Jul 23, 2014

A Writer's Garden aka A Neglected Garden

There was a time when I spent my weekends gardening. That was when I worked in an office and the weekends were my leisure time, but since I became a writer my garden has become very neglected. Weeks, months can go by without me pulling out a single weed, so I’m always surprised when a plant puts on a wonderful show despite my neglect.

I’ve been writing for 11 years now, nine of them as a published author with deadlines, and over that time I’ve developed a penchant for plants which survive, and even thrive, without any TLC whatsoever, or maybe a prune once a year. Now, because there are many busy people out there who don’t have time to garden, I’ve put together a list of my top five plants that are spectacular survivors. The photos below are from my own garden as proof. Fill your garden with these (if they’re right for your climate) and you’ll always have something beautiful in your outdoor space to lift your spirits.

1. Hibiscus

I love this shrub! We have several specimens in our garden and apart from a light prune in September - if I get a chance - they are on their own.











2. Rose

If you come across a ruin of a house with an overgrown garden, you can almost guarantee that there will be a rose somewhere amongst the tangle. It is the ultimate survivor. Yes, it loves a good prune, but it does well without it too.






3. Wisteria

It just keeps growing and growing, and producing a spectacular show of flowers in Spring.


4.Succulents

Succulents come in lots of varieties and they are fabulous plants for the neglected garden. With or without flowers, they fill a bare spot perfectly.


5. Nasturtiums

Although they are annuals, I have had nasturtiums in my garden every year since scattering a single packet of seeds more than a decade ago. They self seed and look great. Plus, you can eat the leaves and flowers in salads.



So there you have my top five. Do you have others that should be on the list? Remember, we’re not talking about favourite plants here, but foolproof options for the frustrated gardener.

14 comments:

  1. Hi Claire

    Your garden sounds like mine LOL although I am not a writer I do read and need that time I have hibiscus and roses and some trees in my garden and some geraniums and they all pretty much take care of themselves LOL

    Have Fun
    Helen

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    1. Geraniums, Helen! Another cast-iron option.

      Reading needs plenty of time too, definitely.

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  2. Claire, I'm nodding at all your choices, though I don't have much experience of succulents. For me the easiest choice is a native Australian plant. Get them small (tube sized) so they can acclimatise and watch them take off. I particularly like the small ones that fill in spaces in the garden. They're the ultimate in low maintenance. Agapanthus lilies are great too - needing no watering or care and still producing amazing blooms. Oh, and we have a tree dahlia that's never been touched since planting and it's thriving and produces stunning flowers.

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    1. Oh, yes, Agapanthus are great, both the blue and the white versions are great survivors.

      I haven't had much luck with native plants, but our local Council gave all residents some plants which are native to our area and - touch wood - they seem to be doing well. Pretty pleased about that.

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  3. Cactus? Kidding.... although my black thumb would agree!

    I love flowers and admire people who have gorgeous gardens and wish I had a similar urge. Sadly, I don't. I settle for a weekly splurge on supermarket flowers to put in my vase instead because whilst I don't have the inclination to grow them myself there's nothing nicer than fresh flowers to look at!

    Interestingly, Annie, spending time recently in my friend's garden in the UK, I discovered she has a bottle brush growing in a large tub and it was flowering like mad - didn't ,expect to see that in an English garden!

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    1. I remember how delicate geraniums were in our English garden, but they grow like weeds here in Adelaide. On the other hand, the cottage garden plants I was used in England and planted when we first arrived here were completely wiped out by the heat in our first Australian summer.

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  4. Ah, lantana seems to thrive in my back yard, Claire…along with a whole array of noxious weeds. While I love gardens I don't love gardening. That said, I wouldn't mind it if Mr Douglas planted a hardy grevillea or two…and a lemon tree could be nice.

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    1. Citrus are good, Michelle. I don't think you'd kill them unless you really tried. I have lemon, orange and mandarin. I particularly love the mandarin because the fruit is so much nicer than the shop-bought variety.

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    2. And if I had citrus I could make jam…and marmalade! :-)

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    3. And lemon curd / lemon butter. Yum.

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  5. Claire, we must share the indifferent gardener gene! I've been known to kill roses when I give them TLC and everyone tells me they're really, REALLY hard to kill! The plants that are doing really well in our garden weren't planted by me - the camellias and a fab wisteria! They're fabulous.

    Actually there is protea that was planted by me and it's doing really well - no idea why. I don't give it any special treatment... maybe that's why! LOL It's coming into flower at the moment and the flowers are spectacular. My herbs aren't doing too badly either - especially the thyme and oregano. Good idea about the nasturtium - I must sprinkle some seeds!

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    1. I've tried to grow thyme because it's my favourite herb, but it usually gets smothered by a neighbouring plant. I'm going to try again now.

      I love protea flowers! Very interesting to hear that it's a survivor too.

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  6. Claire, great post. I love the hibiscus and roses. I'd add peonies and irises to this list. But whatever, all flowers are beautiful. Unfortunately I'm so not a gardener unless it is a vegetable, then I seem to do well. Thank goodness for florists.

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  7. Claire, I love your photos! We had nasturtiums when I was a kid and I still love them.

    Foolproof? I have aloe vera along one fence line (to stop dogs digging out) and it's pretty fool proof. Does its own thing and has pretty orange flowers in spring. Also, peace lilies - we have some in pots but also some outside in shaded areas. They look after themselves.

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