Celebrity Gardener

Ann's Garden My garden is, I think, very well laid out in three main areas or 'rooms'. I cannot take the credit for this as it was an established, though rather neglected, garden when we moved in early in 1996. It has three features which particularly delight me, a circular drive in the first, or front room, a shadehouse running along the back of the house in the middle room and at the back in a far corner a little chook run and house which now houses 5 bantams who keep me constantly supplied with fresh eggs and gobble up unwanted pests when they have the run of the garden each afternoon. In this area summers are hot and often dry so the large native trees round the perimeter of the front area provide most welcome shade. In the centre of the drive is a rose bed. Most of the roses were here when we came though so wild and unpruned they rivalled the tree in the centre. There are some truly lovely ones and I wish I knew their names, but among them I have planted a few favourites, Champagner, Iceberg and Madame X, a lilac rose very similar to Blue Moon. The middle room, opening off the back door, has lawn, flower beds, more roses, mostly miniature, and many of my large collection of plants in pots.It is here we sit to drink coffee under the shade of a potato vine and wisteria. I am an enthusiastic container gardener. My shade house contains many more, I call this my meditation area where I relax just pottering among my plants, cuttings and seedlings. Finally the large back room. Here, as well as the chooks, are fruit trees, grape vines and vegies and in the shade of a large cootamundra wattle the compost bins where thousands of small workers, (worms) turn the garden and kitchen waste into potting mix.