Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Gardening inside and out...

Thank you for all your kind, sympathetic comments about my son's foray into indoor gardening.  What am I talking about?! You all LAUGHED.

Actually I did too but not while I was cleaning the floor and trying to get dirt out of the cracks. (some is there to stay)

Now to my outdoor garden. It's a work in progress so I took a stroll to get some inspiration and see what I should plant to replace my hedges. I found a lot of green. Green, green and more green. When did flowers go right out of style?


Luckily everyone's picked my favourite, the Iceberg rose. They look simply lovely lined up behind a white picket fence and the grey villas I like so much are a perfect backdrop. Icebergs are blousy and beautiful and wonderfully disheveled. We ordered Icebergs for my wedding flowers and the commercial ones looked nothing like they should - they were prim and perfect and quite overworked.
I loved these old-fashioned climbers peeking out from a less than perfect picket fence. The pale pink rose will probably go when the landscape designers move in.
So what did I learn from my garden tour? Green is good. Actually green is god. And lots of structural plants in rows at different heights with dark grey pots and edging. Crisp white paintwork and blousy white roses.

I came home and popped this Nicotiana or flowering tobacco plant in a pot.  I grew these in my London courtyard and they have a beautiful delicate scent in the evening.  Despite the name it is not the scent of smouldering Marlboro Lights.
Luckily hydrangeas are back in fashion - I read that somewhere this week but they're probably only talking about the white ones. I've just planted one in my new patch of soil where the hedge used to be. You know how I like to be dead on trend.

10 comments:

  1. I love green gardens - all formal, box hedging, topiary trees and those pom pom trees! Love them!

    I also secretly love fairy gardens, all wild and self seeded and you just know that pixies, gnomes and wee fairies live there. Totally different from each other, but I love the two styles equally. :)

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  2. I'm about to plant a bottle brush hedge in our Tasmanian garden. Although I haven't yet decided on flower colour - brightest red or pale lemon. And we've just spent a week surrounded by the riotous blue of Sydney's jackarandas, and now we're in Coles Bay, where yellow wattle is everywhere in the bush - so I've got colour on my (gardening) mind right now!

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  3. How typical, I am ALMOST in fashion, of course my hydrangeas are pink instead of white..... But they are alive, and that is pretty much all I aim for with gardening..! What a lovely part of town you live in, great pics:)

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  4. We've been thinking of putting icebergs in our garden too, I'm a bit scared of roses (as in maintaining them) but I think they look beautiful.
    Jxx

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  5. yes snap! I love my hydrangeas too! I love the older houses near my church where there are lots of established plants all over the gardens and loads of hydrangeas! so pretty! I'd have them all throughout my house in lovely white jugs if I was that lucky!

    corrie:)

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  6. So glad you settled on a replacement for the hedge, Ann. I'm a hydrangea girl as well. My parents have always grown them. I find it fascinating to see the colours change depending on the acidity (or is it alkalinity) of the soil. Hmm, do white ones stay white? J x

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  7. Just had to pop over from Retromummy and see your hydrangea post too. I am originally from Auckland and my first hydrangea memory is from my grandmother's garden in Remuera, where she had a whole row from the gate to the garage. Stunning! I also remember Queen Anne's Lace, does anybody grow that anymore?

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  8. Oh dear we are so not in fashion!
    Our garden is a riot of lavenders, pink and silver leaves at present with a single yellow rose that seems to bring it all together!
    I do love the all green and white look but to retain the beautiful simplicity takes a lot of work!!

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  9. Hi - I love your garden but even more your exterior paint colours! Would you mind letting me know what the grey paint colour on your house is??

    Thanks so much!

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    1. Hi Olivia - I hope you are not too disappointed but only the last photo in that post is my old home - you can see it better in this post. http://myvillalife.blogspot.com/2011/06/busy-busy.html

      I loved the colour though! It is Resene Taupe Grey and I would use it again. A x

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Thanks for taking the time to write, Ann x