All quiet on the Western Avenue front

News has reached us about the outcome of the recent "Gardening on the edge" festival in which our garden "The Shambles", and five others, was open for the Queens Birthday weekend.
Apparently 1700 people attended of whom more than 1100 visited our garden so that after costs $15,000 was raised for various local organizations and charities.
We are most pleased that the Montville rural Fire brigade received $1500 and the Blackall range Care Group $5000.
The garden was almost completely unscathed by so many visiting feet and had quite a lot of colour and interest on show. Now nearly a fortnight later the weather is cool to cold and showery. Plant growth and flowering has really slowed down and our deciduous trees have finally declared autumn/winter. Confused Jonquils are flowering and many ever reliable hady perennials are carrying on with blousy flowers regardless.
The visit by about thirty members of the International tropical Foliage and Garden Society was very friendly and enjoyable but I'm sure that they felt as though they were visting East Sussex rather than East Timor! We thank them for a gift of a special Anthurium and a bottle of wine.
Picture: Iochroma cyaneum
We are glad to have our privacy back. It's very important for us and for our poor old garden, and our dog, to be able to relax for a while.
Our next visitors will be from Heritage Roses in Australia on 26th July to help bash our errant old fashioned roses into shape, while attempting to prune and feed them for the visit , on 5th October of the National tour of Heritage Roses in Australia, "Rainforest to Roses"

we'll get out of your way now , get back into slippers and dressing gown, Gate Locked
michael Simpson

Typical Montville weather.

A short drive from Brisbane ,Montville seems to have a totally different weather forecast. It is raining and foggy again here today and cooler too. Just when we thought winter wasn't happening.
The rain is a god send for my cuttings and means I don't have to water them with the watering can for a few days.I love propagating plants and it is always rewarding to see how quickly you can grow new plants in the right conditions. When I see the retail cost of plants, it has to be something really special or a complete impulse buy for me to spend the money.
In my garden there is also the matter of making space for cuttings as my potting area is already full and is not in the best place for the winter months. I can see that my cuttings will be taking over all available pathway space for the time being.I just need more land!
In my search for sun I am planning to move my vegetable box to the back of the house below the back verandah. This spot originally supported a very large vegetable and herb garden before the pool was put in. Other plans include working on the area where the Bauhinia Tree was removed and planting up the understory at the rear of the property.
The fact is that even if nothing happens in my garden I still love it. It is constantly changing and growing and provides us with endless topics of conversation.
I think if you are lucky enough to have a partner who shares a love of gardening you will never be short of discussion. You can talk about the health and growth of plants ,garden design
ideas ,the past developments of your garden and the future of your garden for ever.
I wonder what the non gardeners talk about?

Roses are not our only interest but we are very happy to grow more and more old fashioned types which thrive in our climate

What to do with truck loads of garden trimmings. We use a chipper shredder for some, some is taken to local greenwaste and some is burnt. I don't think city prople have all those options.
Then we put back our mulch, mushroom compost, buried kitchen scraps and things and wait for the rain.
There is no irrigation system here. Just a very wide selection of plants grown with thick layers of mulch and companion plants

At last a sunny day in february 2007.
Constant rain has meant constant growth of shrubs, trees, lawn and the roses themselves.
We have spent some time doing major tree trimming, mulching and weeding. Pruning shrubs which are not in flower bud will mean more summer growth will restore their shape before winter.
Many shrubs in flower including roses, salvias, tibouchina, plumbago, rosemary, westringea, holmskioldia and some bulbs are bursting forth.

Constant Gardening
Constant gardening is what we do at Montville in South East Queensland.
It's not enough that we have developed our own little sub tropical paradise here over the last 17 years. We have written a book to celebrate our garden.
"The Shambles, the Story of a Montville Garden" launched on Australia Day 2008 is our personal story and one which we know will be of interest to other keen gardeners.
We have a new book even more comprehensive and concerning valuable plants in Queenslands gardening Heritage. This book will be available after June 2009 and will be widely available.
In addition we have 2 books suitable for preschool age children.
"Run Turkey Run" about Bush Turkeys and "Come Again Next Year" about Satin Bower Birds, both found in our garden, are colourful and fun.
We hope to meet as many Queensland gardeners as we can when we launch our new book in 2009 and share our enjoyment of gardening
Rosomanes