I’ve always wanted a walled garden, with espaliered fruit trees and roses growing against old bricks. Unfortunately this is completely out of my reach. For many years my husband and I owned a holiday lodge on an old estate at Marlow in the UK called Harleyford. Only
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I came across a pile of garden magazines in a recent declutter and one in particular brought back uncomfortable memories. In the 1980s I was working fulltime, but also trying my hand as a freelance writer. In 1988 my husband Rob and I bought our first freestanding
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Growing fruit in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales is a challenge, and apples are no exception. Oh dear, so much competition from the wildlife, including bush rats, possums, parrots and satin bowerbirds! I suspect a possum is the culprit in the following photo. Crimson rosella
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Who would imagine that dear old hydrangeas would hold up so well during the 2019/20 fires and heatwave conditions in the NSW Blue Mountains? The origin of the name seems to contradict the very notion that they would! ‘First discovered in Japan, the name hydrangea comes from
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Foxgloves (digitalis purpurea) fill me with nostalgia. My mother grew them in her rural Tasmanian garden. ‘Don’t touch them’, she would tell us, ‘they’re poisonous. ‘ Naturally my sister Robbie and I defied her by sticking our fingers into the little ‘gloves’ with a mixture of fear
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Where would we gardeners be without our wheelbarrows? I have early memories of being carted out in one by my older siblings. They have always provided fun for kids. I was interested to discover that the development of the wheelbarrow began in China around AD200. Chuko Liang,
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In 1984 my darling mother Myra was suffering from the ovarian cancer that took her life. While I was visiting her in Tasmania I noticed a cheeky little frog on her bedside table. ‘He cheers me up’, she said. I could see why; he was adorable. Froggy
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Carpets of autumn leaves are truly the Axminsters of the earth. I know there are wonderful carpets of blossom in spring, but autumn is definitely the main period for appreciating Mother Nature’s work. It’s one of the main reasons I moved from Sydney to the Blue Mountains
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ORIGINS OF THE FARM Following the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong during World War II, many farmers were destitute and unable to produce sufficient food for the enormous influx of refugees. In 1951, Hong Kong businessman Lord Lawrence Kadoorie and his brother Sir Horace Kadoorie, formed an
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Like most people, I have a garden full of plants given to me by friends and neighbours. They are all very special. Some years ago I went on an outing to the home of the late Laurel Phillips, a life-member of our local garden club at Blackheath,
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