JUST AROUND THE CORNER

Winter's just around the corner.

Most of the Autumn leaves have fallen.

Cotinus Grace is the last to let go of her blazing colour.

The last vestiges of Autumn colour peep from beneath the bare trees.  Winter jobs become apparent- this weeping mulberry needs a Japanese tree prop to counter its lean to the East.

The hydrangeas put on their last shade of colour before they are chopped back for the Winter.

The glorious colours of winter coming

This hydrangea was the most amazing blue until a month ago.

Zelkova in autumn

Margret, whose garden Vizsla Lak, has been open for Gardens of Glenlyon, writes:

Daryl and I planted this tree, tube-stock from Bunnings, when we finished building the jetty in 2006. Red was his favourite colour, so that's why he chose the seedling.  I kept the label, which only had the botanical name, not the common name, Japanese elm.  I didn't know it was a Japanese elm till I looked it up recently.  It had grown to about a metre high by the time he died, but was quite lopsided.  It reminded me of ikebana when the branches were bare. So I pruned it every now and then to improve the balance. The notes say it is a medium to tall deciduous spreading tree with a rounded crown. Leaves turn bronze and red in autumn. Ornamental and shade tree - large gardens and parks.

Autumn
When, in April, Zelkova serata blazes,
Flinging a scarlet cloak against the sky,
And, shrieking in the apple tree, cockatoos
Scatter fruit on the yellowing grass;
When cold stars blink between the clouds
And the Easter moon rises to silver the dam,
While kangaroos pause at the edge to drink,
Pressing footprints into the mud;
When chill air settles, weeping dew
To dampen daybreak's few falling leaves,
Swollen bean pods dry on the vine
And tomatoes linger in the weakening sun
Then the flame robin appears again
And wasps at last retreat from the rain.

The Great Tornado of 28 February 2015 - or - It's an ill wind .......

We were in Christ Church, Daylesford, waiting for the Cologne Orchestra to perform when the Great Tornado raced through Daylesford, clattering the slates on the church roof and damaging the ridge capping. It was terrifying. After the concert we raced home to check for damage, peering around the garden by torchlight. Our worst suspicions were confirmed with two large trees down across the front garden beds and several massive manna gum branches across the fence near the creek - again.

We were devastated. This has happened so many times before, and our garden needed to be ready for Gardens of Glenlyon in August. So the next day, with helpers, son Josh and neighbour Mark, we rolled up our sleeves and cleaned up the mess. Plants were crushed, great yawning gaps left. What now?

Well, is it an ill wind that blows nobody any good? Because we suddenly saw new possibilities for the garden. The missing trees left views through the garden, opening it up. There were attractive things behind!

Ian made two rustic willow sculptures to "fill the gaps", one to be covered in sweet peas (please flower on time!), and one just abstract, built into the stump of the missing Robinia pseudoacacia.

When we moved the flamingo sculpture into that gap too, a kookaburra landed on its head and hunts worms from there now every night.

We then joyfully replanted the "gaps", necessitating many happy visits to nurseries and even the purchase of some bargain pots from a large chain store to create focal points in the garden ... more bird baths, happy birds!

Now we walk around the garden with new vision, reshaping old beds, joining others and having to plant even more areas.  I harvested bulbs to replant, scattered seeds with abandon and envisioned drifts of blooms where there had been only grass.

Who knows whether it will all grow as we imagine. It was probably time for a revamp after 12 years, but for the storm we may not have had the courage to be so radical.

In the end it has been heaps of fun.  Come along to Jenny and Ian's garden in Coomoora 29-30 August during Gardens of Glenlyon and see the results for yourself!

10 tips for the busy gardener - all it takes is 30 minutes

International garden writer and photographer Fran Sorin shares these tips for busy gardeners.  Her website http://www.gardeninggonewild.com/ is an interesting read.

1. Set your intent before you go into the garden. Your attitude has everything to do with how much you’ll benefit from gardening in small chunks of time. If you think of it as a time when you can relax, imagine, be playful, and leave your every day thoughts behind, it will have a positive impact on the outcome.

2. Turn off all phones and technology and allow for no interruptions. This is your quiet, sacred time. If you were meditating or taking a yoga class, you wouldn’t allow your kids, spouse, or friends interrupt you. Don’t allow it in the garden either. If need be, set a timer to let you know when your time is up.

3. Only bring the tools in the garden that you’ll need. Keeping it simple and minimalistic is part of this practice.

4. Do not multitask. Rather, select one area to work on. Don’t let your mind play tricks on you and tell you that you can do a little weeding, planting, and pruning—and somehow you’ll get it all done. Trust me, you’ll walk away feeling frustrated and disheartened if you try to get too many things done in such a short period of time.

5. Once in the garden, stand erect, stretch, take 3 deep breaths in and out.

6. Pause for a moment to awaken your senses: Look around you, touch some leaves or bark, listen to the sounds. Believe it or not, a moment of pausing to awaken your senses ‘with intent’ will open your heart, help stop the inner chatter, and get you into a more grounded place.

7. Whatever task you select to do in the garden, do it with a playful attitude. Remember, it’s not what you do, it’s how you do it. Weeding can be a great deal of fun when you’re on all fours and you allow yourself to feel the roots being uprooted as they come out of the soil.

8. Practice mindful gardening. If you find your mind wandering and thinking about the ‘things you need to do’, pull it back and simply focus on what you’re doing,  just like you would in meditation when you focus on your breath. For example, if you’re pulling weeds and are thinking of the errands you need to do before going to work, gently return your mind to the weeding and say something like, “I’m weeding and enjoying every minute of doing this: I know it’s helping to maintain a thriving, beautiful garden.”

9. Be aware of your body and practice feeling connected to it while gardening. Feel your hands in the dirt, your knees on the grass, etc. Use the time, if you want, to bend, stretch, and even do yoga poses. When I’m weeding on all fours, I often go into a ‘downward dog’ yoga pose for a few minutes to stretch my body and help prevent back pain.

10. When the timer goes off, take a moment to experience and acknowledge feelings of gratefulness for having the opportunity to connect with nature in such a profound way.

HEATING UP FOR WINTER

Mid summer and the livin' is easy, for those without gardens!  There's still all those bulbs to be dug up and divided (the excess goes to streetscaping the Glenlyon village and to the Friends of Wombat Hill Gardens).  Lots of plants that bloomed in the Spring still need a good prune and parts of the garden need re-mulching to protect the plants from the heat.

Winter and spring bulbs are planted now.

There's gardens to water, although the recent rains were just heavenly.  And the veggie patch is going gang busters, with enough vegetables to feed two families.  Peas, beans, beetroot, carrots, sweetcorn, lettuces and zuchini are there for the picking.

Our local male kangaroo who hangs out in the garden has taken a liking to new peas and the tips of the sweetcorn.  And we have always told people that the kangaroos do no harm!  Drats!  Now we have to put on the electric fence each night (which makes no difference to the high flying kanga!) and place nets over the plants.

The best producing plants this year are the fruits- huge loganberries, raspberries, peaches and a great crop of nectarines and plums coming on.  Worth all the effort.

At the back of our minds is the Winter opening of our gardens in August, so preparations have already started.  We have an eye open for spots in the garden that can take a few more plants to lift the winter garden- bulbs, violets, wintersweet and forsythia, to name just a few. There's always a place for some more hellebores, too, which will be planted in late Autumn.

In the meantime, we'll enjoy the fruits of our labour.

The Glenlyon Fine Food and Wine Fayre

Have you ever been to the Glenlyon Fine Food and Wine Fayre?

It might seem a strange question to ask gardeners - but it's not!  Each year a small group of people wander the nearby forests and raid each others' gardens collecting the best of winter growth to decorate the Fayre.

The huge but cosy and warm marquees are decked with huge displays of eucalypts and winter flowering boughs of camellias.  Large sprays of wattles and leucodendrons bring colour to every corner.
This year the Fayre is on Sunday 27 July - that's Sunday coming. The forecast is for sunshine and crisp temperatures - perfect conditions to enjoy the day.

Come and stroll around, glass of wine in hand and admire the flowers as you taste exquisite local produce.