The Winter Gardener .. Finding Treasure

Gardening in a climate with four distinct seasons, after gardening in a sub-tropical climate, brings home the reality of Winter. While mornings in our previous garden in South East Queensland could be below zero (centigrade), the days compensated with warm sunshine and gentler day-time temperatures.

But gardening in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales in Winter is a little more stark. Bare trees and shrubs, white frosty lawns, with muted colours accompany cold mornings and cool days often sharpened by cold winds. While some roses are blustering their way through Winter with the occasional bloom, most are bare and prickly, waiting for Spring to wake them up.

The same could be said for the gardener, if it weren't for Winter plant and seed catalogues brimming with enticing photos of glorious trees, shrubs, bulbs, perennials, climbers and annuals. And if like me, you're planting a new garden from scratch, the desire for so many of these treasures can easily outweigh the budget! Of course, my Winter orders always start with the Heritage or Old roses. This year, because I couldn't bring so many of my old roses with me, I have ordered a few of my favourites, like Madame Alfred Carriere, Lamarque and of course, Devoniensis. How could I have a Heritage Rose garden without the velvet-petalled, sweetly scented blooms of this most generous of Tea roses.

So as well as much loved, familiar old roses, I have taken delight in ordering roses I could not grow before. These include Ispahan, an old Damask pre-dating 1832 that I could not dream of growing successfully when I gardened in a sub-tropical climate. Another rose I'm keen to try in this climate is Duchesse de Montebello, an old Gallica from 1824. Both these classes of roses are new to me, so it will be trial and error until I learn how these do here in the Hunter Valley.

Of course, there are many more catalogues to peruse by the fire in Winter. Seed catalogues are a delight and I love to search for heirloom perennial and annual flower seeds that are not easily found as seedlings in the large plant warehouses that seem to have overtaken the smaller family run nursery with passionate & knowledgeable plantspeople. So a family run nursery with an on-line catalogue is a lovely alternative.

Just as rose heps (please note - not a typo but plural for hips!) in winter herald the promise of things to come, seed catalogues hold a promise of future possibilities in the garden. I love to search seed catalogues for treasures, and I am not interested in whether it's fashionable or trending right now. But it has to appeal to me on at least one of several levels; heritage, rarity, fragrance, beauty and whether it has an interesting story. I love to read of stories where a rare seed, or plant, was saved for future generations. The Seed Savers Network is a wonderful example of a community of gardeners getting behind this idea.

In the dead cold of Winter, with frost on the ground and not a bloom in sight, these 'gardening pursuits' are worthwhile and very satisfying endeavours!!

And on a cold winter's day there's nothing more invigorating than creating new beds with layers of mulch, compost and well-rotted animal manure (if you can get your hands on it)! Only as recently as last weekend we almost 'worked up a sweat' planting out the beginnings of a new hedge of Sasanqua Camellias, against a backdrop of a bare-rooted Quince tree! Glorious! As well as developing the garden, we're also dreaming of Spring blossom and glistening, pink quince jelly, and a floriferous Camellia hedge next Autumn (the quince fruit will take a little longer, but worth the wait!).

So if you think Winter is a time of dormancy for the gardener, then perhaps it's time to re-think Winter as a time of underground activity, much like the many dormant trees, shrubs and herbaceous perennials that delight us year after year with new life.

I hope you have fun finding a few delightful treasures to add to your garden!

Enjoy!

xx Lillian