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Tag Archives: Gardening Blog

A Visit To Mayfield Garden

15 Friday Nov 2013

Posted by gardensandpolkadots in Gardens, Polka Dots

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Cool Climate Garden, garden design, Gardening Blog, Landscapes, Largest Garden, Mayfield Garden, Open Gardens, Serendipity, Serendipity Garden Designs

One of the nicest ways to spend a weekend is to pack a bag, grab your respective other, in my case Dave, head on up to the Blue Mountains and pick up your newly married friends on the way. What ensues is a laughter filled weekend which includes a gorgeous timber cabin, home cooked meals, red wine, market wanderings, a few cheeky purchases and a stroll around an open garden.

Imagine the Most Beautifully Scented Rose You Have Ever Smelt And I Promise You This Rose Would Match It

Imagine the most beautifully scented rose you have ever smelt and I promise you this rose would match it

In this case the open garden is Mayfield Garden, located near Oberon in the Central West Tablelands of New South Wales on the western side of the Blue Mountains. Mayfield Garden is one of the ‘largest privately owned cool climate gardens in the world’. Purchased in 1984 by the Hawkins family, the garden has evolved to represent a grand English garden in the Australian climate. Nestled within a working farm, the extensive garden is made up of garden rooms that are joined by meandering paths and large expanses of lush green lawn. While the garden is very much a work in progress with areas still under construction and plants yet to fill out to their mature potential, there are some wonderful spaces within the garden. For example, you can wander through the Birch trees, explore the Pine trees, smell the divine roses and listen to water cascade over the many water features and water falls.

The Water Garden

The Water Garden

To say this garden is big is an understatement, it’s huge and requires around three hours to see it all. We took 2.5 hours with the only stops reserved for smelling roses and taking pictures and I was happy with that.

The House

The house

It was a joy to wander through the garden, map in hand but still not know what to expect at each destination. Within minutes of entering the garden you realise that this garden is more than just a hobby, it is a passion, filled with bold statements and attention to detail. For example, the aviary is an almighty bird enclosure containing its own mini garden. The chicken coop – well it’s more like five star chicken heaven thank you. Those chickens must be the happiest chickens on the Central West Tablelands – if not, dare I say it, the earth!

A Chicken Coop For The Happiest Chickens On Earth

A chicken coop for the happiest chickens on earth

Chicken Heaven

Chicken heaven

The highlight of Mayfield Garden for me was the grass roofed ‘Studio’. A gorgeous timber cabin up on a hill away from the main house with Birch trees planted on one side and sweeping lawn on the other. We imagined what sorts of arty endeavours might take place in the studio from painting and sculpture to stone masonry and artists retreat, who knows. What we did fancy though was ourselves perched on the veranda with a cold glass of anything we like looking out over the sun kissed countryside.

The Highlight Of The Garden - The Grass Roofed Studio

The highlight of the garden, the grass roofed studio

The Studio - The Roof Is A Field Of Green

The studio, the roof is a field of green

Exquisite Timber Work On The Front Door Of The Studio

Exquisite timber work on the front door of the studio

If you also had the opportunity to visit Mayfield Garden you may have been disappointed with the number of roped off ‘No Entry’ areas within the garden. I understand the need to keep prying eyes away from the family house that is reasonable and expected. But to advertise a garden maze and parterre then have no access I must admit was disappointing. I have mentioned that the garden is a work in progress and the maze planting still has a bit of growth to go before enclosing the occupant within, however the child within fancied a wander through the maze and she wasn’t allowed anywhere near it. The Parterre was also roped off too. Maybe it was because there wasn’t a skerrick of plant to be seen within its borders, who knows. Hopefully by the next open garden the Parterre will be richly planted, the maze will be amazing and visitors can explore both.

The Maze - No Entry

The Maze from the outside

Behind The Pleached Hedge - The Parterre. No Entry!

Behind the pleached hedge is the Parterre.

Aside from these disappointments, I did enjoy my wander around Mayfield Garden. I look forward to revisiting one day and seeing how the garden has matured and whether the grand ideas of Mr Hawkins have come to fruition. But only if I can get lost in childhood excitement within the maze.

The Walled Potager

The Walled Potager

Inside The Walled Potager, Espaliered Edible Fig

Inside the walled potager, espaliered edible fig

Inside The Walled Potager, The Garden Beds

Inside the walled potager, the garden beds

Liriodendron tulipifera - Tulip Tree

Liriodendron tulipifera, Tulip Tree

A Landscape Of Green And Maroon

A landscape of green and maroon

Divine Climbing Roses

Divine climbing roses

Tiny Pine Cones

Tiny pine cones

The Crocket Lawn, With Not A Blade Of Grass Out Of Place

The crocket lawn, with not a blade of grass out of place
Water Cascade. Built By The Romans? No, But It's Built To Last

Cascade. Built by the romans? No, but it’s built to last

The View From The Top Of The Water Cascade

The view from the top of the cascade

Beautiful Detail On The Pergola

Beautiful detail on the pergola

The Beginnings Of A Pleached Hedge

The beginnings of a pleached hedge

The Bridge - It's a Very Large Bridge

The bridge, it’s a very large bridge built with Blue Stone

The Red Bridge In The Water Garden

The red bridge in the Water Garden

I hope you enjoyed your tour through Mayfield Garden, perhaps one day you’ll get the chance to visit and see it in all it’s grandeur.

Mayfield Garden, 350 Mayfield Road Oberon, is open in Autumn 2014 on these dates; April 26th & 27th. May 3rd & 4th.

Until next time.

Carmel

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Spring! Spring! Spring!

06 Friday Sep 2013

Posted by gardensandpolkadots in Gardens, Interesting, Polka Dots

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Tags

Flowers Festivals Sydney, Garden Carnivals, garden design, Garden Festivals, Gardening Blog, Serendipity Garden Designs, Spring Festivals, Spring Flower Festivals, Spring Flowers, Spring Gardens

Spring is here!!

Some would say that it has been here a few weeks already and judging by the blooms bloomin outside my kitchen window, I couldn’t agree more. To say we had a tough winter in Sydney would be an exaggeration worthy of being publicly shamed on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Don’t even suggest it.

Do however, delight in spring time. Oh yes, please do!

Actinotus helianthi - Flannel Flower

Actinotus helianthi – Flannel Flower

It’s a time when the sun is noticeably higher in the sky, the colours in our landscape get brighter, our gardens get fuller and our jackets, heavy scarves and woollen hats get stored away to make way for summer dresses, sun hats and bikinis (if that’s your preference).

Actinotus helianthi - Flannel Flower

Actinotus helianthi – Flannel Flower

If my comment ‘our gardens are getting fuller’ has made your heart skip for all the wrong reasons never fear, I say, delight in other peoples gardens, like I do. Dave and I have our own little botanical wonders occurring in the garden (those of you following SerendipityDGSN on Instagram will be familiar with our planting and flowering successes). But by no means do we have our dream garden, not at the moment anyhow and not in our current digs. So spring is the perfect time for us to to get out amongst it and visit Open Gardens, spring flower festivals and delight in others people’s gardening passion.

Anigozanthos sp. - Kangaroo Paw - Orange

Anigozanthos sp. – Kangaroo Paw – Orange

There is so much happening right around Australia during spring, from shows to festivals. So, here is a very, very (very, very) short list of a some events that might be worthy of slapping on some sunscreen and popping on a sun hat to visit.

Westringia fruticosa - Coastal Rosemary

Westringia fruticosa – Coastal Rosemary

New South Wales:

Australian Garden Show Sydney – 5th to 8th September 2013 at Centennial Park

It’s happening right now so get your hat on, grab your sunscreen and your camera, purchase your ticket/s (online of course) and get movin’. I’ll see you there!

Daffodils at Rydal – 7th September to 8 September 2013 and 14th to 15th September 2013 with lots of other planty stuff happening on other weekends during September and October.

Swaths of Daffodils can be seen in private gardens and in public open spaces during the Oberon and Villages Spring Garden Festival.

ACT:

Floriade – 14th September to 13th October 2013 Commonwealth Park Canberra

Canberra celebrates all things spring and bulby. And don’t forget to visit NightFest when Floriade comes alive after dark with entertainment, cocktails and a night market or market and cocktails. We all know what happens when we cocktail and shop.

Victoria:

Kyneton Daffodil and Arts Festival – 5th to 15th September 2013 Kyneton

Kyneton is making quite a name for itself with much desired country living, beautiful architecture, cool climate gardens and a bounty of beautiful shops. During Septmeber pay a visit to the Flower Show (7th and 8th) and the many, many open gardens.

Queensland:

Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers 2013 – 20th to 29th September 2013 Toowoomba

Oh my goodness! There’s so much on, check out the website for more information.

Tasmania:

Spring Community Festival – 5th & 6th October 2013 Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens Hobart

The name says it all really, Spring… Community… Festival… and translates to plants, flowers, food, wine, entertainment, family.

Western Australia:

I tell you what, hop on the next west bound Indian Pacific train and report back to me. Just being in Western Australia at this time of year is a showcase, festival, carnival and open garden. It most certainly is on my to do list. There was chatter about it this year but it didn’t get over the line.

Northern Territory:

Maya’s Garden – 7th & 8th September 2013 Malak (Open Gardens Australia) If tropical gardens are your thing Darwin is the perfect place to see them. This South East Asian inspired garden will have you lusting after a tropical oasis of your very own.

Tupils - Lanka

Tupils – Lanka

There’s a few spring garden festivals to get you started. As I mentioned this is a very short list, there are many, many more than this so keep your eyes peeled and feel free to share any that you’d like to promote or any that you attend and think are worthy of a mention. If you’d like to share any pictures feel free to visit Serendipity Garden Designs on Facebook and leave them there.

Epidendrum sp. - Crucifix Orchid

Epidendrum sp. – Crucifix Orchid

I have not been asked to promote these gardens, festivals or shows, I just thought I’d let you know of a few so you can get out there with other like minded people and share your passion and/or growing interest in gardens and all things planty.

Have a wonderful spring weekend.

Until next time.

Carmel

All pictures taken by me in my garden.

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Winter Garden Wonderland

21 Friday Jun 2013

Posted by gardensandpolkadots in Gardens, Polka Dots

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Gardening, Gardening Blog, Serendipity, Serendipity Garden Designs, Snow Covered Gardens, Winter Gardens

We are literally in the throes of winter here in the southern hemisphere. Its cold out and most often cold indoors too in our homes built for hot summers and glaring sunshine.

I have to admit that winter isn’t my favourite time of year but as I get older I have begun to appreciate it more and look for the wonder in it. There is a point in summer where I look forward to the winter chill, wrapping a woollen scarf around my neck and popping a cute little hat on my head before venturing outdoor. And living in Sydney provides me easy access to far cooler climates, the Blue Mountains, Mudgee, Canberra, Southern Highlands to name but a few.

I am yet to see snowfall in Australia but I have seen it when living and travelling overseas.

Here are some gorgeous snow covered gardens and winter plant pictures. I hope they bring a smile to your face, warm your spirit and help you to see the beauty that winter really does bring to our neighbourhoods (even if it doesn’t snow where you are!).

Versailles in Winter

Versailles in Winter

Japanese Snow Covered Garden

Japanese Snow Covered Garden

Paris in Winter

Paris in Winter

Outdoor Public Space Covered in Snow

Outdoor Public Space Covered in Snow

Winter Berries

Winter Berries

The Snow Can't Keep These Little Guys Down (Leucojum - Snowflake Bulb)

The Snow Can’t Keep These Little Guys Down (Leucojum – Snowflake Bulb)

The Winter Walk at Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire.

The Winter Walk at Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire.

Until next time.

Carmel

Top On Day // Itamae Rider  // Paris Perfect //

Open Spaces Fengshui //  Guardian // MNN // East Of England

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Foraging For Fungi

24 Friday May 2013

Posted by gardensandpolkadots in Polka Dots

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Tags

Blue Mountains, Garden Blog, Gardening Blog, Mushroom Foraging, Mushroom Picking, Mushroom Soup, polka dots, Serendipity Garden Designs, Wild Mushroom Picking

When I think of mushroom picking it creates romantic images of skipping through the forest, with basket over arm, collecting wild mushrooms and returning to a hill side cabin to cook them up in the most delicious of ways. My imagination obviously leans toward European foraging…

The Blue Mountains from Mt Tomah Botanic Gardens

The Blue Mountains from Mt Tomah Botanic Gardens

Recently I spent a polka dot filled weekend in the Blue Mountains (NSW) with my husband, Dave. Dave is an ideas man, but not only does he have the ideas he follows through and makes those ideas come to life. It’s very exciting to be me (sometimes – depends on the idea!)… and this time the idea was mushroom picking in a pine forest which we did near Oberon, west of the Blue Mountains.

Dave did all the research required including what mushrooms would be growing, what mushrooms to avoid, where they were growing and how to find them. So we set out from Leura after a spot of shopping (Yay! that was my idea) to find a pine forest that would yield us our mushrooms.

Foraging and finding -  perfect!

Foraging and finding – perfect!

The mushrooms that we were looking for were wild mushrooms, in our case Saffron Milk Caps. They can be found in pine forests from late February to early May. We drove looking for Hampton State Forest – persistence is the key here. After driving for what felt like ‘too long’ we came across the odd cluster of pine trees, then some more clusters of pine trees. These were either too difficult to get to or didn’t have any mushrooms. So we kept driving and there it was, football field after football field sized areas of stumps. The loggers had been and there were no trees in sight. But, we didn’t give up, we kept driving until on the not too distant horizon we could see the tips of more, lots more trees, enough pine trees to be called a forest. And that is exactly what we were looking for.

Careful does it. Once you have cut the stem you cover the part that is left in the ground with pine needle, that way you encourage the mushroom to shoot again next year.

Careful does it. Once you have cut the stem you cover the part that is left in the ground with pine needles, that way you encourage the mushroom to shoot again next year.

I should mention here that there was no skipping, only precarious foot steps to avoid treading on pine needle obscured mushrooms or running into a spider’s web (I didn’t want to disturb any of the wild life either). There was no basket (because I forgot to bring it – shame on me and my mushroom foraging), but we did have, you guessed it, recycled paper mushroom bags, the ones we all know and love. There was however a hillside cabin to return to, but no cooking, we waited until we were in our own kitchen (to keel over and pass out…) to cook them.

Two for one!!!

Two for one!!!

Even though Dave had done the research I was still a little concerned that we were picking wild mushrooms. When the first one went into the bag I remember saying to him, ‘don’t lick your hands or smell you hands or put them near your face and don’t eat any!’ The look of response on his face was mixed. It said ‘don’t you trust me’ and ‘how bloody stupid do you think I am?’

All up we collected about two bags worth of mushrooms to take home, that was plenty for the two of us.

Mushroom foraing success.

Mushroom foraging success.

The mushrooms travelled back to Sydney with us where Dave cooked up a pot of soup. I have to be honest the images crossing my mind of newspaper headlines containing my name very close to the words fatal and mushroom did not help my wild mushroom soup go down. I tried but there was a very definite divide within my brain, ‘it’s totally fine – we’ve done the research’ and ‘it’s oh so not fine – we’ve never done this before’. Even after each mouthful Dave had, I asked if he was ok.

Wild mushroom soup. It's orange due to the bright orange sap that seeps out of the cut end of the mushroom.

Wild mushroom soup. It’s orange due to the bright orange sap that seeps out of the cut end of the mushroom.

Even while eating the soup I kept searching the internet for things that would ease my mind. But it wasn’t very ‘eased’ when Deathcap Mushroom came up in a Google search.

Sadly I didn’t finish my soup, as I write this it sits waiting in my fridge at home. And that brings up a whole other concern, ‘should you keep wild mushroom soup?’, ‘will mushrooms that have been cooked and stored produce a highly toxic substance that renders them DANGEROUS???’. Reasonable or unreasonable, I’m not too sure!

Now here comes the warning…

I cannot stress to you enough that you should never, ever eat wild mushrooms unless you are 100% certain that you know what the mushroom is and that it is non toxic and suitable for eating. Some mushrooms are highly poisonous and eating them could be fatal. If you are not sure of the identification of the mushroom, don’t touch them, leave them where they are. A leaflet and directions are available from the Oberon Visitor Information Centre.

Dave and I survived… of course we survived, we had done the research and knew exactly what we were picking and eating. When there was any doubt as to the identification of a mushroom we left it alone. As they say, it is better to be safe than sorry.

Until next time

Carmel

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Giving Bulbs A Go!

10 Friday May 2013

Posted by gardensandpolkadots in Gardens

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Autumn Planting Bulbs, bulbs, Bulbs in Pots, Flowering, flowers, Gardening, Gardening Blog, Serendipity Garden Designs, Spring Flowering, Spring Flowering Bulbs

We know the cooler weather is upon us when the local garden-centre shop is filled with an assortment of spring flowering bulbs in an array of flowers and colours. The excitement and anticipation of the colours and arrangements that can be created in our gardens is wondrous.

Ambition is the key to success.

Ambition is the key to success. Right?

If you already know which bulbs you’ll be planting you can go straight for them and get them in your hot ‘green’ hands. For others it is a chance to riffle through the assortment of flowers and colours to choose the ones that tickle their fancy. Ensure that you choose bulbs that will suit the conditions that you can provide.

One day I too will have a pot of red Tulips!!!

One day I too will have a pot of red Tulips!!!

Last year I tried my hand at growing both Tulips and Hyacinth flowers, you may remember I wrote a post about it. You can read ‘It’s Bulb Planting Time’ here. I was very excited! I chose the bulbs, chilled them, got my pots, asked the husband where the soil was and planted my little bulbs. I had them in a great position on the north side of my house and I lovingly watered and cared for them. You can see where this is going can’t you… Well, don’t get too sad, it’s not all doom and gloom on the bulb front. I was a little disappointed with the result, but I did get some Hyacinth flowers and the scent of them knocked my socks off! I also got to glimpse some tulip leaves, but that’s as far as the tulip story goes.

A spike of perfumed Hyacinth flowers - that I grew.

A spike of perfumed Hyacinth flowers – that I grew.

In my defence I’ve never said I was a master horticulturist, I’ve only ever said I would give it a go, and that is exactly what I encourage you to do too. It’s one thing to know ‘stuff’, it’s another thing to make the ‘stuff’ you do know about gardens work. And that is what I love about gardening. It is seeing past the, what shall we call them… how about ‘the troubles’… seeing past the troubles, making adjustments and learning from the experience. That is what I think gardening is, some people have breathtaking eye-candy results (also known here as Polka Dots) while others plod along anticipating the next attempt.

This was my eye candy.

This was my eye candy.

But I think I know where I went wrong, actually it’s a few little but significant things.… I think it is a problem most of us have created all in the name of making do – it was bulb planting on a budget.

The soil I used was rubbish – in my quest to assemble all that was required to plant my bulbs I was directed to nutrient poor, unstructured soil. Good, nutrient rich soil is something I never skimp on when planting but it seems I inadvertently did so in this case. Don’t worry, I now have a stash of soil that I can put my hot ‘green’ hands on when I need.

Here you can see the beginning of the Hyacinth. This is where is gets exciting

Here you can see the beginning of the Hyacinth. This is where is gets exciting.

The second problem was the pots, they just weren’t deep enough and I wasn’t able to plant the bulbs deep enough in the soil. I had a gorgeous little weather worn terracotta pot that I thought my flowering Hyacinth would look spectacular in and it did, this one did flower but it wasn’t very big. A little rustic, a little old world, just scrumptious, but I think the bulbs would have done a whole lot better if the pot was deeper.

Can't you just imagine a gorgeous Tulip emerging out of this weather terracotta pot?

Can’t you just imagine a gorgeous Hyacinth emerging out of this weathered terracotta pot?

I have not been deterred. The excitement and anticipation of the coming flowers is such a lovely gardening experience. It’s what gardening dreams are made of.

One open flower and still more to come. Yippee!

One open flower and still more to come. Yippee!

So, I encourage you to come along on the bulb growing journey. It’s fun, it’s unexpected and you never know, you may just succeed and have a pot full of eye candy.

Until next time, happy bulb growing

Carmel

Pictures – assorted bulbs in pots and red tulips Bulb Blog

All other pictures Serendipity Garden Designs

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Aside

Welcome…

26 Monday Mar 2012

Posted by gardensandpolkadots in Gardens

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Balcony Plants, Courtyards, Garden Blog, garden design, Gardening, Gardening Blog, Gardens, Gardens and Polka Dots, Indoor Plants, landscape design, Planting, plants, polka dots, Serendipity, Serendipity Garden Designs, Vegetable Gardens, Vegetables

Welcome to Gardens and Polka Dots.

This is a place where you can come to see interesting gardens of old world classic beauty, modern ideas or where you can marvel at the innovation of great garden designers, landscape architects and engineers. I love the outdoors and am continually inspired by the magic that some designers are able to achieve.

But what are the Polka Dots, I hear you ask? Well Polka Dots are for the finer things in life, like, a day at the beach when the sky blends effortlessly into the sea…a cup of coffee with a rosette on top… a glass of Rosé that smells like summer and looks like sunshine… a smile from a friend at just the right time… a fig picked from the tree and shared…

They are the unexpected surprises in our lives that seem to just appear from out of nowhere. However, some Polka Dots are always there, we just haven’t noticed them yet.

I am always on the lookout for Polka Dots during my day. In fact I can see one now, a Dragonfly with a red tail just landed on the fence outside my window. It could have picked any window, but it picked mine. How lucky. And off it flies…

Please feel free to share any Gardens or Polka Dots that you discover during your day. Who knows, maybe there is a Polka Dot just outside your window.

Thanks for visiting, I hope you enjoy Gardens and Polka Dots.

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