Onwards and upwards
The Age
Saturday October 31, 2009
We know where we are with gardening now so there's no going back to the old ways, muses Denise Gadd. A NEIGHBOUR called in the other day and we did a tour of my garden. I do the same with hers. While our gardens are not of the magnitude of celebrated properties such as Cruden Farm or Sissinghurst we love and nurture our plots in the same way.It's fun to wander around with a like-minded person and compare notes, lament the passing of much-loved plants and regret the fact that there are some species we know we'll never grow again.Water-loving plants such as hydrangeas and rhododendrons for a start. Well, certainly not in the open under the midday sun in the middle of February.We also talked about the futility of trying to hang on to plants and shrubs that have obviously passed their use-by date due to lack of water or whatever, which I tend to do. Apart from the initial expense, there's the sense of loss and also a feeling of failure that I couldn't keep a plant going.A case in point are two 'Cinammon Cindy' camellias, both about 15 years old, that have yellowish leaves and some die-back. So rather than persevering with them the time has come to put them (and me) out of their misery.The same has gone for the lutchuensis camellias that I put in 12 months ago, at some expense I might add. With their small, glossy leaves, charming weeping habit and delicate bell-like flowers in spring, they were the perfect choice between the maple and the magnolia. Or so I thought. They were good for about three months, then they got scraggier and scraggier despite mollycoddling them within an inch of their lives.Since then different landscapers have told me that they're not worth bothering about. They look gorgeous for a short time, then they go off. Wish I'd known that before I bought them.Anyway, I've pulled them all out and it's rather a relief not to look at them any more and agonise over how to try to revive them. I couldn't. And that's that.Of course, sustainability is the key these days, but we also want to create gardens that please us rather than growing plants that jar our horticultural sensibilities.A Mediterranean palette of plants pleases me enormously blended with Australian plants such as native hibiscus and westringia and an international cast of box hedges, azaleas €” incredibly drought tolerant €” echiums, crepe myrtles, geraniums, pelargoniums, olive trees, rosemary, lavender, ficus, convolvulus, euphorbias, salvias, Choisya ternata (Mexican orange blossom), catmint, lavatera and hellebores. I've also discovered 'Glabra Cadabra', a hybrid of coastal westringia and the violet form so it's tough, blends beautifully with lavender, rosemary, catmint and olives, and can be hedged or left au naturel.In April, gardening contributor Michael McCoy asked readers to list their top 10 summer survivors. The winner was, by far, the ubiquitous rose followed by rosemary, lavender (French, in particular), plumbago and sedums such as S. 'Autumn Joy'.Not many native plants made the list with the exception of creeping boobialla (Myoporum parvifolium), correas, and many grevilleas, with G. 'Superb' at the top. A reader contacted me recently to say that irises were the unsung heroes in her seaside garden.On the tree front, ornamental pears flourished last summer despite the heat and lack of rainfall. They are now a popular addition in many gardens, and for good reason. The white spring flowers are beautiful, the leaves a rich green and the autumn colour to die for. Climbers such as wisteria, ornamental grapevines and Virginia creepers also fared well.If you're into annuals for pots and windowboxes you can't go past petunias. Oasis has brought out two new varieties €” 'Sophistica' (left) with large lime and antique rose-striped flowers, and 'Coral Morn' that spreads to about 70 centimetres, making it ideal for hanging baskets and urns. Vinca, too, is lovely in containers, along borders or in garden beds. Known as the 'Madagascar periwinkle', it comes in myriad colours from hot pinks to vivid red. Also in pots, go for herbs (bay trees are terrific), vegetables and even fruit trees as many dwarf varieties are now available.Read Denise Gadd's blog at blogs.theage.com.au/lifestyle/potteringby
© 2009 The Age
