Changes at The Shambles

I don't see our garden as ever being finished. You know like a  Television garden make over where everything is honky dory at the end of the show. Our garden is always changing and growing and surprising us even though we see it every day.
Lately there have been some changes to the house itself with the addition of a new verandah necessitating the removal of stairs ,paver's and bricks.As usual it didn't take long for all this valuable
landscaping stuff to find a new home. Many would say" why didn't you just chuck the lot out and get a man in to pave it properly?" Are you kidding me?  To not  have the struggle of moving pavers and rocks with inadequate equipment is unheard of at The Shambles.
The problem with getting a paving man in is that it probably would still be a work in progress with all those special tools and levels. Throw in a couple of days of rain and it would all grind to a halt.Not to mention the mess.Shock Horror!
I'm sure they end up with a fancy schmancy  finished job eventually but it just  wouldn't be the same!

Open garden Approaches but we are still adding new plants.

Our next Open garden and the last with the soon to be defunct Open Gardens Australia Programme is on 25th and 26th April, the ANZAC weekend. from 10am til 4 30pm, both days.
A new verandah on the eastern side of the house is all but finished along with necessary house repairs.
New planting positions have been opened up and some of our choices are "brave " to say the least.

Bauhinia tomentosa

Luculia “White Frill”   Leaves similar to L. gratissima. Flowers large and pure white, pink in bud, heavily scented, in early June. Very dainty, pretty new form. Yamina rare plants introduction. Luculia dont like us, but we live in hope . It will be planted in a sheltered position below the new verandah.

Kalmia latifolia is an unusual shrub which is native to eastern North America. It is a beautiful shrub with interesting flowers that is suitable in the cooler regions of Australia. Must be kept moist, acid soils partial shade, which are all available below our new verandah. This is probably a fool hardy attempt and like Daphne, Kalmias are probably too ambitious for our climate. 

Wrightia religiosa, Echites religiosa  Shrub to 3 meters, small pendant and fragrant white flowers. The genus was named for William Wright (1735-1819), Scottish physician and botanist, by Robert Brown and  first described as a genus in 1810       Thailand, Vietnam.  This is establishing well on our Eastern border garden.

Bauhinia tomentosa Medium to large shrub to a small tree, up to 4m in height. Leaves are divided into two lobes, light green in colour, with a leathery texture, carried on branches that are often drooping. It produces large bell-shaped, bright yellow flowers with a black to deep maroon coloured centre from December to March. The fruit are pea like, slender and velvety. They are light green, turning a pale brown with age and are produced from January to June or even later. Bark is grey or brown. Yellow Bauhinia is native to tropical Africa and can be found as far as India and Sri Lanka. This is far more likely to be rewarding as we saw a very healthy specimen at "Trafalgar House" Buderim.

We replaced Rondoletia amoena  our 4th attempt to grow this old fashioned and usually tolerant shrub. Wish us luck.

Pray for rain, but not during the open garden

Michael Simpson

Caryopteris clandonensis South Rose garden "The Shambles"

New developments at "The Shambles" : fixing the North West Corner,  Increasing the Epiphytic Orchid varieties 

Brassia “Rex Okika"  x 5 Orchid Walk

Degarmoara Flying High “Hawii”  x 5 Orchid walk

Miltassia Charles M Fitch “Izumi” This is a hybrid between Brassia verrucosa and Miltonia spectabilis registered back in 1961 by C. M. Fitch. x 5 Orchid Walk

Oncidium “Shary Baby Sweet Fragrance" x5 Orchid Walk

Brassia “Sadie Loo” x Miltassia “Christmas Eve”  x 5 Orchid walk

Dendrobium nobile cultivars x 10 cuttings , all from Mt.Nebo, all in Rainforest area now.

Dendrobium speciosisimum  x 1  from Mt Nebo

Salvia Mexicana “Limelight” x 2 This salvia is a cultivar of Salvia mexicana and is native to the Queretaro Province of Mexico. It was introduced to the horticultural world in 1978 by Robert Ornduff, from the Univesity,  Unversity of California Botanical Gardens in Berkeley. 

Salvia corrugata native habitat of the Columbia, Peru and Ecuador, where it thrives in the Andes Mountains at 8000 to 8900 feet. The plant was introduced into the horticultural world in 2000 after being collected from South America in 1988. All the plants in cultivation are descended from the 6 seeds that germinated from all that were collected. The name ‘corrugata’ refers to the corrugations in leaves.

Salvia "Superior Purple x 2 replacing losses. East margin of Orchid Walk.

Heliotrope arborense "Golden Heliotrope"  x 2 , One in front path garden so far.

Asplenium nidus x 8 from local Orchid grower and 1 from Mt Nebo garden. All in rainforest walk

Clivia nobilis x 10  from Mt Nebo , All in rainforest walk

Large ferms unspecified + Myosorum fern and Dieffenbachia all planted into rainforest area

A heritage garden for a heritage house.

Coochin Coochin Homestead 1920

Coochin Coochin Homestead 2005

I often look at suburban housing around Brisbane  as I love domestic spaces and way homes and gardens are used. The over all picture could generally be enhanced by gardens , footpath planting and maintenance of public spaces. What seems to be missing in our overly landscaped environment are the soft edges which is where gardens come in to play.
A garden that echo's the period of a house will give the house a context and it doesn't matter if the house is a 1875 mansion , workers cottage or a dwelling built in the 50's , 60's or 70's .
An inappropriate garden that does not work with the building is missing a great opportunity to make a valuable statement and preserve garden history.  I think every house has an ideal garden style that will suit it as well as the needs of a contemporary owner.A great deal of effort,time and consideration goes into home restoration however once the re-stumping, roofing,timber work, wiring ,plumbing, verandahs ,interiors, and painting are done the garden can often be an after thought especially if significant trees have been removed or there has been great disruption to the site.
 It would probably be best for the renovation of the house and garden to be planned even before the work begins. This is the time when an inventory of plants can be made and remnant trees, shrubs identified. Remnant landscaping such as paths, outdoor garden edgings can also give clues to inform your garden design.It is worth getting an opinion form a plants person who can identify plants that are worth keeping as even the most forlorn specimen might just need water, pruning or fertilising to bring it back to health and vigour.Some plants are just weeds and can grow to be extraordinary pests and will need to be removed. A  worthy garden plant that has survived drought and neglect is just the plant you want to keep .When I see the swift , careless destruction of a garden, the removal of a tree it always makes me think of the loss of decades of growth ,  maturity and the natural ecosystem that supported numerous plants and insects . Nine times out of ten a landscaper will come in and plant a lilly pilly or two and the gormless won't even notice it anyway. ( But it's native so it must be good)
The message is not to be too hasty with the destruction of any garden.
In our book 'A Garden Forever ', we give examples of how to keep records through photographs, drawings, stories and plant lists. We acknowledge the gardeners who gardened before us and the land before settlement. It is very interesting to research our ancestry and to discover the former owners of the houses we live in and learning about gardens is just an extension of this.
Keeping records today is the history of the future.
A garden is an artificial space and to create a garden that accents the period of the home is a way of learning more fully about the way people lived in the past. Most domestic Queensland gardens had fruit trees like mango ,banana and mulberries and many had shade trees like Jacarandas. Many people kept chooks and had productive vegetable gardens , ornamental gardens ,a rotary clothes hoist an incinerator and an outhouse.The domestic garden today is not that different . We might need car ports , entertainment areas and swimming pools but I refuse to believe that it needs to lose the softness and the atmosphere that gardens should have.

Bunya Nut Corner

It seems as though the garden has been a bit out of control over summer but finally growth looks to be slowing down or maybe I'm just on top of it at last.
As I am forever changing things in my garden and seeking out new areas to fill up with plants I am now trying to improve all the corners of the property. The area under the Bunya Pine and Hoop Pine is now clear and it is safe to walk as the bunya crop has finished??
We clearly feel that we need more land for our garden but with a lack of funds or available land I think we will just have to be content with what we have.
There is plenty of bud forming on the Gordonia's and the many camellias in the garden which will bloom around Easter . Hopefully some flowers will wait for the Open Garden on Anzac Weekend.
Today we have tied numerous orchids onto trees in the "Orchid Walk" and I even made the special effort of getting out the ladder and popping the plants a bit higher that our usual eye level for everything. They will look lovely trailing down and tall people will be impressed after all those years of looking down on our orchids.
Other jobs today included planting in the rainforest and trimming back overhanging branches of the Bolly Gum aka ( the Bollywood!) to let some more light in on the orchids.
The ute has been a God send and trips to the dump have been rewarded with loads of  free mulch which has topped up many of the beds. It all sounds a bit dull when you write it down but for me I just never get tired of working in my garden and discovering plants ,seeing butterflies and birds, sharing the place with others and passing on the Bunya nuts.   Kyleigh

Gardening into lost Corners at "The Shambles"

The "Araucaria Walk" before replanting and regeneration.

The neglected North East Corner of “The Shambles” shaded by the “Araucaria walk” seemed a wasted space. Bordering Abelia grandiflora and Murraya panniculata shrubs were liberated and the few subshrubs cleared to allow walking with ease under the trees.

These plants were among those added to the area

Philodendron calloum compactum

Ctenanthe spp

Calathea makoyana

Draecaena godseffiana “Florida Beauty”

Dieffenbachia spp

Justicia nodosum x 2 transplanted from elsewhere in the garden.

The planting of the unfinished north west corner of the garden under the “Rainforest Walk” continued. Many plants raised from cutting or new plants had already been added along the north facing edge looking into the light. The following were planted into the corner. There is much to do to continue the cleanup of this area.

Chamaedora elegans (Parlour palm) x 5

Codiaeum variegatum “Picassos Paintbrush”

Cordylline fruticosa x 5 including “Wilis Gold” and red varieties.

Thankfully rain and intermittent showers have supported our new plantings, as there is no irrigation in the garden and especially into these distant corners.

Michael Simpson

Plant Collection, Risky Business and Helpful Rain.

Rose "Mrs Dudley Cross" at our Book Launch 24/1/15

After our Successful book launch of "A Garden Forever" we followed up on contacts with gardening friends. In exchange for plant material from "The Shambles" some generous new acquisitions have been made. 

Buddleia 'Spring Promise' is a smaller noninvasive hybrid. It has masses of long slender stems of white delicately scented flowers from the middle of winter through to spring. This species can be grown in full-sun or part-shade. It grows quickly and will tolerate relatively dry conditions when established. North Facing into light , our North East Corner garden. From John Birbeck

Hibiscus radiatus is native to southern and southeast Asia. It has 15 cm yellow flowers that have a purple center. Leaves are dentate, with upper leaves lobed into three or five parts. It is frequently grown as a vegetable or medicinal herb, Facing North into the Light , our North East Corner Garden. From John Birbeck.

Pavonia hastata is the only member of the genus to occur in Australia and it is also native to parts of South America. It occurs in woodland and open forest in both damp and dry situations. Pavonia differs from Hibiscus in having a 10-lobed style (5-lobed in Hibiscus). The name          Pavonia....after José Antonio Pavón, a spanish botanist. The species usually forms a spreading shrub to about 1 metre in height. Leaves are slightly or deeply lobed and about 150 mm. Yet to decide the best location for these. From John Birbeck.

Begonias, Rhizomatous, Rex and Cane type from John Birbeck and Rowena Cavanagh. All safely tucked into successful collection spots for Begonias, to enhance our growing collection.

Cuttings and borrowings: GOD WE HOPE THAT THESE WILL SURVIVE. 

Stachyurus is the only genus in the flowering plant family Stachyuraceae, native to the Himalayas and eastern Asia. They are deciduous shrubs or small trees with pendent racemes of 4-petalled flowers which appear on the bare branches before the leaves.[1] The plants have leaves with serrate margins. Pendunculagin, casuarictin, strictinin, casuarinin and casuariin are ellagitannins found in the species within the genus.[2]  Stachyurus praecox, from Japan, is a spreading shrub growing to 4 m (13 ft) tall by 3 m (10 ft) wide. Pendent, bell-shaped, primrose yellow flowers are borne in winter and spring. The Latin specific epithet praecox means "early", referring to the exceptionally early flowering season. This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[3] S. chinensis, from China, is also found in cultivation. (cuttings from Rowena)

Watsonia,  apricot small flowering  Bulb , of Sword lily.

Thunbergia erecta (White)    Cuttings

Selaginella uncinata, (Blue or Peacock Spikemoss), is a very attractive form of Selaginella native to China. It is semi-evergreen in nature and has straw colored rambling stems with dimorphic metallic blue leaves. Plants will reach about 6 inches (15 cm) in height and will spread to 2 feet (60 cm) wide. They produce root-like rhizophores along the weak stems and are easily fragmented.  Like other members of the genus Selaginella, common names with the word 'moss' and 'fern' are misleading; they are part of a quite distant ancestral line belonging to Phylum Lycophyta also called Fern allies.

Impatiens niamniamensis ( Congo cockatoo) grows about 60–90 centimetres (24–35 in) long. This evergreen, perennial species has an erect, succulent, brown stem resembling wood. Leaves are simple, ovate-oblong or elliptical, spirally arranged, about 10 cm long. This plant produces bright and colourful bird-shaped flowers with a long, curled nectar spur. These unusual flowers are usually scarlet red and yellow and can reach a length of about 3.5 centimetres (1.4 in). Fruits are explosive capsules of about 14–16 mm. Tropical Africa Cuttings

Quisqualis falcata var. mussaendaflora. Cuttings from Red Leaf Quisqualis (Rowena)

As well as all these there were other cuttings from Rowenas Garden, of Solanum rantonettii, Coleus etc.

Lets hope for success

MS