Garden Before and In-between Shots

Planting out a garden is primarily an exercise in patience.   Only the very rich and greatly assisted can create an instant amazing garden.  For the rest of us it takes planning, patience and time.  Lots of time. 

I posted about this last time year about the wonderful Apace nursery from which I bought a load of cheap Australian native tubestock to plant in our laneway.  They were tiddly little sprigs of nothing at the time so I thought I should update to show how they have progressed.   I've actually had to cut this all back heaps already because they have been growing lilke billy-oh.

Below is garden bed I planted out in about November with succulents etc.  Every single  plant in here was either a cutting gift from a friend or someone who is not a friend but who's plants hang over their fences.  I know the proper names of virtually no plants, but never forget a gorgeous plant I've seen.  I'm so envious of the brains of people who can casualy drop some latin name of  the plant they happen to be standing next to. 

There's still a way to go here, for all that creeping purple leaf stuff to take off over winter and fill in all the gaps. 

These clay pipes came out of the building site when they took down the old washouse.  They don't make em like that any more.  Today pipes are all white plastic and look like they will last about six months.

Now that summer is well and truly over it is time to start planting again here in Perth.  I might be a bit over zealous, planting into a building site that will still see plenty of clumpy boots and choc milk cartons, but I've bunged in some more Apace tubestock down the side of the new side extension. 

There is a coastal salty-sagey-looking thing in there, and in beween is 'Running Postman' which will creep around and cover all that ground.  Now that's one name that is hard to forget, what a lovely image Running Postman counjours, which also has little letter-box-red flowers.    I planted some last year, this is what it looks like after 12 months.

My garden design principals are to get stuff in that will grow in the place of weeds, with minimum water or effort.  Once that is achieved there is time for fancy smancy flowers etc.  And maybe learning the names of them too.