February is nearly over

Yes, summer will gradually fade and we will begin to observe the gradual approach of autumn. The mornings will become a little cooler; it will be easier to walk that 5-km (3-mile) route we take each day at 6am. Soon it will be a lot darker at the beginning of the walk. The gardens have suffered a lot of hot weather, no hotter than other years I don't think. There have also been a several inches of rain, which is quite unusual. Nevertheless, at the end of February, we are all beginning to feel like experiencing a lot more rain, and a drop in temperature. At this point may I mention that Rose Garden editor Mark Whitelaw is no longer with us. Sadly, he passed away last Thursday. One of the longer serving writers, he set a wonderful example to all garden contributors. I notice in the Penguin Dictionary of Quotations there are more entries under the word 'rose' and its derivatives than most other words. One that seems very apt at this time is a quotation from T. S. Elliot's Four Quartets, "Burnt Norton", Part I:

Footfalls echo in the memory Down the passage which we did not take Towards the door we never opened Into the rose-garden.

The weather here can be pretty unpleasant if there is no shade in the garden. Sometimes, there is not enough room in the suburban garden to plant large trees. Therefore it is as well to look around for more compact trees such as Golden Robinia (Robinia pseudoacacia). This tree has good-looking foliage of golden green. Looks well planted in the middle of a lawn. I believe that the ash species are pretty good too for the small garden. They offer a wide range of colours and tones that are suitable for this type of garden. The Desert Ash is green, whilst the Claret Ash and the Golden Ash display all there beauty in the autumn. Deciduous trees, all of them, and perhaps a good idea to plant of you don't like the constant sweeping up needed if you have planted eucalypts. As there is only a week of summer left, we should be looking forward to a more equable temperature. This is not always so and there could still be a few more hot days left, so keep on mulching and watering. You will, no doubt, if you have a lawn have spent a lot of time looking after it, and perhaps spent a lot of time watering. You may have considered reducing the size; or removing it altogether. We removed all of our lawn some years ago; need I say we have never regretted this. The maintenance of a fully mulched garden, which consists of a lot of native shrubs, and easily maintained small trees, is much preferable to the worry of a lawn. As well as being a lot more sensible in the use of that precious resource, water.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic