Home & Hearth: My 'greening' thumbs

My gardening journey began about ten years ago, although it began primarily indoors. I was one of those people who used to love devouring gardening and design books, but had no idea how to actually transform my own patch, which at the time consisted on a small courtyard.

These days I am addicted. I love everything about the garden, it's colour, texture, scent....and the fact it changes every day.

After stumbling out of bed and attending to the dietary needs of my brood, one of my first daily tasks is to take a stroll around my newly planted and designed front garden and just take a peak at what's doing. Amazingly I can usually see changes happening every day.

I also love the fact that almost everything about this space is it is my own construction. Apart from bringing in two guys to construct my compacted sand pathway, I have planted every plant, a process which has provided immense satisfaction in a kind of meditative way.

This area of the garden was just six months ago a patch of dying lawn with a few exotics (read azaleas and other totally impractical plants).

I've filled it with Australian grasses, kangaroo paws, grevilleas, native hibiscus, mini flowering gums and banksias. When it started to flower this spring I also realised I had planted mostly white and purple flowering plants. I love the crispness of white blooms in a garden and the mix of pale and deep purples work really well with our bluestone fence.

There's a lot to go and a whole backyard to do, but I'm amazed just how much this area already looks like it has been here for years.....

I will post more 'macro' shots soon....