I am NOT a fan of the gardens that seem to be fashionable in New Zealand at the moment. Someone seems to have decreed that everyone should only use native plants in their gardens, but this person has only given them a selection of about three native plants. Don't get me wrong - I love tussocks, flaxes and lancewoods - but they look way better growing wild, there are plenty of other natives that should be used, and on top of this they have become boring, because most gardens look the same.
My frustration with boring gardens has meant I've spent some time thinking about the type of garden I want when I grow up. To be honest, I'm not sure I will ever be a very good gardener and so my dreams of domestic paradise might be delusions. All the same, I am pretty sure of my ideal by now. And it is a cottage garden.
I've spent so much time thinking about it over the last little while that I have even come up with a list of the plants I really want to have in my garden. And here it is, in no particular order:
1. Violets. We used to have violets at the shady bottom of the garden when I was a child. I loved the scent, and the way they seemed so hidden away, like fairies.
2. NZ ferns for a wet shady corner. One native plant I would like to see a lot more of.3. Some sort of climber - there are many options but here are a few I really like:
Hardenbergia.
Wisteria. (Problematic in that it takes ages to grow.)
Clematis.
4. Daffodils and lily-of-the-valley for spring. Of course.
5. A lemon tree. This is one of my top priorities. As you know, I am a lemonophile.
6. Lavender.
7. A plum tree. This is a picture of my big sister and me under the plum tree in our childhood garden. It was grown from a cutting from a tree that my grandfather bred, and so the plums were completely unique to our family and they were the most beautiful plums I've ever had. I would love to see if the current owners would let me take a cutting, one day!
8. Hydrangeas. It took me a while to learn to love hydrangeas. But now I really like them.
9. Hollyhocks.
10. A herb garden is essential.
11. Daisies.
12. Daphne. This is one plant upon which I absolutely insist. Possibly my favourite flower, and definitely my favourite scent.
13. Climbing roses. I like roses of all kinds, really, but my favourites are the smaller, slightly messy-looking ones with an amazing scent.
14. Bellflowers. I discovered these recently. Aren't they pretty?
4 comments:
You can so come plant and prune my garden! I'm sooo bad. I would love a nice cottage garden, too, but it's too much work and money for me at the moment :(
I love this! So beautiful!!
xox
I love all the purples and greens together
Sarah - yes, I never realised how much money you can throw into a garden until my sister and her husband recently started their garden from scratch. Frightening!
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