Creating a new Garden - Autumn

We have moved!! After much deliberation, we have moved from our home in the Sunshine Coast in South East Queensland, to the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales. So here we are, in the land of wine and roses, closer to family and ready to create a new garden filled with my signature heritage roses and antique flowers. As the garden develops, we will have an abundance of antique flowers for our Dried & Pressed Botanicals, as well as fresh, deliciously scented Garden-style Bouquets and Vintage Posies. And, in time, I plan to hold more Workshops that embrace the delights of growing your own seasonal flowers to create lovely hand-tied posies, botanical balms and soaps, pressed floral art, and more.

Sadly, we had to leave most of our collection of Heritage Tea roses behind, as most were far too large to move. However, a few of our rarer Heritage roses did move with us as they had struggled to thrive in a sub-tropical climate and were not so large.

One of these is the luscious, fragrant Carlsruhe Cemetery Maria Bruhne (ROR) a renamed old rose found on the graveside of her name-sake. This rose is said by some notable Rosarians to be the original Sombreuil rose, famous for its connection to the French Revolution. Unfortunately, the rose sold in Australia as Sombreuil is thought to be an imposter!! Regardless, she is thriving here in our Hunter Valley garden and rewarding us with gorgeous pale cream blooms that are occasionally flushed with pink.

Another of the rare Heritage roses we brought with us is the Tea rose, Sylvia Hannah. She was given to me by a member of the Heritage Roses in Australia in South East Queensland. I have little background information about this rose, other than she was found in Queensland. She struggled in our previous garden, blooming only occasionally with small blooms. In our new garden she is thriving, growing rapidly in size and blooming consistently with sweetly tea-scented, bright pink blooms. I love her so much that I have taken more cuttings so that I can place her around the garden. Her long stems and lovely shaped rose will be delicious in fresh garden-style bouquets as well as dried vintage posies.

So, as we enjoy our first real Autumn in many years, plans are in full swing, with scented bulbs like Freesias, Daffodils, and old-fashioned Snowflakes, Fritillarias and species Gladioli being planted in 'secret stashes' around the garden. And orders have been placed for more Heritage Roses with cooler climate classes of rose to add to the Tea roses we know and love so well.

Creating a new garden in a different climate brings opportunity to plant and experiment with old-fashioned flowers that I could only dream about in a sub-tropical climate. Visions of bulb studded lawns, and scented roses dripping over arches and pergolas dictate my designs for the coming seasons.

I do hope you're able to follow our journey as we grow our new garden, here in the Hunter! And remember, even if you only have a tiny plot of land, a window-sill, or a balcony of pots, you can still add fragrance and colour to your world with scented blooms, herbs and flowers!

xx Lillian