Quote of the month - Janurary 2010

" A rose does not preach, it simply spreads its fragrance"

Mahatma Gandhi

( I just love this quote - flowers and philosophy - who could ask for more perfection in a quote!!! )

Flower of the Season - Summer 09/10

" I once heard that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but I was never able to believe it. A rose just couldnt smell as sweet if it were a thistle or a skunk cabbage!"

Anne of Green Gables

What more can I say - there is no more favourite 'old fashioned' flower in all the world than the rose. Beautiful colours, adaptable to so many environments, intoxicating fragrances, glorious in a garden, mass planted or as a cut flower. Its beauty has graced so many poems, so many stories of old, and inspired many of the great minds of history (see this month's quote of the month). It is my favourite flower - I must always have a rose growing in my garden, and I delight in giving great bunches of them to those I love !

Growing roses is so easy too. Best planted in winter during bare rooted season, they bennifit from a little fertiliser, and regular water, although they are so very hardy, they will withstand periods of drought and almost any soil bar pure sand (!) and still turn on an impressive show. Prune every winter (June is best in most parts of Australia, although you can get away with waiting till mid August if need be !), and nip away dead flowers from the first flush in spring to encourage further flowering. This is always so enjoyable when done on balmy evenings with a glass of Moscato in one hand and secateurs in the other !!


There are numerous varieties of rose available on the market - shrub, floribunda, minitures, climbers, standards, burbons, Austins, hybrid tea - all of which have quite differing flowering habits, so my main reccomendation when purchasing a rose would be find out what it is you are wanting from your rose and purchase accordingly. Do you want lots of flowers? Floribunda would be your pick. Would you like strong fragrence? Burbons and Austins are a good choice. Do you want the look of a post war garden? Choose hybrid tea's - the frilly Austins and Burbons and other old fashioned roses have only made a come back in more recent times. A true mid 21st Century garden will use only hybrid teas - 'Oaklahoma', 'Ena Harkness' and 'Peace' are some good choices for this purpose. Feel free to email me if you want some help !

I do hope you delight in these photographs from my own garden as much as I have delighted in taking them - I have recently purchased a lovely new digital camera and have had a wow of a time photographing my pretty little garden gems. Summer in the garden is never dreary when there is a rose to enjoy !

I am thankful....

In the 1950's people had just lived through World War II, preceeded by the years of the great depression - they knew what it ment to be thankful for little things. Though Australia really does not have an official Thanksgiving Celebration, I none the less think it is so important to be greatful for our blessings, so, as it is Thursday November 26 today, here are my musings of thankfulness...

I am thankful for the 'big' things:

Freedom, peace where I live, the abundance of our western life

I am thankful for the 'little' things:

Roses, chocolate, music

I am thankful for beautiful everyday gifts:

The rain that feel on the weekend, the healthy pitter pat of my childrens feet all over the house, having a pantry full of yummy food and a garden full of flowers, my daughters blue blue eyes,

I am thankful for my little world:

Snuggly warm beds on cold nights, for celebrations with those I love, for sunsets by the river or lake, for dewdrops on my arum lillies, for a wonderful country childhood, the smell of roast chicken after a cold winter walk, for home lights welcoming me home when I have been away, for summer evening swims under the river redgums, for fires on the beach under a breathtaking stary sky, for words of encouragement, for birthdays and Christmas mornings and the wonder and delight on my childrens faces.

I am thankful for the relationships in my life:

For the amazing family I was born into, for my grandparents who have blessed my life with so much goodness and have now 'gone on', for little gentle hands and smiles and giggles and spice, for the love of a wonderful man, for the love and blessing of God - despite 'me'.

Thankyou God for all the wonder, romance, beauty and goodness that has been and is now in my life. I give you all the gratitude held in my heart.

There are so many things I could add to this list - it would be miles long if I went through everything, but these are the things that first spring to my mind......may we never forget in everyday, to be greatful for all that we have!