Open Garden

For my U3A group, I wrote about our Open Garden this year, and now I am adding that illustrated talk  to this blog.


Note: Clicking on any photo will enlarge it

Open Garden at “Biandar”, September 2011.

It was Tre who, in 2007, first asked if we would be prepared to open our garden as a fundraiser for Heartfelt House. This organization provides courses that help adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse, and they do very good work, so we agreed. We were told that the Open Garden scheme run by the ABC takes 60% of any money raised, so we decided to organize the whole affair ourselves so that all of any money we raised would go to benefit the charity. This year, 2011, was our third Open Garden

As usual, Bruce and I would be responsible for the garden and Plant Stall, Tre would organize the catering , and Heartfelt House staff would handle the publicity.

Preparations began many months ahead. First, photographs of the garden at various times were studied, to see what blooms in which weeks. This informed the choice of the actual time for the opening. We then liaised with Tre and the calendar of Heartfelt House and selected a date to suit us all.

We decided on spring, mid September, because the Eupatorium, the Echium and the Lorapetalum should all be out then. The Tung Oil, ranunculus and, maybe anemones, should be in bloom, and the navy-blue babiana should be spectacular.

In February I ordered the bulbs and prepared the ground for planting them in March. I ordered daffodils too, not for the opening, but to refrigerate and pot for us to enjoy ourselves.

A database of WHAT jobs were needed and WHEN they needed to be done was obviously essential if nothing was to be overlooked, so I hied me to my trusty iMac and got busy with Bento. At the end there were 200 separate items listed in weeks from -21 to -1, ranging from Strike cuttings of hydrangeas in May (week -16) , through Cut back red hot poker clump, in August (week -8) and Mulch & weed Pool bank (week -4) to Compose and print guide & map and laminate (week -2) and Set up plant stall (2 days before).

As work progressed on the various areas of the garden, it was extremely satisfying to call up the database and change the field from "not yet begun", to "in progress" and , finally, to “completed”.

Bruce worked on the house , decks , gutters, and path furbishment so that all would be as spic and span as possible. For some time I had been commenting (unfavorably ) on the "ad hoc" nature of his vegetable garden, so he now proceeded to give it a defined edge and to weed it more assiduously. It ended up looking quite tidy!

One of the biggest jobs was preparation for the plant stall. I like propagating, so this was something I enjoyed. Hundreds of cuttings were struck and seedlings raised. Some were repotted more than once, and all had to be fertilised, kept alive through dry spells and rescued from drowning after heavy rain. It was very constant.

Plant labels were designed on the Mac, and I found that the best way of duplicating them was to have them printed as 6x4 photos at Harvey Norman or BigW. Experimentation showed that four labels per photograph made the best size. These then had to be cut and attached to the relevant pots in the days before the event. In previous years, I have laminated labels so they can better survive rain and watering, but this year they just had to take their chances.

The large size of our garden, and our declining energy levels, meant that coping with the weeding was a huge effort. Fortunately some kind friends each offered a morning’s weeding. A number came twice, and one wonderful soul, Robyn, came on five or six occasions. I was immensely grateful. Despite all this work, I would never claim that the garden was weed-free, but the general effect was very pleasant.

Some obvious gaps had developed in the garden where large borders of hymenocallis bulbs had been decimated by what I suspected was a virus. I usually have some pockets in the garden where I grow annuals to provide some vivid colour, but this year more would be needed to fill the extra spaces. Larkspur seeds were refrigerated and sown into trays, and punnets of assorted seedlings were bought.

I have found that planting directly into garden beds is not efficient, since small seedlings are so vulnerable to wild weather, brush turkeys, bandicoots, echidnas and dogs. What I do these days is transplant them into 4” square pots and pamper them until they are quite large, and THEN plant them out. But judging just when to expose them to the rigours of open beds is a tricky business, and some were not in full bloom by mid September. Others were past their prime. Still others were spoiled by a badly timed hailstorm.

The larkspurs germinated so well that I ended up with more seedlings than I could handle. Those that were pricked out into pots continued to thrive, so we ended up with larkspurs in many spots throughout the garden. Unfortunately, they had not come into bloom by mid September, though they are looking wonderful now (early October).

Other plants that decided to flower in the fortnight AFTER the Open Garden were the tall white and red hippeastrums, the tropical rhododendrons, the cleomes scattered everywhere, the tall electric-blue salvia, the delphiniums and several large clumps of blue, white, mauve, pink and yellow louisiana iris. The usually spectacular bronze Chinese fringe flower did not flower at all.

But despite these disappointments, there were lots of other things that obliged.

Most colourful were the 200 ranunculous bulbs with their cheerful red, yellow and orange tones

          

and the large bushes of eupatorium covered with plate sized clusters of mauve mist- flowers.

    

The scented white trumpets of the beaumontia vine were showing over the deck railing,

and the startling blue spires of the echium (Pride of Madeira) could be seen against the pool fence.

The deep blue babiana (baboon flowers) looked wonderful,

and the Justicia scheidweileri (Brazilian Fireworks), naturalised in shady areas, aroused a lot of interest, as always.

        

With its beauty so evident, every Tung Oil that I had potted was sold.

While waiting to see what would turn out to be blooming on the day, there was lots to do, apart from actual gardening

Advertising flyers were letterboxed all around the town and neighbourhood.

Media releases were issued and reporters from local papers came and took photos. 


Garden guides, maps, posters, tickets and signs were printed and laminated.

                    

A radio interview with the ABC’s garden guru, Phil Dudman, was organised for the Saturday morning.

Nametags were printed for all the expected helpers. 

Tre made marmalade and Ros made cards to sell on the day. 

Soup and scones were made and frozen.

Labelling and pricing the plants was a big job, as was setting up the Plant Stall

Quite a few signs were posted around to help people find their way,

and the Porta-loo was collected collected and set up.

All the family arrived for the weekend to support us. Son number 1, Ken, oversaw the entry and parking.

His wife, Rosa, helped in the kitchen and on the plant stall. Son number 2, Rick , and Miriam his wife, ran the plant stall. Son number 3, Geoff, dispensed general botanical wisdom to anyone who asked (though he did disappear into the rainforest now and then on private expeditions - but he has been doing that since adolescence, so no-one was surprised). His wife, Maria, looked after the granddaughters.

On the first day, the entry post was set up at the top of the drive. This was staffed by friends who each worked for half a day.

             

Another friend made and donated an exquisite arrangement of native flowers to be raffled, and this was placed on the entry table.

However on the second day we moved the raffle, and most of the tickets were sold by granddaughters, Angela and Sara, who carried the arrangement around and charmed people into buying.

A bench was placed halfway down the drive for anyone requiring a breather, and I hope they took the opportunity to admire the bromeliads.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, from early on the Saturday, catering was in full swing. Tre and her rostered band of helpers, made many sandwiches and heated much soup.

Food was served through the window,

and patrons ate while viewing the garden from above.

The dogs, both ours and the sons’ (a total of five!), were shut away from the visitors, so Bruce periodically took them out for a run.

The plant stall did a thriving business.

and many kind remarks were passed about the garden.

Overall, running the Open Garden was a very positive experience. Having so many relatives there to help made it a great family occasion and the atmosphere everywhere was wonderfully cheerful and friendly.

Heartfelt House benefitted by over $5,500. I was especially pleased that the Plant Stall was responsible for over $1,000 of that, and Tre’s catering made over $1,100.

The efforts of lots of people contributed to the success, and it was really heartening seeing so many working so hard and selflessly for the benefit of others, and so obviously having a good time doing it.

Nevertheless, this was our last one.