Spring has sprung

OK, so the weather here in Ballarat is still a bit gloomy. It's been raining non-stop for weeks and the sky has been mostly grey, although I have had two half-days weeding the garden in the sunshine. I have been busy reading about what to plant and am busily preparing my garden beds. I've set my budget and am going to visit the local farmer's markets and nurseries to buy up big. It's a whole new project and I'm sure I have a heap to learn. I suspect my garden will end up like an English wildflower one with no structure or neatness.

To welcome Spring, here's a photo of the beautiful camellias growing in my garden.

How does your garden grow?

Yesterday we had a rare ray of sunshine and I took the opportunity to do some long overdue weeding of the garden. I have grand hopes for my garden but of course need to spend many hours pruning and planting, weeding and watering, before the vision in my head will be tangible. 

As I'm new to gardening, I've been reading magazines and even a few gardening books about what I should be doing in each season. Ballarat is of course far colder than most of Australia so I'm assuming that if someone says to do something in August, then I can do it in September. 

As inspiration for me and you, I've included here some photos of beautiful gardens that I've been privileged to go to. Capability Brown's famous Stourhead garden is the first photo (top to bottom), and one of my all-time favourite places. It's grand and set around a lake, and ornamental temples and grottoes dot the landscape. The second photo was taken at Scotney Castle, a beautiful quintessentially English garden. Yves Saint Laurent's Jardin Majorelle in Marrakech with its tropical plants and bright yellows, blues and greens is next. Followed by the ornamental gardens in Palace Baiha, also in Marrakech. The final photo was in my English gardens file, and I must admit that I can't recall which garden it was taken at. This is what happens when one is passionate about English gardens and has visited so many!

I hope you enjoy these images and they inspire you to create your garden, albeit likely on a slightly less grand scale!

Oh, and one more photo for the previous post

Wouldn't you love to see what's behind there?

The road less travelled

In 1837 two brothers, Somerville and Thomas Learmonth, migrated from Scotland to Australia to search for suitable farming land. They were aged eighteen and nineteen, young pioneers travelling to an unknown land. They certainly took the road less travelled. The homestead they founded is called Ercildoune and is located near Burrumbeet just a short drive from Ballarat. 

This weekend the property is open to visitors, and today we had a lovely time wandering the gardens with family. The house is grand and was modelled on the brothers' 13th century Scottish keep. The gardens are romantic, beautiful and perfectly preserved in their Australian arcadian setting but with strong English garden influences. There's an ornamental lake, a walled garden, expanses of lawn and a lily pond. The garden features urns, a sundial and an ancient well believed to be 2000 years' old from Palestine! Among the lawns and trees are winding pathways and small wooded areas and it was delightful to meander down them and take the road less travelled from the other visitors.