Andrea, Author at Andrea Whitely Garden Consultant

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Well, it might not feel like it as we shiver through more rain and cold weather here in Perth but nature is telling us that Spring is just around the corner.

We have had record rains this August and everything is about to burst into bloom.

Have you noticed the Acacia -yellow wattles and Chamelaucium uncinatum-Pink Geraldton Wax, in bloom on the side of the freeways and roadways?

Nothing says Spring quite like our Aussie wattles

More Geraldton Wax..ooh I can smell that honey-scented fragrance now

That’s natures’ way of saying, hang onto your sun hats, Perth peeps, our very short Spring and long HOT Summer is on its way.

Qualup Bells and Everlasting daisies are in flower right now!

Here are 6 Things to do this weekend to have your garden looking spring ready

1. Improve your soil

Add some mature compost or soil conditioner around the base of your plants and let the last of this rain soak that into your sandy soil for healthy spring/summer blooms. Your plants will be more disease resistant and much better able to survive the summer heat. It’s worth it!

2. Plant some natives

Grevillias offer striking colour and lots of food for pollinators

The garden centers are full of our West Australian native species in flower, even if you don’t have a native garden, why not introduce a few to help out the pollinators, you know, the birds and the bees, they need your help.

Look at these beautiful blooms-only in WA!

3. Weed, weed weed

No-one likes the prospect of this but it simply must be done! The rain has provided lots of nutrients and water to the soil which means that the weeds have all shot up-do yourself a favour and remove them before they take over completely! I use my favourite weeding tool the fabulous Cobrahead weeder

4. Plant some Annuals

Check out the seedlings at the garden centre, nothing says Spring quite like some pots of annual colour either side of your front door.

How about growing some pretty petunias for spring colour? These ones were in Michigan last year when I was there…..they get fed with liquid fertiliser for Flower and Fruit every week!

5. It’s Mulching Time

Time to get some mulch onto your garden beds so that your plants will be able to thrive in our hot summer sun. I like to use either straw mulch or Marri woodchips depending on the type of garden I am working on

6. Indoor Plant tidy up

Have a close look at your indoor plants, put them out in the rain or give them a hose down outside, wipe off the winter dust and give them a light dose of liquid fertilizer before bringing them back inside for your indoor jungle to be at its best for Summer entertaining

Pop your indoor plants outside for some rain and a bit of a wash down before bringing them back in for the summer

Need Help to get started??? email Andrea on nolilwhit@bigpond.com to make a booking

Have you ever been to a place that you know for sure you have not been to before and yet as soon as you pull up in the driveway you have an overwhelming sense that you have walked that pathway, entered through that gate?

This happened to me quite a few times when I was in Philadelphia visiting with my friend, Eva Monheim last August. Eva and I would smile at each other in a funny kind of knowing way, without any need for words and later on I would say to her, “I’m sure I have been there before” which seemed kind of silly really because I know for sure that I have not been to Philadelphia in the past 54 years of this lifetime.

Which leads me to a garden in Philadelphia called Wyck. Eva and I pulled up in her car and there was not another soul there, it was all very quiet, we walked through the gate and suddenly, not like a bolt of lightning, more like a warm blanket enveloping my whole body, I felt it, a sense that I had surely been there before. How funny that no-one else was there on the day that Eva and I were visiting, as if everyone had left just so that I could be there alone.

Wyck is a US National Historic Landmark house and was home to one Philadelphian family, the Wistar and Haines generations from 1690-1973. It is a 2.5-acre property and working small farm, right in the heart of Germantown on the outskirts of Philadelphia. The house itself is in the Quaker style, something that we don’t see in my hometown of Perth, Western Australia.

Architecture in Germantown, Philadelphia

As well as the goodly-sized, white, historical home there are also outbuildings, sheds, and a large chook pen, this is where I had another “funny” feeling. The feeling was not at all unnerving, rather kind of comforting, in an odd way.

I walked over towards the chook pen to say hello to the girls when a pretty marmalade cat came running up to me as if to say ” Hey, Andrea, haven’t seen you in a while, where have you been?” That cat stayed close by me as I wandered around the rest of the farm garden. I must say that when it comes down to it, cats don’t usually have much regard for me, nor I for them. I always say that I’m a dog person more than a cat person but this one was incredibly curious and very endearing.

The rose gardens at Wyck are some of the oldest in the USA and on this rather damp, drizzly day had reached the end of their blooming and were just about ready for a prune, I honestly was not at all sad that I had missed the blooms, the bones of this small but interesting rose garden offered heaps of interest for me.

The production garden grows fruit and vegetables for a Farmers Market and an outdoor classroom for regularly held events. Throughout the growing season, produce is offered for sale which helps support the upkeep of the property.

I am not sure if it was my German ancestry or quite what really but for some strange and unexplainable reasons, Wyck will always stay with me or maybe it was always there.

Have you ever had an experience like this?

If you are in the Philadelphia area, why not, take a walk through Wyck.

Author: Andrea

Get Ready For Spring

Walking Through Wyck