September; Spring in the wild garden;

Mainly native Australian trees, shrubs and flowers.

Warratah, flowering tree from the Atherton Tableland.

The mountain road goes up and down

From Gundagai to Tumut Town

And, branching off, there runs a track

Across the foothills grim and black,

Melaleuca, small, silvery white bottle brush flowers;

Across the plains and ranges grey

To Sydney city far away.

It came by chance one day that I

From Tumut rode to Gundagai,

Melaleuca, the tree covered in flowers.

And reached about the evening tide

The crossing where the roads divide;

And, waiting at the crossing place,

I saw a maiden fair of face,

Natural mulch;

Casuarina bark;

With eyes of deepest violet blue,

And cheeks to match the rose in hue –

Attractive Wilsonia, Shrub or rather small tree grows  slowly up with weeping branches.

The fairest maids Australia knows

Are bred among the mountain snows.

Rainforest tree Sloanea australis; Maiden's blush;  the flowers;

Sloanea australis tree; generously covered with these gorgeous flowers.

Then, fearing I might go astray,

I asked if she could show the way.

Her voice might well a man bewitch – 

Its tones so supple, deep, and rich.

Bauhinia variegata; white orchid tree;

 "The tracks are clear," she made reply,
"And this goes down to Sydney Town,
And that one goes to Gundagai."

Canopy;

Then slowly, looking coyly back,
She went along the Sydney track

Rainforest tree;

And I for one was well content
To go the road the lady went;

Cicada skins, hanging on a Staghornfern.

Like small ghosts,  just the skin is left, waiting for what?

Come summer they sing again the song of the bush;

But round the turn a swain she met – 

The kiss she gave him haunts me yet!

I turned and travelled with a sigh

The lonely road to Gundagai.

...and so the story ends...

The Road to Gundagai, Poetry by Banjo Patterson (1864-1941)

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Believe it or not:

Vegemite

An Aussie icon food with 90% of Aussies having a jar in the pantry. 

© Ts Lavender & Vanilla/Photos my garden;

August; It looks like spring...

Seethe much Rosemary, and bathe therein

 to make thee lusty, lively,joyful, likeing and youngly.

William Langham, The garden of Health 1597

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Tibouchina is a genus of about 350 species of neotropical plants in the family Melastomataceae. They are trees, shrubs or subshrubs growing 0.5–25 m tall, and are known as glory bushes or glory trees.

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Mugwort  Artemisia vulgaris;

If this herbe be within a house there shal no wycked spyryte abyde.

The Grete Herball, 1526

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Nasturtium Tropaeolum major

I sowed a seede thei brought me from Peru. More to see his fairnesse than for any medicinall vertues thst it hath. It is a flower very beautiful. which doeth adornate the gardens. 

Nicholas Monardes, Joyful Newes out of  the New Founde worlde, 1577

Self seeded pink Penta; favourites in the garden, easy to grow easy to keep and easily propagated from fresh cuttings.

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Mint

A pleasant hearb this is, and delectable to smell onto, insomuch as you shall not see a  husbandmans bourd in the countrey, but all the meats from one end to the other be seasoned with Mints. If it be once set or sowne, and have taken to the ground, it will continue there a long time.

Pliny, Natural Historie, 77 AD (trans Holland 1601)

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Red leaves always add interest between the green plants.

Marigold Calendula officinalis

Marygoldes floures dronken, drawe downe wymens siknes and so doth the iuice of the herbe, whyche is a present remedy for the toothe ake, if the mouthe be wasshed with it. Summe use to make theyr here yelow with the floure  of this herbe, not beyng content with the natural colour which god hath given them.

William Turner, A New Herball, 1551

Spring is heralded with the beautiful Rock Orchid Dendrobium speciosum.  Its fragrance is dusty, different but not unpleasant.

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The smell of Basill is good for the heart and for the head, it taketh away sorrowfulnesse, which commeth of melancholie and maketh a man merrie and glad. 

John Gerard,The Herball, 1597

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First Wisteria flowers;

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Thyme boyled in water and hony and dronken is good against a hard and painful cough and shortnesse of breath. Thyme eaten in the morning fasting and in the evening before supper is good for bleared and watering eyes and the paine in the same and it is also good for the same purpose to be often used in meates.

Rembert Dodoens. A Niewe Herball (trans. Lyte, 1578

Herbals available in England at this time were mainly available in Latin and French.
Henry Lyte translated  the books into English, so that the common people who could read were able to use the herbal at home.
 Lyte's first and most important work was his translation of the Cruydeboeck of Rembert Dodoens (Antwerp, 1564) by way of the 1577 French translation of Charles de L'Ecluse (Histoire des Plantes). His copy of the French edition endorsed on the title page "Henry Lyte taught me to speake English" is now in the British Museum. It bears numerous annotations in Latin and English in his neat handwriting, including references to the works of Matthias de Lobel and William Turner. The first edition of the translation was printed in folio at Antwerp, in order to secure the woodcuts of the original; the blocks being too heavy and valuable to transport. It has 779 pages and 870 cuts, about thirty of which are original, and is mostly in blackletter. It bears the title, A niewe Herball or Historie of Plantes. . . .

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Delightful Imortelles and pink Daisies, spring fragrances and colours.

Bridal Veil,  Tea tree  flowers swarming with butterflies and bees.

Fresh green ferns, joy of spring;

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Chamomile 'the appell of an eye', to comfort the braine smel to camomill, eate sage, wash measurably, sleep reasonably, delight to hear melody and singing.
Ram's Little Dodoen, 1606


Believe it or not:

That Salad is not good nor fair, 
If Pimpinella is not there.
Italian Proverb

(Pimpinella =Salad Burnet Sanguisorba  minor.


©Photos My Garden Ts

August impressions;

(From "Under a hotter Sun"  © Ts 1974)

Planting a vegetable garden, one is very much in the hands of the gods!

In autumn when the sun retreats its fierceness and spreads out a golden mellow light, is the time for new plantings.

Most vegetables do very well over winter. Some have a standstill in the coldest month like July and August. All year round vegetables are growing; harvested and planted again, it is an ongoing job.

Herbs do well, mostly all of them all year round. Basil seeds itself. Lavender and Rosemary bushes are planted in the vegetable garden for use and for beauty Italian and curly Parsley and in autumn Coriander self seeds. A big bush of Lemongrass its long sharp leaves gracefully weeping waiting to be used in cooking and for cool drinks

I had a very hard job to prepare the garden beds for my autumn and winter plantings. The soil had become hard and compact over the hottest summer month from the rain pelting down, compacting the soil. The unrelenting heat of the sun baked my poor garden beds so hard, it was ready to cut clay bricks from it.
After a lot of sweat and hard work the soil became crumbly again and spread with my coveted cow pads I had collected. Then came the easy and nice task of planting the tiny vegetable seedlings.
Lettuce, the snails liked the tender leaves just as much as we did. Cabbages and Broccoli, the beloved food of the larvae of the white butterfly. Beans were most of the time trouble free, if the weather was not to wet. Actually with everything I planted I was challenged by a myriad of insects, birds, possums everybody wanted a slice of my plantings.

Ready for action...

 Bell tower;

Hey. hang on I wanted to say, you are as busy as a bee...

Kurume azalea;

"Gardens... should be like lovely, well-shaped girls: all curves, secret corners, unexpected deviations, seductive surprises and then still more curves." - H.E. Bates,  'A Love of Flowers'

A quiet moment  in the garden;

A new addition, Zingiber peninsularis;

The old chook yard comes nicely along with the new plantings I did last autumn.

"Gardening is the purest of human pleasures." - Francis Bacon
(Are you absolutely sure about it Mr. Bacon?)Ts

The beautifully pleated leaf of the giant Heliconia.

 Flowering peach tree.

 Grevillia Caloundra Gem; great food plant for honey birds.

 "The most noteworthy thing about gardeners is that they are always optimistic, always enterprising, and never satisfied. They always look forward to doing something better than they have ever done before." - Vita Sackville-West,1892-1962

Camellias, winter's delights 

 Free sculpture; leaf of the huge Cuban Royal Palm.

"How fair is a garden amid the trials and passions of existence." - Benjamin Disraeli

 Azalea Rhodo X Dreamtime, a freely flowering bush.

Baskets, preferable to plastic ones.

Grevillia Sandra Gordon grows to medium shrub, great nectar provider.



Believe it or not:
"Nothing is more the child of art than a garden." - Sir Walter Scott

© Photos my garden/Text Ts  2013

July "delights"...

My mother had an ornamental  and a vegetable garden.
 I think back with sadness  and gladness in my heart,  as I still see her  asters in shades of purple and pink. A rose bush with small white roses with prominent golden centres full of music from the insects burying  into  the sweetness…Ts

Flowers in the kitchen;

Grevillia Caloundra Germ

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Planting a garden is a joy that never fades into nothing. Ts

I love this strong orange Crucifix Orchid; (Epidendrum ibaguense) it flowers practically non stop,

 a delightful addition for any garden. 

This species occurs naturally from Mexico to Colombia. It has long, thin stems and leathery leaves. The flowers bloom in clusters, with up to 20 flowers open on a stem at once. They come in orange, red, mauve, purple, salmon and yellow.
The common name 'crucifix orchid' refers to the lip of the flower (called the labellum), which resembles a small, gold cross. Crucifix orchids are tough, easy to grow, easily propagated and they have vivid, long lasting flowers. In fact, they are an excellent beginner's orchid. They can be grown in containers in a free-draining mix, amongst rocks in the garden, or in soil. They like a frost-free climate and flower best in a full sun position.

Abutilon;

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I have never been overly attracted to formal gardens. I like lots of variety and I prefer untamed natural gardens with just a little tweak of guidance. I don’t like  at all the uniformed suburban gardens. Seldom one sees a gardener’s hand in one. 
Such a delight when the odd one stands out. Ts

A whimsical addition...

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I have never thought about why I  enjoy so much planting a garden. I guess it is like music in colours and patterns. So much to admire, from the bark of a tree to  lichens,   warm, lingering fragrances and earthy homely scents,  colours,  the mysterious whispers of the leaves, butterflies, the odd unusual insect looking at you with tiny round eyes…

 the garden is very patient it always waits.. Ts

Azalea/Rhododendron X  Dreamtime grows since more then 20 years in my garden. I have made many cuttings  to give away or for myself.

This Calistemon grows very tall if you let it. The brushes are delightful, squat, red with lots of gold overlaid.

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A garden should not be  seen in full at the first glance; if possible it should have many pathways turning here and there, little nooks with surprises, climbing plants over arches, pot plants placed to catch the eye. The trees adorned with orchids or climbing plants, so many possibilities and ideas  to give the garden your own impression. Ts

Camellias for winter pleasure.

Tillansia seed has settled freely on this branch and produced  all these seedlings;
 I am always amazed again by nature's  free bounty.

A fine Camellia, Ecclefield japonica;

This one has blue blood...D.Herzilia de Freitas Magalhaes; my guess, 

with a name like this one must feel very special! Ts

Egao, Camellia sasanqua (vernalis) has grown with my garden. It is one of the best, long flowering, no fuss, no demands, beautiful silvery pink semi double flowers. If I had to choose one it would be this one. Ts

Camellia japonica, double, Blood of China, compact bushy shrub up to 1.5 m

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Believe it or not:
"I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created parasitic wasps with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of Caterpillars." - Charles Darwin


©Photos from my garden/Text Ts