Fresh Start with the Garden

I hope it is not too bold of me to say, but our garden is looking rather fantastic these days and I'm very proud of the massive improvements made over the last few years.

Ornamental pears have gone in along the driveway

The major new and exciting change has been that I have employed a gardener to help me as Mr L'Orange has retired.

Now we have a bit more of an idea of what we are doing and expert advice, we've been getting Jeanette to help us move plants to better locations where they have more room and the right conditions. We have spent weeks and weeks this autumn improving the soil and putting in new plants and shrubs to fill up gaps and add a dash of colour.

Hedges have been pruned back, noxious weeds removed, edging and mulch added all over the garden and finally a couple of new beds have also gone in.

I'm thrilled to announce the demise of the hebees which we inherited with the house and I have never really liked to be completely honest.

The mop top tree is going gang busters this year

Instead we have planted a beautiful white gardenia close to the dining room window so as it grows we should get all the fragrance coming into the house as we walk in the front door.

Goodbye hebes - Hello gardenia

Some of the other plants that have gone in over the last few months include a couple of snowball trees, a white crepe myrtle, a magnolia little gem, some cerise coloured salvias, more white hibiscus as it seems to grow so well here and flower for months on end, buddleia, daphne, azelias and some more carnations.

The photinia hedge has grown the most ever witnessed in the last 12 months - now above the wall!

Just writing this list makes me realise we have completed a heck of a lot of work and to Mr L'Orange's great pleasure he hasn't had to do much at all.

Whilst it may sound very bourgiese to have a gardener, the reality is that it is extremely practical. Especially if you are a novice gardener and need some help or want to have a life outside of doing gardening every weekend.

Cheery laurel hedge at the back is coming along nicely

When I think of all the money I have spent on plants in the last few years which have inevitably died because I had no idea how to look after them properly then it really becomes more of a financial solution to have a gardener come every now and again and help to look after everything.

Garden Update - Spring

Sorry for the huge gap between posts, let's just say life has been turned upside down since June and things are only now slightly more back on track (in a very loose way!).

My loyal garden companion

Thought you would like a bit of an update on our garden which seems to be on a bit of a winning streak at the moment as our plantings really grow into their surroundings.

At long last we have some lovely white flowers on our wisteria, which I am particularly proud of as these are the first flowers since we planted it four years ago.

All the trees are looking a little harsh just now as we gave them a major winter prune, however they will grow lots this year and fill out in no time.

The prune was well worth it as we have got rid of all the high branches and thinned out so we can grow better fruit and actually be able to pick it.

We have planted a new tree to replace the dead walnut that we cut down. It is a golden elm and we are very pleased that it is growing well and know it will look amazing in another 5 to 10 years!

The front beds slowly filling up with plants

The front garden is full of roses and we have also yanked out some more agapanthas to increase the size of the beds. Now that I have found some hardy plants that can survive the rubbish soil in the front beds I am having a lot more success.

The idea is that the main front bed will be agapantha free by next winter and we will have lots of lovely shrubs and flowers in there instead. I'd say we are now 80% well on the way.

Our new garden bed plantings

The mower broke, so I have been paying someone to do the lawns instead and have discovered they do a much better job than Mr L'Orange. 

Weed free, freshly cut lawns - beautiful

Now he gets to enjoy three hours of not cutting the grass at the weekends and I get to enjoy a beautiful lawn all through the week - it is a win win situation.

The lavender hedge is looking lovely at the moment

Hope you like the garden at the moment as much as I do. Until next time.

Our main bee attraction in the garden

Garden Screening

2015 is going to be our year of screening. We are keen to completely enclose our garden with green to screen out all of the neighbours so we have total privacy and something nice to look at. 

We have realised that a lot of the appeal of Darling Cottage is that the garden is so private and secluded so we are now attempting to do the same for our little place. 

We are starting with this side of the house and already have a new cherry laurel hedge planted at the front & now we are working on the back.

We have planted 3 new olive trees down the side of the house, as I noticed they had some particularly large ones in Bunnings (for the same price of the tiny ones I bought last time of course!).

Our existing olive trees are growing really well and even have actual olives growing on them which is pretty exciting. Again they don't really need any attention so are excellent for time poor gardeners like myself who regularly forget to water and feed everything.

A camelia has been planted alongside the fence in the back garden in the hope that when it grows we will gain some screening and it will look beautiful from the deck. Next project is to screen off around the veggie patch with something that climbs well but doesn't take up much room. I'm thinking either virginia creeper or chinese jasmine.

Hope you all have a great week!

Garden Update - May 2015

Alas we are now moving into winter which is always a bit depressing to say the least. We are expecting a high of 7 degrees today! Mr L'Orange walked the dog in sub zero temperatures this morning, luckily Dog A L'Orange had his cosy yet fashionable winter coat on.

Veggie Patch Update - I've planted beetroot and asian greens into the veggie patch after a 3 hour weeding operation, things had got pretty wild in there. 

We also have growing self seeded onions, carrots, spinach and coriander. I've added a couple of bags of chicken manure and I'm ready to finish this off with a nice mulch of fallen leaves which will have the added benefit of tidying up the garden.

Our garden bed alongside the driveway has recently been ripped out and replanted elsewhere to make room for our new cherry laurel hedge.

We have high hopes that this fast growing dark green beauty will screen out our neighbour in no time at all and look fantastic all year round. I've now got a rather top garden expert on board to help me source plants more cheaply and give me some horticultural advice. Things can only get better!

At last, I have found a fruit that I enjoy in abundance - raspberries!

The few little bushes we planted last year have spread and become a rather large clump full of berries which we have been picking daily as a tasty morning snack followed by a juicy sun kissed afternoon treat. They seemed to last from December right through until now.

Compared to everything else that grows in our garden the raspberry bushes require zero attention and appear to actually thrive on neglect - everyone needs to grow them, they are so easy!

At the moment lemons are in abundance on the tree and they are looking fantastic this year, they really are bursting with flavour. Our lemon has to be the smallest tree in the garden and yet it produces a bumper crop every year.

If anyone fancies a bag of lemons, please let me know as there are hundreds that need a home!

Garden Excitement

I am very excited to be telling you that I have had a fantastic morning going through the whole of our garden with a professional today. 

Olive trees should all reach over the fence this year - fingers crossed.

After 4.5 years, I now know all the species of tree and plants in the garden and how to help them have a happier and healthier life. This has been seriously overdue!

The Italian Courtyard is starting to come together

Surprisingly, we got a big thumbs up from Jeanette Scott, whose parents have owned orchards and land in the area for years and is the guru of all things plant, tree and garden. According to Jen, our trees are looking really healthy and with some serious pruning over the winter (with the assistance of my new found professional gardener) will be looking fabulous and have fruit we can actually reach next year.

Juicy juicy plums

I now have long list of jobs that include feeding, mulching, thinning, some chainsaw action (stand by Mr L'Orange) and then spraying and pruning in the winter. 

My hibiscus plants also need to be moved as they are trees rather than shrubs (bit of a misunderstanding on my part) and need more space and sunshine. Will be sad to move them but imagine them big and beautiful in another garden.

We also had a look at the Darling Cottage garden which whilst beautiful and established, requires quite a bit of maintenance to keep everything looking neat and maintained. So much for my idea that it would be totally low maintenance! 

I think I'll be spending the weekend spraying white oil, feeding all the azaleas and camelias, then trimming everything back before it grows even more out of control.

Lawn Update - Utterly tired of the useless effect of 'weed and feed' on our lawns we have now purchased some hard core weed killer from the Agricultural Store to try and get the many broadleaf weeds killed off. Will report on the results next week.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Plum Time in Orange

We are feeling rather plumtastic at the moment as our plum tree creaks with the weight of hundreds of super juicy plums. This year sees a bumper crop and you really need to eat them outside as the juice squirts everywhere as soon as you take a bite.

The huge amount of rain we received over the weekend has caused some of the fruit to start to split so it is all hands on deck to pick as many plums as possible. As usual it is a battle with the birds who are having a field day in our garden this year.

We actually don't know what to do with all the plums and I am getting pretty fed up picking up the dropped fruit off the ground and composting it all. I could barely drag the compost bin out to the road for collection yesterday, it was so full.

Dog A L'Orange has a really penchant for ripe fruit and trots around the garden eating everything both on the ground and on the tree, frequently giving himself a severe upset stomach in the process. We then have the joys of dealing with his chronic diarrhoea through the night and half eaten plums scattered all over the garden!

There are only so many plums that you can eat and I seem to lack inspiration when it comes to dealing with this overwhelming amount of ripe fruit. I've resorted to driving around Orange dropping off bags of plums to anyone and everyone I know (plus random strangers) as getting anyone to come over and pick wasn't producing results.

I've also organised for a big bag to go to Orange Food Care for their weekly programme, better they go to someone than end up going to waste.

Hope you have all have a fabulous week.

Summer Garden in Orange

Happy New Year! It has been ages since the last garden update so thought you would enjoy a peak at the progress in the Life A L'Orange garden.

Front garden bed all grown from cuttings

It has been a really hot few months, so fed up with losing half my plants each summer, I've implemented a full on watering system to ensure nothing else is lost - so far, so good! All the trees, shrubs & flowers are thriving although the veggie patch seedlings got wiped out in a super hot spell.

Apricot jam and apricot chutney are fantastic.

The fruit tress have been laden to the brim with apricots, plums, nectarines and peaches. After several past jam disasters, we've realised our preserving skills are completely rubbish and best left to the experts.

Plenty of juicy plums for everyone!

The nectarines and peaches are still ripening up but are almost there, as usual it is a battle to beat the birds, however this is the most fruit we have ever had on the trees.

We have given away most of the fruit but luckily our friends are also exceptional cooks and in return drop in a jar of jam or chutney or something they have in excess in return.

Lemons growing on our little tree - should be ready in May

Over the last few months we have been very fortunate to receive lots of cuttings from friends and random gardeners that live near by. I'm really enjoying watching the little cuttings grow and spread as our garden beds slowly start to fill up and look attractive.

I planted a selection of herbs around the courtyard to fill in some small gaps with the hope that I will no longer have to repeatedly pull out weeds in the future. To compliment the 'Italian Courtyard' theme, I've planted oregano, lemon thyme and varigated thyme for some extra colour.

The herbs are growing nicely along the edge of the courtyard

New bench in the courtyard & lovely aggies!

The hibiscus is getting big - might be time to move one to a new spot

Wishing you all a wonderful week and promise to try and do more garden posts in future.