Hello Ladies of the AWG Garden Club. It was lovely being copied in on the recent flurry of correspondence about the gardens of France and to see so many names on the list that I remember with warmth.
Having left France at the beginning of December, we neatly side-stepped winter and went straight back into summer here in Victoria but with it came responsibilities for keeping ahead of the heat and dry conditions. We spent three weeks looking after my daughters' house and garden and quickly learned which plants could survive the brutal afternoon sun and which simply gave up the ghost. Exotics have their work cut out and it is up to the gardeners to find shady protected spots for them and thankfully a couple of large messy gum trees threw enough shadow to protect quite a lot of the hydrangeas. Cannas thrive and the geranium family do well but roses get tired very quickly, and in many respects I suppose it is like gardening in the south of France.
From there we moved up to the mountain area of Victoria known as the High Country and looked after a beautiful property in the Howqua River Valley. The four acre garden had been established nearly a century ago and there were no less than 47 watering points! In the absence of the owner, it fell to us to ensure that hosepipes were connected to various taps and that sprinklers continued to deliver the water to every corner but the results were incredible. In many respects it was like caring for an old English garden with silver birches and oak trees and established roses but all the while, we had a running commentary from the parrots and cockatoos and kookaburras that enjoyed the garden as much as we did.
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| Kate in the rose garden |
After seven weeks at Howqua we were "Head Hunted" by the owners of the Tulara Warmblood Horse Stud and we have moved onto their 900 acre property in the beautiful Tulara Valley adjoining the Samaria Forest National Park.
The owner of the farm is the son of Malcolm Fraser who was Prime Minister back in the 1980's and Malcom's wife Tammie is President of the Australia Open Gardens Association.
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| Some of the 45 Tumala mares on the property |
Autumn is coming and there are wonderful colour statements in the gardens thanks to a variety of maples and shrubs and already there are spikes of daffodils appearing in the ground but we have a long way to go through winter before they will flower.
The locals assure us that it doesn't get any colder than about zero apart from a few really chilly days but we are glad of a large wood burning stove to settle in by in the evenings. Meantime, the days are still warm and sunny and we are truly blessed to be in such lovely surroundings.
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| The view up the valley from Kate's terrace |
This comes with warm greetings to those who remember me and: Sue (Rich.) everything I dreamed of experiencing in this amazing country is coming true and if all goes well, we will be staying put permanently.
All good wishes - Kate
Editor: if anyone would like Kate's coordinates, please email me: awg.scriveners@gmail.com
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