5 posts tagged “garden”
It's silly to feel affection for plants, I know, but today I mourn the loss of a feisty lavender bush that was striving to grow in my front garden. The landlord sent around a mower man. Well and good. But clearly being able to mow lawns doesn't necessarily make one capable of identifying plants (as opposed to grass, for example, or weeds). And so my little lavender bush fell victim to the whipper snipper and is no more.
(It's true that the roots, some growth close to the ground and three leaves survived. But it's high summer and I fear it won't recover to grow again.)
One of the fun things about renting is seeing what emerges in the garden during the first year.
This amaryllis is already blooming. The spear-like stem is the best part of 80cm tall, and all the wind on the weekend has meant that it can't quite cope with the weight of the flowers. I've tied it up to the fence for some support.
It's spring in Sydney and time to try my hand at Ikebana using the beautiful vase I was given last year.
In my garden I have inherited a lopsided white rose in a pot, a stand of parsley plants, furiously flowering, an African daisy that brings me out in a rash, a kind of tiger lily, an unknown blossoming shrub, a curious spreading succulent, an aloe plant, masses of clivia and an impressive array of amaryllis (or hippeastra), which looked exceedingly phallic until recently when they began to flower. Courtesy of the neighbours I enjoy an old frangipani tree, an umbrella tree, and a climber with a yellow flower, possibly carolina jessamine.
To suit my own tastes I've installed two lavender bushes (one front and one back), some lamb's ear or stacchys (so gorgeous to touch!) and a NSW native flannel flower. And I've added a climber of my own on a bare bit of fence: a potato vine.
