project had to be executed with a man's upper body strength!! Knew there had to be a womans heart behind it though- I keep coming back to your photos-simply cant quit dreaming!!
Murmur - the lily was accidental, surprising and most welcome. You can check out this thread for how it came about.
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/690333/
Neal, it's Rhodochiton atrosanguineum.
Joyous, the flowers behind with dark leaves are Dahlia Bishop's Children I grew from seed, they have been in the ground for a few years now, some of the tubers are just about pushing out of the ground, but they seem very tough, time to put more compost on top. The path goes to the top of the bank, and the Chestnut tree is near, it is a great place to view the garden from and one day I want to put a patio area there, save grass mowing too, and bed edging.
jerseyridgearts, that is a lovely atmospheric shot! Will try to warm you up.
beaker, fancy having a lily in flower now! I read your story, amazing things that happen by accident!
pmulcaire, don't worry, I have made the same mistake before.
A view from behind the dahlia bed
Wallaby1-how many hours a day, week do you spend in your garden? You truly should be featured in a published article.
pmulcaire, the time I spend depends a lot on the weather, this winter I have managed to get well up on the cleaning up, the autumn also gave me opportunity to do some jobs. Some years if the weather is continually cold as happened last winter, there was such a rush to do what really needed to be done that some things got left, the plants grew and things weren't a lot different.
I have so many seeds to sow, then they have to be pricked out, potted on, some planted out. Compost has to be mixed, pots found, emptied, filled, it's a good way to deal with 'dead' pots when you need more all the time. I would say the time I spend actually growing plants well outweighs the time I spend keeping the garden in order. I whip it into shape and make it stay easy to keep and well behaved, each bed really doesn't take that long to clean up after or during winter, once plants are growing not a lot needs to be done. The compost has helped keep weeds down on most beds, edging has to be done at least twice but gets easier. I can do nothing for 2 weeks at times, then have 2 or 3 days where I spend a couple of hours in whizz mode.
Summer time is when I spend a lot of time with camera in hand, then the pics have to be downloaded etc., and I can take a lot in one day when there's butterflies around. It is all a consequence of gardening, enabled by digital cameras and computers, I'm not sure where the line should be drawn when all these things are so connected in terms of time spent due to gardening. Now I am going through my folders and deciding what should go where, then what can be deleted (2nd time around). My winter time is so much more enjoyable, carrying through these tasks which started all because I garden.
Some people view gardening chores as a necessary nuisance, I did too for a start having to keep clean what little there was, which was not of my making, some neglected, none really to my liking. Once I started to create my own beds, and it all came together much better than I could have imagined, everything I do is a pleasure which increases with each new task I undertake. You might say I am a fulfilled gardener!
I have Anemone blanda on the bank under the edge of the tree, it has self seeded and the bed is becomiing crammed full of plants. When they die back, there is Lespedeza thunbergii above them which tumbles down and fills the space. Tricyrtis hirta at the bottom at one end, beyond that Lily of the Valley fills the space.
Wallaby, your true love of gardening comes through in your post - delightful! And we, as viewers, reap the rewards of your passion!
I have been more or less bogged down in the photo forum and trees. I finally found my way back to Cottage Gardening.
wallaby your garden areas are enchanting. Love seeing them and your descriptions. I have no trees older than 10 or 12 years so do envy all the mature trees. In your Jan 27th, 3129257, are those tallish limbless trees eucalyptus. They are not hardy here in my zone 5 garden, but I have grown a couple in pots just because I like them .
I really like secret or hidden garden areas. Here is one of mine on west side of chicken house (which is at the edge of my four year old beginning woodland garden. There is an apricot tree to creat some shade in the afternoon sun.
Donna
Sorry couldn't find the photo I wanted, too many folders. This was 3 years ago at the beginning of the woodland garden and shows the chicken house and yard. When I find the right photo I will post it.
donna
Here is a view of the hidden garden but, not the one I wanted.
Ruth, Welcome back! The 2nd photo you sent didn't really come through in its entirety, but it sure does look like a nice, comfortable place to sit a spell!
I bet your first picture will have changed quite a bit in 3 years! Hopefully we'll get to see come chickens in the next one!
Suzy
Hi Donna, Iknow the feeling of too many folders! I have been trying to sort one a day out, deleting unnecessary pics, cropping where I think I can again, then moving to named folders. Then I need to go through them and see if I can get rid of excesses, I am doing well, some I have deleted up to 65 from, one had too many to give a number! Have you managed to find your missing pics? Do you find time to lay down on your resting spot? I think that is a scanned pic Suzy.
The tree trunks in that pic are the Eucalyptus which was blown over in strong winds, I think it was two similar trees rather than a double trunked one. E gunnii is quit ehardy, but there are two which are extremely hardy. Eucalyptus pauciflora ssp niphophila is the second hardiest and should tolerate your temps, I have that in a pot and it will replace the other one. It's much slower growing so the roots should be able to keep up with the top. They should normally be planted when very young so the roots can get established, which I did with the E gunnii. The hardiest is E. debeuzevillei which isn't on the site below fro some reason, called the Jounama Snow Gum, grows at 5,750ft in the Australian Capital Territory, growth is moderate meaning 1-1.5 metres a year maximum less than 20 metres.
Edited to note E debeuzevillei is also a spp of E pauciflora.
http://www.angelfire.com/bc/eucalyptus/niphophila.html
http://www.angelfire.com/bc/eucalyptus/eucindex.html
Sold here
http://www.worldplants.com/eucalyptus.htm
This is my E niphophila, taken a couple of weeks ago, I got it a few years ago as a seedling and it has been fairly slow. I didn't know where to put it, no wI have a place!
This message was edited Feb 8, 2007 2:44 PM
wallaby, Thanks so much for all the euc. information and the pictures. Your niphopila is very handsome and especially for being grown in a pot.
As mentioned in the articles, my zone is pretty cold to try to grow eucs, and is the kind of weather that is not good for them even if I tried to grow on south side of my windbreak trees. I might again try growing from seed.
Thanks again, Donna