By Beatrice Hawkins
In a previous garden I had some beautiful hellebores or “winter roses” growing and they were a true delight as one of the late winter and very early spring flowers.
It was a much colder area than Warwick and they were in a semi shaded area on the south western side of the house.
I have wanted to grow them again and now think I have found a spot in my current garden and will find some in a nursery soon.
The range of colours has increased greatly in the intervening years and I look forward to finding some in a range from pale green through to deep burgundy and even some double forms.
They may have to be grown in pots, as a neighbouring hedge with an invasive root system in the area where I am thinking of planting, tends to take any moisture I supply and makes it very hard to grow anything there.
I have some rather large, rectangular, above ground garden beds and they may be the answer. They would contain the plants but also let them multiply over the next few years and provide a good display.
Problem solved!
In the same garden I inherited a yearly delight with the arrival of self sown violas or “Johnny Jump Ups”, the tiny cousins of pansies.
They were always a delightful surprise as you never knew exactly where or in which garden bed they would appear.
Like Alyssum, the “sweet Alice”, of my childhood, they would just appear and fill in spaces with colour. Neither one is a perennial, but once established, they self seed and are “perennially” there!
Another delight beneath a dining room window, was a bed of beautiful fragrant white tuber rose.
The perfume was beautiful. I planted them as a remembrance of their inclusion in my wedding bouquet many years before. Once again I think I have found a space for them in my current garden.
Sometimes it is good to be away from home and able to give time and thought to where things might be able to be planted without the distraction of seeing exactly what is already included or the weeds that need removing and lawns that need mowing!
Something that is definitely going to be planted as a border is one of the many varieties of cat mint. The grey green foliage and flush of soft mauve flowers make a nice border and as they are tolerant of dry conditions, like full sun and good drainage, should work well as an addition to my front garden and be an attraction to the bees and butterflies.
Recently I’ve read about Baptista Australis.
Now, with a name like that, you could be forgiven for thinking it is native to Australia, but no, it comes from the baking dry summers of Texas!
Australis evidently just means “south” and it grows well from the heat of Texas, through the humidity and cold of some of the other southern states of America.
It looks to me like a variety of lupin that I’ve seen naturalised on roadsides in WA.
Those plants are escapees from commercial lupin growers and grain trucks as the harvest is transported about. They are also seen in a lovely bright yellow and white.
The 3 colours look amazing together and put on a lovely show on country roadsides.
Baptista is a very hardy perennial liking full sun, sandy soils through to clay but won’t tolerate wet feet. It should thrive in our area once established but the advice is.. just don’t try and move it!
A deep tap root is why it does so well on a limited water supply.
Russell lupins have always been a favourite of mine from when I first grew them in the garden at Mudgee many years ago and are also a must have for my current thoughts on new plantings for my garden.
If you have the room, perennial Rudbekia or Black eyed Susan seems like a good idea also as it is a drought tolerant, yellow or orange, butterfly and bee attracting, taller growing beauty to add colour and height to a garden.
Another that fits this category and is extremely long flowering, is the bright yellow coreopsis.
These days they also come in a variety of colours from the common yellow to bi colours and even pink.
Mixed in with these larkspurs and delphiniums would look great and continue a blue and yellow theme.
Salvias and sage in there many forms and colours are other favourites. Maybe I am going to have to increase the size of my garden to grow all the things I’d like!
Where I am at the moment I am seriously envying the wonderful, free draining, beautifully fertile, red loam that will grow the lawn and gardens around the family’s new home.
Watching the plumber dig the trenches for the storm water pipes and seeing no end to the depth of the soil I really am seriously envious!
What a joy it is going to be for them to garden here.
It really will be a case of just add water and watch everything, from vegetables to flowers and fruit trees, flourish.
With the Darling River flowing by just metres away and supplying the stock and domestic water source, I can’t wait to see the progress next year.
*This is an old article that has been digitised so our readers have access to our full catalogue.
