Get Ready For Spring

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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

 

Geraldton Wax-check it out!

 

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.

Banksias are hard to beat!

 

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

Chanticleer, I’m Dreaming About You!

The entrance gates at Chanticleer

Over the years, I have had the very great fortune of visiting many really spectacular gardens in many parts of the world but for some reason, there are a few which stay with you, like visiting an old friend, except that you have never met them before and may never pass that way again. I  cherish moments like these and will always fondly remember one amazing day…..

Step Inside….

Last year, during what I am calling my 2017 Pennsylvania Immersion, following the Garden Writers Association annual conference in Buffalo NY, I was right royally treated with visits to incredible places by my hosts Denise Schreiber (Pittsburgh) and Eva Monheim (Philadelphia).

I was lucky enough to be a guest of the team at Chanticleer Garden. I visited on a stunning, sunny, summers’ day, with fellow GWA members Eva Monheim and Louise Clarke. We were warmly greeted by Bill Thomas, Executive Director & Head Gardener who welcomed us to the garden and put us into the very safe hands of our fellow GWA member, friend and guide-for-the-day Dan Benarcik. Dan knows every inch of this gardeners paradise and generously gave his time to share his wealth of knowledge of this beauteous place. We arrived when the car park was empty (we were the first to arrive) and first in the garden gate. This is always a special kind of moment for those of us writing about gardens because we get to see the gardens “untouched” by the day if you like.

Dan Benarcik, Eva Monheim, Louise Clarke and Me

Chanticleer garden is a 40-acre botanical garden located in Wayne, Pennsylvania about a thirty-minute drive from Philadelphia.

Here’s a little excerpt from Chanticleer’s website which shares the story of the garden.

“The Chanticleer estate dates from the early 20th-century when land along the Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad was developed for summer homes to escape the heat of Philadelphia. Adolph Rosengarten, Sr., and his wife Christine chose the Wayne-St. Davids area to build their country retreat. The family’s pharmaceutical firm would become part of Merck & Company in the 1920s.

The Rosengartens hired an architect and former classmate Charles L. Borie to design the house, which was completed in 1913. Landscape architect Thomas Sears designed the terraces as extensions of the house. A 1924 addition converted the summer home into a year-round residence and the family moved here permanently.

Dreaming of this lawn and a beautiful green vista like this

Mr. Rosengarten’s humor is evident in naming his home after the estate “Chanticlere” in Thackeray’s 1855 novel The Newcomes. The fictional Chanticlere was “mortgaged up to the very castle windows” but “still the show of the county.” Playing on the word, which is synonymous with “rooster,” the Rosengartens used rooster motifs throughout the estate.

Adolph and Christine gave their two children homes as wedding presents. They purchased a neighboring property for son Adolph, Jr. and his bride Janet Newlin in 1933. It is now the site of the Ruin. Daughter Emily’s house, located at today’s visitor entrance, was built for her in 1935. It is presently used for offices and classrooms.

The swimming pool and pool cabana

Adolph, Jr., purchased his sister’s portion of the estate following her death in the 1980s. He didn’t move into the main house but used it for entertaining and kept it as it was when the family lived there. The house is open for tours by reservation. Adolph, Jr., left the entire property for the enjoyment and education of the public following his death in 1990. A nine-member Board of Directors, six of whom are Rosengarten relatives, oversees The Chanticleer Foundation. The garden opened to the public in 1993. There is 20 full-time staff, of whom two manage facilities and 14 are gardeners and groundskeepers.”

I have so many photos. How do I select just a few to give you an inkling of the magic of this place?

Lush. green long vistas of lawn. brightly colored Adirondack chairs to sit and rest for a bit and admire Belladonna Lillies or Naked Ladies popping up in the lawn. I have to say we did not rest for a single minute, though, too much to see!

Who wants to come sit here with me and read a book?

…attention to detail, fresh flowers in a bowl of water-so simple yet so beautiful

Clematis in bloom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vignettes of gorgeousness at every turn. Incredibly innovative container planting and then there is that black dining table set as the centerpiece of the home in ruins with a stunning succulent-filled, grand fireplace.

The dining room in the ruins-what a table!

The stunning water-filled “dining table”

Succulent-filled fireplace at the ruins

Now, that’s what I call acorns!

What you can’t see is how gorgeous this is on the inside

Container envy?

This says it all really, this tiny gate takes you through into the vegetable garden

Intricate detail throughout the garden

 

Everything was perfectly executed in this garden, not a single weed, not a single plant that looked tired or ready to be removed from its bed.

At each section of the garden, visitors can find an individually crafted box containing an up-to-date list of plants in that garden bed

In the winter time, some the staff get busy and repurpose wood from the trees that have reached the end of their lives and it is turned into carefully handcrafted seating and decorative pieces which are scattered through the gardens in the following spring. These pieces are art in their own right.

If you ever get the opportunity to visit Chanticleer Gardens, don’t let it pass you by, grab it with both hands. You will need hours to see it all and even then you still will miss things and want to return.

This is a very special part of the world and I am very grateful to have walked those garden paths, in such wonderful company, even just once.

Thanks to Bill Thomas and Dan Benarcik for an unforgettable day.

 

 

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