#gardencommunicator Archives - Page 6 of 11 - 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

One balmy Pennsylvania afternoon, last August, I visited my GWA (Association for Garden Communicators) friend, Jenny Rose Carey, in her Philadelphia garden and am sitting here thinking about how beautiful it must be looking right now. Luckily, I took heaps of shots and am so happy to be able to share this very special garden with you.

Many gardeners forget that green is a colour and just how effective green on green can be.

Jenny Rose is all things horticulture, author, educator and historian but first and foremost a brilliant gardener with a great eye and is the Senior Director at The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Meadowbrook Farm in Jenkintown (more on that stunning property later).

A Bit about Northview….

On Jenny Roses’ website, she writes “Northview’s 4½ acre site was originally part of Wilmer and Anna Atkinson’s 1887 100-acre Victorian Model Farm. Some of the trees planted by Mr. Atkinson (the Founder and Editor of the Farm Journal) remain, including a beautiful 150-year-old Japanese maple. The current property includes the original 1887 farmhouse and carriage house.”

I climbed up to the top to enjoy the view

This delightful garden, like many private gardens, I am lucky enough to visit, is a reflection of the gardener who created it, Jenny Rose, it’s an elegant garden that’s for sure. This garden offers both form and function and is so respectful of gardeners who have worked that land. There’s lovely, tasteful pieces of artwork scattered throughout, some whimsy pieces, just for fun, long vistas for the mind to rest and drink in the verdant green lawns and breathe the air around old trees and really experience the many places to sit and just be.

Hydrangeas in full bloom

Step through the gate to see what treasures await

Even the birds get a very cool place to hang out here

You can’t help but breathe deeply as you walk under this canopy

Perfect afternoon light to capture this beauty

I love a good stumpery, look at the beautiful lichen and fungi

Nature has an open invitation to visit this garden

OK, so, I will freely admit that I am a sucker for potting sheds and places where people work behind the scenes (I’m a bit of a sticky beak) in gardens and Jenny Roses’ potting shed is, I think No.1 on my list…it is a thing of beauty in itself, such organization, so many pots, so gorgeous, I could see myself sitting in one of those wicker chairs, looking out over the garden and sipping a hot cuppa…could be my dream Air BNB, in fact!

The Potting Shed..from the outside, but the real magic is on the inside.

for those times when you need to sit outside your lovely shed

I would like to sit here and drink tea, wouldn’t you?

I could sit in that shed for months, looking out at that garden and writing a book…ahh what would I write?…what would I call it? This Philadelphia Life, perhaps……

Jenny Rose and her family generously host visitors to her garden and you can request a visit by contacting her on http://www.jennyrosecarey.com/northview-gardens. It would be a fabulous place to go with a group of like-minded garden-loving pals on a Spring or Summers day.

Thank you, Jenny Rose, for so generously sharing your garden with me.

Tag: #gardencommunicator

Get Ready For Spring

Northview-Such An Elegant Garden And Oh, What A Shed!