camellias....how I love thee...

A few years back I decided to plant a small row of 8 camellias to form a hedge along the fence line on the side where my neighbor has his orchard and where my hedge of buxus ends.

 

It is so very pretty... but I do have ONE BIG PROBLEM..!

Out of the 8 plants only 2 have really performed well...

I also have a grapevine planted right in the middle, so I have 4 plants either side. 1 each side doing really well, and 3 each side either with stumped growth or practically dead.

yes there are supposed to be 3 camellias there.. above..all there is now are sticks..

I am pretty upset and disappointed with this hedge. I keep picturing how pretty it would look if all 8 camellias were as nice as the one on the right. Why they all grew differently I don't know. I know they copped a battering with the heat last summer but they were struggling before that. I've already replaced a few of these plants and don't want to go out and spend more money on new ones. So, I've taken a few cuttings but I'll have to wait a while before they reach a decent size.

Ahhh.. the joys of gardening.. if any one has any advice I'd love to hear it.

and here is another pretty camellia, on the other side of my garden, that has really dainty pale pink flowers..

I do have a couple more that haven't opened up yet. Ok, I'm off to improve the soil around my half dead camellias and add some water saving pellets, hopefully that will do the trick.

take care, Maryann

a visit from the Easter Bunny...

Well, look who I saw lurking in my garden... obviously the Easter Bunny!

hope you all have a safe and happy Easter!
take care, Maryann

garden arch progession....

About 8 months ago, I decided to put up an arch along with some climbing roses along my fence line. You can read the original post here with all my inspiration photos. Well here is what it looks like today. With winter just round the corner I don't think it will get any better than this until next spring.

Here is a reminder of what it looked like then...

   I put crushed rock at the back and and 3 square stepping stones towards the front.

as you can see the little dianthus on the RHS with the pink dainty flowers are not as big as the one on the LHS. That's because I stuffed up and bought only 1 plant and tried to divide it into 2. Ofcourse it didn't work and the one on the RHS originally died so then I had to wait till the other one grew big enough for me to take a couple of pieces for me to replant. Yeah, I do that a lot buying one plant and dividing it into 2. Doesn't always work. 

I'm afraid the pictures don't really bring out how pretty this area is, my camera is not the best. I have planted lavender and dianthus with tiny pink flowers either side, Piere de Ronsard over the arch and another little pink rose in the pots. Towards the back on the RHS I planted some lilac colored iris. I love this little section of the garden and enjoy seeing it every time I hang up the clothes!

Bye for now, take care,

Maryann

pretty new quilt..

I don't frequent the shops that often. Apart from grocery shopping I probably only look around homewares shops every 4 to 6 weeks. Which is probably a good thing as I can be a little impulsive with my shopping. Anyhow I had been wanting a couple of white euro shams for my bed for a while so whilst out shopping last week I walked into My House and low and behold I found some. The original price $49.95 each... 'but I think these are on a good special' .. said the sales assistant.. as she checks at the cash register ..only  $18.95.

What about the quilt cover that matches? I yelled out from across the shop.. is that on a good special too? It was marked $229.00 which also included the pillowcases. Holding my breath as she checked... she yells out $75. I'll take it! I couldn't believe my luck to have found something so perfect for a really good price.

The ruffled bedskirt I've had for a while and the round frilly cushion and neck roll I purchased not long ago for $15 each from catchoftheday. I couldn't make them for that price!

It's made of all white cotton and features pin tucking, embroidery, ruching and more. The top of the quilt cover is actually lightly quilted so I can use it on it's own in Summer. With the days now cooling down for Autumn I probably will change it over for something else, but I just had to show you before it gets packed away.

I am still tweaking my room but as usual it's taking longer than I thought. Next on my 'to do' list in here is change out the bedside lamps.

take care, Maryann

ps. if anyone in Aussie is interested the quilt set is called 'Celine'

garden feature...

Well, I just managed to finish another part of my side garden. This is the BEFORE ...
it's the section where the bare dirt is next to the yellow pot on the left hand side...this is looking at it from the front of the house...

Now after a hard day of back breaking work it looks like this...

I took it on myself and boy am I out of shape. It was pretty hot too that day so everything I did was in slow motion and I had to keep resting. I removed all the weeds, carried up the pavers from the stack we have waaay down the back of our property in 4 goes with a wheel barrow, added water saving pellets and lime as the ground here is very dry and hard. then put down all the mulch.

I would have liked some sort of pond or water feature round the urn but with neighbors ducks living next door they would probably end up living at my place. So I had to forget about that idea.

  I planted mondo grass (which I have tons of) round the outer edge and some bushes with pretty pink and golden foliage. (not sure what it's called) I am hoping they will join up and form a small hedge round the base.

Not sure about that pot on top, I have had it for ages and a lot of the paint has come off the bottom. I might have to paint it along with the pillar. To give the feeling of a water fountain I decided to put a reddish colored grass like plant on top. I like how it turned out, and can admire it sitting in my family room. 

take care, Maryann