and… then came Flowers
As many of you know Philip and I have moved to Tarras and are establishing a garden within our 6 acres. The plan was fruit and nut trees, hedges of hazelnut and feijoas and a driveway of stunning Autumn and winter colour- all sitting in a meadow of uncut grass with little maintenance . Firstly, there was the white garden, followed by the native bank, pursued by the dry gardened perrenial banks and then a rather big greenhouse, raised vegetable beds and rows of garlic, shallots, onions, leeks and potatoes. And then… a dream to have a cutting flower garden with the aim of drying much of it. Bring on our mulch of sheep dag wool. (supplied by my niece Anna and farmer husband Andy) The winter wool blanket insulated the dahlia tubers and gladioli bulbs during the frosty cold conditions and by late Spring my seeds of Strawflowers, Statice, Giant Zinnias, Cosmos and Gomphrena had been potted on and then planted out amongst the Gladioli bulbs and Dahlias. I hoped I would be able to pick each day for the house and store the dried flowers to sell to florists in the Autumn. However, the picking has to be daily and I’m giving away armloads of gorgeous coloured stems of Gladioli and spiky orange and pink dahlias with many more colours from the new varieties to come .
Our grand children from Auckland have recently visited for a week and each morning they marched up the drive with a basket in hand to open the green house and harvest the never ending cucumbers, courgettes and tomatoes. Picking the berry fruit was all about having enough the make another pot of jam to make Shrewsbury Biscuits and eating the fresh peas on the way back. Cherry picking, strawberry picking and playing with the hose makes summer holidays memorable and exciting. Even if each morning a little face is beside you saying “ Wake Up Grannie”
Gardening is certainly a passion for us and we are surprised by the growth in the extremely hot dry climate where the weather forecast never gets it right and the rain never comes. In saying that I would give anything for some mature trees that give a garden stability and age.
So , Christmas in Melbourne with our Australian family and Hannah for was a fabulous visit and now the last of the summer guests have departed and after enjoying two nights with Jeffrey Chilcott from Piedmonte / Italy and a day of wine tasting in and around us. We are tackling the little jobs that I’m sure everyone has on their list for the New Year - although ours is rather long!!
I am now focused and working on tours for 2024. All the planning and booking has been done, the itinerary is getting padded out with surprise visits, stunning dinners and wine tastings and interesting garden visits. With the help of local guides each tour will have a busy fun time and for France and Italy the opportunity to stay in a gorgeous Villa for a week and be spoilt with Alessandro’s food.
For many people the decision to come on tour has been made . Hense, the availability for some tours is limited. But, the New Year provides a reason to look at what’s ahead and maybe a special, unique small boutique tour might be for you in 2024.
Contact me : judith@judith-cullen.com
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Regards Judith
