garden visitors in 2012

photo: "The Shambles" south rose garden

Christmas and family birthdays are just behind us and bus visits to our garden, arranged last year are looming. The benign weather, continual grooming and a deliberate strategy of putting plants into empty spaces has our garden looking the best it has for a while.

We have to keep on our toes not just to have a display for visitors in January but because of our Open Garden Australia opening at Easter , Saturday, Sunday and monday 7th-9th April this year.
A little stroll today identified flowers on just about everything in the long narrow East garden. At one end is an arch with mauve flowering Phaseolus caracalla and at the other an arch of flowering Phaseolus giganteus and a climbing frangipani not ready to display. Old fashioned roses, Salvias, Abutilon and Cannas are in flower along with Eryisum bicolor (wallflower), Mirabilis jalapa (4 O'Clock plant), a very late flowering Quisqualis indica and a big tall clump of Crinum x powellii.
At the south east stone circle garden and walkways along with Hydrangea there are both blue and pink flowering Plectranthus ecklonii and a great crowding in of fresh green growth on our species Camellias, Spiraea, Clerodendrum nutans, Thunbergia erecta and white flowering Orthosiphon stamineus
Never being shy of a challenge we planted three Forsythia x intermedia 'Lynwood Gold' interspersed with single pink and mauve Azaleas along under the cool south side of the house. Colour madness you might say! We shall see what the result is next spring or perhaps the one after. We also planted Deutzia gracilis in and around a garden which is already too busy with Spiraea and white species Camellias and the odd young Pliladelphus mexicanus ? coronarius.
Lastly near the stone circle we planted a tiny Kolwitzia amabilis "Pink Cloud' where we can keep an eye on its early life.
Elsewhere in our busy garden old fashioned roses of all sorts are coverd in bud and bloom, the Agapanthus are just at the end and Hibiscus syriacus of several coloyrs are still flowering.

And so this friday and the following week bus trips are bringing visitors to the garden for an hour or two and we feel that there is quite a lot of colour and interest to see for all tastes. Along with plants mentioned above there is lots of other perennial colour and in our forested areas and tropical foliage plant areas the rain and humidity have interesting new growth on plants which don't normally flower at this time of year. Brugmansias, Iochromas, Cetrodenia, Ipmoea carnea, Bauhinea corymbosa and Lagerstroemia speciosa/ Lagerstroemia indica and in display.
Its raining tonight again but we hope that there some moments of sunshine for our visitors
Michael Simpson

Gardening up to Christmas

picture: Clerodendrum bungeii

Summer this year seems to be like 2010 with cooler cloudy days , showers or rain and ideal growing conditions for the garden. The damp soil is ideal for weed growth such as the tropical chick weed, but also ideal for pulling them out.
All of our juvenile heritage roses are doubling in size (with only one or two casualties). Newly acquired Salvias such as 'indigo Spires', 'Megans Magic' and several unnamed Salvia microphylla cultivars are growing well.
A bit of insect protection has meant that our various Hibiscus syriacus, Hibiscus mutabilis and Hibiscus insularis cultivars are flowering and look much better than last year.
Kyleigh has estabilshed healthy cuttings specimens of all manner of perennials to sell at our Open garden in Easter 2012 or to offer to Bus trip visitors in the new year. Some of the cuttings such as Ruscus, Hypericum and Iochroma warscewiczii we will keep for ourselves.
Even tough our days are sometmes quite dark and cloudy it is still quite relaxing to sit in the garden, listening to the birds. Oh! just remembered we saw a Richmond Bird Wing Butterfly head through the garden the other day.
New Cordyllines added today, along with replacements for our Salvia discolor . Cuttings of old roses 'La Marne' and 'Peace 1902' also planred out in south rose garden.
We hope Christmas is a fine day for all of us
Michael Simpson

New England and Mount Wilson

Alpine garden at The Boulevard, Armidale.

During November our Queensland branch of 'Heritage Roses in Australia' (HRIA) toured gardens at Warwick, Glen Innes, Tamworth and then enjoyed the St.Peters garden weekend in Armidale where 10 gardens were on display.
Once again hanks goes to Barbara and Vic Beerling for the research and organization which made this trip so successful. For our part after an extra night at Armidale we travelled on to Mt Wilson via the Upper hunter and Bylong Valley to Mt. Wilson in the Blue Mountains.
For Queenslanders the European trees in New England and the Blue Mountains, the Acers, Oaks, Elms, Liriodendron, copper Beech, Poplars, Willows and conifers such as Norwegian Spruce are are visual contrast to what we see around us at home. Shrubs such as the Rhododendrons, Kolwitzias, Laurels, Crabapples and Peonies are also new experiences for Queensland eyes.
The exuberant growth of so many fabulous roses reinforced how difficult our aspiration for rose growing is in the sub-tropics. However, I did notice a conspicuous lack of the sort of old tea, china and noisette roses which grow in our climate.
The heritage rose garden established at 'Pringle Cottage' at Warwick is a credit to the society who manages this historic precinct. We stayed at 'Guy House' with some beautiful gardens in Warwick.
At Glen Innes we visited the beautiful country gardens of Eileen Landers and her son next door.
In cattle country near Tamworth we visited an extraordinary garden of Evelyn Loseby with collections of all sorts including roses, iris, pelargonium and elegantly displayed large cacti of all sorts.
The tour was a marvellous and varied experience, in perfect weather. Unexpected pleasures came from our visit to Nundle with its working woolen mill and the wonderful hospitality of Sue and Rob Bedford and their neighbours with a bar-b-que for the HRIA group at their beautiful garden in Armidale.
We hired a car while the others travelled in a hired bus and at Armidale we stayed at Lindsay House overlooking the beautiful park and cathedral precinct. Our car enabled us to enjoy a wonderful afternoon at the house and garden of Saumarez Homestead at Armidale and visit Booloominbah House in the grounds of the New England University.
It is quite a long step to Mt.Wilson from Armidale (and home again) but the roadside scenery was dramatic and always wonderful to see. Towns such as Scone, Murrurundi and Rylstone on the way there and back, including Tenterfield of course, had some surprisingly good cafes. The industrial landscape around Lithgow is dramatic in itself.
At Mount Wilson we stayed at the old teachers cottage and met Tim Gow who had agreed to show us around. Luckily for us the bush was full of wild flowers including both red and white waratah and the beautiful Mountain Ash. The large 19th century hill station gardens at Mt.Wilson are so special as to defy description. Very few people actually seem to live there, there are no shops , cafes and almost no one around. The silence is deafening.
We visited 'Bebeah' (Tim Gow was staying at Bebeah Cottage) with 12 acres of manicured garden rooms, century old oaks, a large ornamental lake and collections of Rhododendron, Maple, Azaleas (including Mollis Azaleas) and much more. The owner Barry Byrne was apparently away.
Next we went to 'Withycombe' yet another extraordinary collection of fine old, European trees ornamental shrubs, lawns and terraces around a beautiful house encircled by verandahs. Yet again the owners were not home sadly.
At 'Merry Garth' yet another garden, the result of 30 years of expert plant collecting, where, this time, Keith Raines but sadly not Libby Raines was at home. With views to the valleys far below 'Merry Garth' contains an enormous variety in many genus including alpine species, Rhododendrons, Maples and the remarkable Kalmias.
Storm damage, which was not so obvious to us had dramatically affected some residents such as the owner of 'Wynstay'. Mt. Wilson had lost part of its historic avenue of Elms. We visted St.Georges Church and yard with its ancient tree ferns and the dramatic stony Wynnes lookout.
We visited 'Sefton Cottage' with its stone walls and may beautiful shrubs and perennials. With a camera each our collection of photographs was expanding by this stage.
At 'Windyridge' the beautifully diverse terraces, steps, ponds and paths contained a wild variety of ornamental plants in excellent condition. As always no owner around but we did find a gardener to speak to.
Now we love our quiet at Montville but the degree of isolation and even loneliness at Mount Wilson made it quite a relief to visit Mt.Victoria and then on to Katoomba and the unmissable view from Echo point. At Leura we even found a present for our grandson Leo.
In spite of all the diverse beauty we saw in those elevated cold climate gardens we are so glad to live and garden at Montville in Queensland.
Michael Simpson

The Rain returns

Picture. Our rustic fountain of coral and shells.
With a return to rainy weather a number of gardening chores become easier. We have added yet more plants of course, transplanted yet more and added more succulents (Bulbophyllum, Echieveria etc) to the from embankment.

Salvia microphylla "Penny's Smile", Salvia microphylla "Miss Scarlet" Salvia unidentified cultivar resembles s.microphylla red flower black calyx Cuphea purpurea (Batplant) Stokesia Blue Parasols and Tagetes patula Marigold "Vanilla' cream flowers

Kyleigh has prepared and labelled hundreds of pots with cuttings of many of our best and most reliable perennials for our Open garden in April 2012. Although our solar founain pump did not last more is expected from our solar outdoor lighting.

We have completed a makeover at the Montville Village Hall including adding new plants (A Gardenia, Cuphea compacta, Salvia microphylla cv red flowers/black calyx, Parsley, Fennel, Thai and Greek Basil). Roses were all sprayed and all plants fertilized. Very tall Hibiscus were extensively pruned as were many perennials.

Michael Simpson

Open garden new plantings

One of the exciting things about having an open garden and a birthday close together is the number of new plants which come into the garden. Here is a list of our latest additions

Plant additions sept 2011

all from Kate Stock at Hunchy as cuttings

Salvia x hybrid 'Phyllis Fancy", mauve and white from "Waverly"

Salvia x hybrid "Waverley"

Salvia involucrata hybrid "Romantic Rose"

Salvia hybrid (S. longispicata and S. farinacea) "Indigo Spires"

Tradescantia andersonia hybrid (purple flower)

Penstemon hybrid

Tea Roses from cutting "Lady Hillingdon" South garden

" Rubens" “Hay Valley Tea ROR” probably same as "Rose sold as Mme Hoste ROR". ... (usually sold as 'Rubens' or 'Mme Laurette Messimy', sometimes as “Octavus Weld" East Garden

"Parks Yellow Tea Scented" Wisteria trellis

Other roses from cutting "Safrano' Uniting Church

"Carabella" Uniting Church

" Weeping Pink China" Montville Hall

Plants as birthday gifts

Leptospermum "Naoko" L. flavescens 'Cardwell' x L.scoparium nana

Rhododendron indica "Alba magnifica' from Montville Surgery

Rhododendron indica "Mrs Kint" from Eleanor , both Azaleas near

Cassia fistula

Camellia japonica "Emperor of Russia" variegated Chris and Ed Donlen, near drive

Magnolia grandiflora "Kay Parris" from Margaret and Jon Outridge, placed near Wisteria trellis

Dipladenia sanderi red, from Mum and Dad near East boundary

Rhaphealepis indica "Springtime" from Mum and Dad near the stone circle

Calceolaria x hybrid yellow from Paula and James, Hydrangea walk

Ornithogalum thyrsoides hybrid "Chesapeake Starlight", one from Mum and Dad, one from Tracy and Chris Collie, East Garden

Shrub roses "Make a Wish" Floribunda, Treloar Michelle and Michael Johnston, path garden

"Paul Bocuse" Guillot, France Ruth and Tom Moroney , south garden

"Lili Marlene" Floribunda Kordes 1959 Germany, from Eleanor, path garden.

Open Garden

Thankyou to everyone who came along to our Open Garden on the weekend. We were very fortunate with the weather and it was the complete opposite to last year being beautifully sunny and warm.
Thanks to the local Hunchy Association there were hundreds of plants including heritage roses on sale and many people were walking out the gate laden with plants.
There were also two classic cars in addition to our fords and we thank the owners for having them on display.
I particularly enjoyed talking to the visitors and watching the many children exploring the garden.
Visitors came from far and wide and everyone seemed to enjoy their time here. It is always nice to see people have an extended visit to the garden and to see them relax and take their time because there is a lot to see.
So many people asked if I had made the scones that we served for Devonshire and Maroochyshire teas. No ,I didn't make the scones but I did prepare the garden.
Once again we asked ourselves why we open the garden ?
It is a great deal of work and we decided to do several new projects in preparation so having a date to work to certainly makes you get things done.
We always enjoy meeting visitors to the garden and talking about plants.
We like seeing local organisations benifit from the day through the plant stalls.
We like sharing the garden with others.
Most of all we hope that visitors will go away with ideas for their own gardens.
Our next Garden Opening with Open Gardens Australia is in April 2012 on the Easter Weekend.

Open garden Countdown

With our Open garden fast approaching on the 17th and 18th September we are finally approaching the end of some projects and some of the preparation.
The 'plough Inn' , our old packing shed has been renovated or at least brought back to a safe condition with the help of friends. Our rustic garden feature/fountain has reached a satidfactory stage although I have not really identified the various ferns which we have planted to decorate it. some i can identify such as the Doodia, Pteris and Adiantum species. Other identifications will be a job for the future.

Our 'Gatehouse' has been erected near the front gate to greet visitor in shelter. The gatepost nearest had to be removed and will need replacing this weekend.

Showers and rain continue and all that we can hope is that he weather will be fine for the day

Dendrobium moschatum yellow flowering orchid, South America

Pedilanthus tithymaloides syn Euphorbia tithymalacoides (zig zag plant, devils backbone)

Euchomis comosa var. "Chocolate pineapple lily' South Africa Garden hybrid

Hibiscus mutabilis var. "Tony" single crimson

Hydrangea macrophylla 'maiko'

Hydrangea macrophylla variegatum

Osteospermum varieties

Otocanthus caeruleus (Little Blue Boy, Brazilian Snapdragon)

Pelargonium hortorum "Big red", also a single pink

Pandorea jasminoides variegatum

Pandorea pandorana var. 'Golden Showers'

Pandorea pandorana

Camellia japonica 'Helenor'

Camellia japonica 'Tabb'

Camellia japonica 'Fimbriata'

Camellia japonica 'Great Eastern'

Trees removed or heavily reduced

Anona (Custard Apple) , overshaded in an area dominated by Red cedars and other trees

Delonix regia (Poinciana) , very tall, brittle and has not flowered in 15 years. In an area already fully occupied by Brachychiton acerfolius, Bolly gum, Red cedar.

Tibouchina 'Noelene' An area to be redeveloped to illustrate Michelia and very old fashion Camelias with variegated or mottled flower patterns.

June 2011 In a cleared area where a Custard Apple tree was removed.

Rhoeo, Bromeliads and 3 x slowly recovering Sygygium spp

Cordylline fruticosa rubra x3

Deiffenbachia var. x1

Pleomele reflexa 'variegated' Song of India India

Codiaeum var. x2

Begonia rhizomatous

Cycas revoluta (Sago cycad) x3 Southern Japan

transplanted small non thriving Cordyllines x3

From Mount Tambourine and Sunray Nursery Nambour

Magnolia x loebneri 'Merrill'

Magnolia x soulangeana unknown hybrid

In renovated gardens both front and back of house

Echium candicans x3

Felicia amelloides x2

Artemisia pontica Roman Wormwood Southern Europe

Artemisia arborescens Tree Wormwood Middle east

Artemisia dracunculus var. sativa French Tarragon Caspian, Siberia

Tagetes lucida Mexican Tarragon

Dorotheanthus bellidiformis Livingstone Daisy South Africa

Osteospermum var. 'Serenity Sunburst'

Pachyveria glauca hybrid Mexico

Pachyphytum oviferum Mexico

Echeveria hybrid Mexico

Rhoeo spathacia central America

In Northern gardens

Abrophyllum ornans Native hydrangea

Randia benthamiana syn Atractocarpus benthamianus Narrow leaved Gardenia

Alocasia brisbanensis formerly A. macrorrhizos Cunjevoi

Anopterus macleayanus Macleay Laurel

Seedlings and seeds sewn during June/ July/ August 2011

Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla Rainbow chard

Lactuca sativa L. var. longifolia Cos or Romaine lettuce

Borago officinalis Borage

Helianthus annuus Sunflower

Viola X Wittrockiana Patiola violet Pansy

Viola tricolor

Petunia x hybrida

Pisum sativum garden Pea

Oenethera missouriensis Evening Primrose

Cleome hasslerianan

Antirrhinum majus Snapdragon

Brassica oleacea var.sabellica Kale

Capsicum annuum

Cucurbita pepo Zucchini

Dianthus barbutus Sweet William

Gypsophila panniculata Babys breath

Limomium tataricum Statice

Petroselinum crispum Parsley small and large leaf varieties.

Daucus carota Queens Annes Lace