donna_3011

I have been gardening on and off since I was a teenager. My parents used to plant zucchini and winter melons in the backyard and tell us old wives’ tales about not touching the emerging fruit, else they would not grow so my first memories are of peering under the large leaves and watching the furry fruit emerging and wanting so much to touch them.

I went on to a “sensible” profession of 9-6ers but over the last few years have become a qualified horticulturalist and now work in a nursery. I spend nearly all my spare time in the garden – watching, contemplating and moving things around and given the drought conditions where I live, I spend a lot of time keeping everything mulched whilst harnessing as much water (grey and rainwater) as I can. I have not watered my garden using mains water since January 2007 and I hope I can make it through another hot dry summer.

My garden is a cottage style garden with perennials, native shrubs and lately many grasses which I have found add structure to all the fluff. I have a small strip devoted to edibles but I like to scatter herbs which have ornamental value all over the place.