Down memory lane..

Last week my family took a journey back to Tilba Tilba on the south coast of New South Wales..to a garden which we first visited 20 years ago.



I was keen to see how it had matured over the years...this pear arch was just in it's infancy when we last saw it.

There were more "formal" things to see this time.

 This is the entry to the 31/2 acres of garden.

We found a lovely cool building to rest in whilst looking at the pond and watching the ducks.

 I really enjoyed coming across the dove house which was nestled in a very lush section of ferns and semi-tropical plantings.

The "kids" found a shady pond teeming with tadpoles and goldfish to keep them entertained for a while.



 I loved this rickety old gate which used to lead down to what was known as "Grandpa's Garden".

This is the area I most wanted to see again..but sadly it's all changed :-(

When we were here all those years ago, the original owners had planted it out with beautiful cottage flowers and purple buddleia hedges and mass plantings of foxgloves, from which the whole garden got it's name - Foxgloves Spires.

But there was not a foxglove to be found this time...not even the hint of there ever being any!

Such a pity and disappointment :-(

At least the "ruin" was still standing - yay!

I would've been very upset to find it gone..this is where my hubby had gone down on one knee and "proposed" to me again, lol!

It is much more ivy-clad now and as I approached it from the opposite side of this photo, the extra cover hid it so well it took quite some moments before I finally spotted it.

It was like meeting a dear old friend again...

 Hydrangeas were blooming prettily...

 and roses in abundance spread gorgeous colour and fragrance throughout the walkways.

 Large expanses of lawn and formal beds were punctuated by metal arches and arbors.

 I loved the pretty colour of this cottage and picket fence...it perfectly matched the young pittosporum hedge :-)

All in all, it was a lovely place to re-visit and spend a leisurely few hours reminiscing and observing the effects of 20 years on the layout and growth of what we'd seen in the baby-stages of the designers dream.

I recommend it for anyone who enjoys "rambling" cottage gardens filled with roses, fruit trees, gravel paths and ponds..set against the green backdrop of high rolling hills and open country skies.

A little piece of dove heaven!

'Lattice' begin...

Hmmm..looks like hubby has a new project in mind.

 Yep...he's definitely up to something.

Aha! Now I know!

 He's putting up a small lattice arbour for us to walk through from the flower garden to the vegie patch. I've been wanting something to differentiate the two areas, so yesterday we decided to put this up. It will be painted white to match the other timber framework in the yard (when the wild wind dies down!).



I've always loved lattice in a garden and I'm happy with the way this looks.

It has such a nice "country cottage" appeal to me.

It looks quite old-fashioned and friendly sitting amongst the flowers...

just like me, lol!

Pretty "dry"..

The spring flowers beside my "dry river bed" are starting to fill out a bit more this week.

I love this cheery white daisy with it's blue centres.

The young hydrangea is looking really good and lush this year and is getting flower heads.

I don't know exactly what colour it will be yet.

Last year the flowers were a pale "greenish" shade so we decided to tip our tea-leaves around it to see if that changes the colour.

Apparently it should bloom a better blue shade now....here's hoping!

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linked to Glenda..



Empty it out and fill it up..

There are only two things my hubby has asked me to do in our garden.

 #1   Get rid of most of the grass.

#2   And fill the yard with flowers and colour.

I think I'm well on the way to fulfilling his desires :-D

Who wants some pizza?

Sunday was a good day for hubby to get stuck into rendering his home-made pizza oven.

 The air was still and the sun was HOT..

so he had to work fast before the render dried out too much to adhere properly.

 Slapping soft coloured cement onto a big beast like this is quite therapeutic!

And deeply satisfying when it's all done and dusted.

Good job, honey..it looks great!!



Around the garden

Spring is in full force in my little garden!

Everything is growing madly at the moment...

Lots of bare patches are beginning to fill out with colour and foliage..

My yard is swathed in the delicious heady perfume of this beautiful new season :-)

Blossoms and baking..

We've been enjoying more lovely Spring weather here this past week.

Most of the fruit trees have come out in full bloom and have filled the gardens with their wonderful fragrance and colour.

 It's a nice time for eating family meals outdoors and just letting the days drift by like the soft clouds above us.

Hubby fired up his home-made pizza oven and has been learning how to "drive" it.

It is so efficient, hot and fast that as soon as he had delivered the first pizza to our table and cut it -the second one he replaced it with was already done "to a crisp"!! lol!

At just 2 minutes per pizza, I suggested that he had serendipitously found us a new Fast-Food family business :-D

Would you care for one of our BBQ brownie cakes?

Those healthy toppings of sausages, fried eggs and shish-kababs are very good for you..hehe (wink)!

 Why is it that I can never go to Bunnings without bringing something extra home with me?

I went there on Saturday to buy a small punnet of petunias and left with a wisteria too!

Can't wait to see how it pretty it will be when it grows up and over our white pergola.

It passes too soon...sigh.

You wait and wait for ages for the vibrant Spring blossoms appear..and suddenly they arrive in an explosion of delightful exhuberance and then...poof!!

These pretty ornamental fruit trees leading up the hilltop to our house have already lost their flowers, and today they are blanketed in deep wine hued leaves.

There are some things we just can't slow down or change no matter how much we'd like to.

Springtime makes me see that it's much better to relax and try to appreciate each precious moment as it comes...and just be grateful that it ever happened at all   :-)

"As long as the earth remains,

there will be springtime and harvest."

Genesis 8:22

Spring has sprung!

At last....

our Aussie Spring has finally sprung!


Our peach and nectarine trees are smothered in soft pink blossoms,

and I'm spending a lot of hours in the garden watching delicate petals float about,

 and listening to the birds and bees as they get busy for the new season.

It won't be long before the flowers fade away to make room for delicious fruit.

 

 So today I'm slowing right down to enjoy this lovely Spring moment...

it will be gone all too quickly and I don't want to miss it!