Book Launch and Garden Party Preparations.

Our book "An Open Garden and Visiting Gardens by Motor Car" is a limited edition (100 copies only) colourful exploration of the experience of opening a garden to the public. The whys, whens and hows of this will hopefully make interesting reading for anyone who has opened their own garden or enjoys visiting them.
It is a glossy grown ups picture book of beautiful gardens we have visited.
For those who buy the book for $60 (the cost of printing a hard cover in Australia) we will give a complimentary copy of our 224 page hard cover book "Over the Fence and Overlooked, Traditional Plants in Queenslands Gardening Heritage" and  copy of our 1.2 hour DVD "A Garden in the Rain". I'd say that was great value.
The garden is holding up beautifully in the dry weather. Not only has our "Plough Inn" been rescued and renovated but Ed Donlen is helping us put power and water on in our big shed after 20 years. We will empty this of old cars and use it for under cover seating during the book launch garden party.

 "Plough Inn" before and after

Roll on September
Michael Simpson

Blackall Range Horseless Carriage Club 20years.

The Blackall Range Horseless Carriage Club recently honoured Kyleigh and I as a couple from the original years (after 1992) who are still active in the club. Well, still active from time to time.
Members of the club graciously helped us with a big boundary cleanup before our Open garden in 2011, and help stabilize the "Plough Inn" before its renovation this year.
It has always been a wonderful social club to belong to with very catholic views on old cars. The lion shall lie down with the lamb, just as the Rolls Royce shall park with the Ford Prefect in the BRHCC
Michael Simpson

Garden Party Launch of "An Open Garden"

 Rhodomytus tomentosa at "The Shambles"

It is less than a month until our garden party to launch our book "An Open Garden, and Visiting Gardens by Motor Car". The Plough Inn is nearly ready for the grand reopening and it promises to be  great day.

At the launch of the "Open Gardens Australia" season at Nindooinbah last weekend, and while writing invitations to our own garden party I couldn't help but marvel at the extraordinary range of different types and themes of gardens which are open for the public through the scheme. I hope our book can convey something of the experience of opening to the public and illustrates the beauty of some of the laces which we have visited.

Locally, not a drop of rain for more than a month unfortunately. Two out of three tanks just about empty but thankfully the mature shrubs, trees and perennials at "The Shambles " show little sign of drying out.

New spring foliage is appearing on deciduous trees and shrubs such as Red cedar (Toona ciliata), Japanese Maple (Acer spp) ,Weigela florida, Persimmons (Diospiyros kaki), Hibiscus syriacus, Hihiscus mutabilis and on our flowering deciduous Magnolias. Our young Pomegranates "alba flore pleno" and "Andre le Roi"(Punica granatum) have lovely golden red new foliage.
August flowers are welcome on Magnolia soulangeana "Nigra", Kerria japonica flore pleno, Michelias, Abutilons, Salvias and Pentas, Solanum jasminoides, Jasminium polyanthum and the lovely Buddleja salvifolia and Osmanthus fragrans et al.
Spring buds and spot flowers are everywhere, for example Buddleja "Wattlebird", Eranthemum pulchelum, Erysum bicolor, Scuttelaria ventenatii, Rhododendron indica (Azalea), Pieris japonica, Spiraea cantoniensis, Eupatorium megalophyllum, Viburnum megalocephalum and many of our terrestrial orchids. The king orchid (Thelychiton speciosus) has several yellow sprays already.
Quite a few of our old roses have fat buds and foliage has remained healthy because of the dry weather. 
Everything is set for a great spring, the grass is still green and all of the spring budding promises a lovely display for our garden party on 22nd september. Just a little rain would really help. 

Michael Simpson

Montville Gardens in winter

 Cooper wondering what the fuss is about with this garden

It's not really that cold in South East Queensland so our Montville garden has quite a lot of flower colour in July. Fully deciduous shrubs like Hibiscus mutabilis, Hibiscus syriacus and Chaenomeles (japonica) create a wintery feel. The red cedars (Toona ciliata), Japanese maple, various Weigela and Prunus are all bare by this time of year letting in light to shaded corners.
We don't get frosted so our large collections of tender and subtropical perennials and shrubs carry on undamaged. It has been wet this winter, on top of the previous two wet years so epiphytic ferns, orchids, lichens, mosses and fungi abound and new tree ferns and staghorn ferns are "popping up" throughout the garden.
Our young Magnolia x loebneri is producing star like flowers and reliable mature Camellia japonica are adding splashes of winter colour.
New plants this week are Weigela florida variegata in our Weigela collection in South East corner, and an advanced Punica granatum 'Andre le Roi' in our central shrubbery. We already have juvenile Punica granatum in the blue trellis garden but I think this new planting has a better chance.
We have just started to send invitations for our book launch and garden party to unveil "An Open garden, Visiting Gardens by Motor Car" for 22/9/2012.
I am still working on extensive revision and rewriting of "Australian Gardens Making History"
Lets hope all of our usually reliable spring shrubs and perennials are ready for the event
Michael Simpson

An Open Garden, preparing the garden for a spring book launch

Rosa "Clair Matin"

Well "An Open garden & Visiting gardens by Motor car" is being printed and we have nominated saturday 22nd September , 2PM for as book launch and garden party here at "The Shambles". There will only be 100 copies of this hard cover book and we haven't formalized any invitation yet.
All sorts of routine winter pruning, plant feeding, cleaning beds of weeds etc occupied us today. After a cold wet week it was lovely fine mid winter weather.
We have planted some Violas, Pansies, Petunias and Dianthus. There is silverbeet, bokchoy and new peas on a frame. Vegetables and herbs are planted in with the flowers here. There were yet more mountains of prunings from various parts of the garden to add to our mulch mountains.
A large climbing tea rose, possibly a sport of "M Tillier" called "Lauren Emma" by Kate Stock who found it has been placed around our front covered gate. It may end up being a mislabelled "Souvenir de Mme Leonie Viennot" but I hope not.
We need to learn what to do with our tall bare winter Philadelphus coronarius and Abelia floribunda. 
Japanese maple has coloured beautifully but other usually bare winter trees and shrubs are holding their leaf. Yet another warm winter so far.
Michael Simpson

An Open Garden, our new book is at the printers

Our new book "An Open Garden, & Visiting Gardens by Motor Car" is at the printers and will be launched shortly. It is a personal look at the experience and practical aspects of Opening a garden to the public. It is a grown ups picture book about visiting other beautiful gardens but has plenty for the serious gardener and garden historian. At 144 pages, hard cover and full colour we haven't held back on the books quality because if you write a gardening book it may as well be the brightest and most colourful it can be.

New plants added Winter 2012. At last we have added Justicia aurea and two new species/hybrid camellias, Camellia luhsiensis and Camellia lutchuensis x "Tinsie". An area which has been crowding in on the front path garden has bee pruned back and a group of Abutilon megapotamicum and various Abutilon x hybridum of  all varieties plants. We call it an Abutolinarea. Which sounds botanical if you say it quickly.

The roof and exterior walls and windows of the old "Plough Inn" are finished. Now we just have to ine the old building fior it to assume new usefulness at the north end of the garden.
Happy Days
Michael Simpson

"The Shambles" Open Garden and garden changes

 Open Garden visitors to "The Shambles" Easter 2012

Fast Facts:  We have had beautiful autumnal weather since Easter
                   1056 paying visitors to our Open garden, including prepaid and children about 1200 in all
                   2 Plant stalls and Kate Stocks Heritage Roses Stall pretty much sold out
                   All the scones , tea and coffee sold out as well!
                   Lots of lovely visitors to talk to.
                   Special Thanks to Marnie Trask and volunteers from the Maleny garden Club
 All of our friends who created plant stalls and volunteered from the Hunchy Community Association.(raised $6000 approx)
Thankyou for Help from friends Tracy and Chris Collie, Ian Noble and our family Christina, Tyson, Eleanor and John.
Developments: 
The "Plough Inn" our old machinery shed has been falling down for 20 years. The leaky roof and repairs last year finally provoked action.  At time of writing it has a brand new gable roof and skillion over verandah. The floor has been ripped up and relaid and the old windows re-hung. With new guttering a 500 gallon tank has been set up. A few more windows and internal lining and the old joint will be set for another century.
The ploughs and machinery have been painted and repositioned.

Two large Cupressus glabra which shaded out the centre of the garden and made the area around the "Plough Inn" cold, wet and gloomy in Winter have been completely removed. Let there be light!
The fire pit has been moved to the space where these trees were and the whole area has been re-seeded with buffolo/kikuyu grass seed. The grass seed has successfully shot.

New plant species in the garden over the last month are
Variegated mondo, Stachytarphetea mutabilis, 
                              Stachytarpheta  (Porter weed)
                              Eutrochium purpureum (Joe Pye Weed), fenced rose garden
                              Aster novi-belgii white and mauve
                              Artemesia lactiflora, front path garden
                              Justicia guttata
                              Salvia microphylla "Pennys Smile", "Angel Wings", "Easter Bonnet"
                              Salvia amarissima, south rose garden
                              Salvia carnea,        south rose garden
                              Salvia curviflora    fenced rose garden
                              Salvia urica            south rose garden
                              New cultivars of Liriope, cordylline and specimens of Adiantum hispidulum 
The garden s full of flowers at the moment with the Gordonia axillaris, many Salvias, Strobilanthes and the Yellow flax in full display.
Two bus trips arriving on the Mothers day weekend to look at the garden so busy days carry on.

Michael Simpson