Mystery Rose

When we first moved into our house ten years ago it had been empty for over a year and the garden was completely overgrown. Bit by bit we reclaimed, replanted and re-organised it. There was one corner that remained elusive as it was difficult to get at due to a large grevillea that was growing there.

Last year during one of the big storms the grevillea simply snapped under its own weight and that was its undoing.

Somehow, underneath it a lonely rose bush had managed to survive. I have no idea what kind it is as I know absolutely nothing about roses. Any that I have ever planted have failed miserably.

This mystery rose, which had a magnificent scent, has thrived now that it has more sunlight. It flowers abundantly and appears immune to aphids, blackspot, yellowing leaves and all the other usual rose hazards. I am in awe of its abilty to survive against all the odds and to be so perfect.

If only we could all be like that too!

Out in the Garden

Last week I posted a photo of the buds just starting to open on my wisteria creeper. Since then we have had a week of sunshine and blue skies and suddenly the wisteria is in full bloom.

Unlike most wisterias in Perth, mine is a white wisteria, although I'm not sure I actually knew that when I first planted it!

I love the totally undisciplined way that wisteria grows, but most of all I love the scent.

New Norcia

This weekend we went for a drive to New Norcia, which, for the benefit of my friends in the Northern Hemisphere, is the only monastery town in Western Australia and was built by the Benedictine monks.

The monastery still functions but unfortunately there are now only nine monks, following the death last year of the monk who tended the olive groves for which the monastery is famous.

This year the virgin olive oil produced by the monks won 8 prizes at the Royal Show but you can only buy it in New Norcia. There is nothing like a chunk of crusty New Norcia bread dipped in their olive oil. We came home with both, so there are no prizes for guessing what we had for an afternoon snack!

Powderfinger

I went to the Powderfinger concert last night in the Supreme Court Gardens and I can honestly say it was one of the best concerts I have ever been at. They had erected an amazing tent roof which reminded me of a giant circus tent and which created an almost intimate atmosphere (if that is possible with a crowd of over 10,000 people!)

We were quite far back, but with my camera on full zoom I managed to capture a few shots over the heads of the crowd.

This was the farewell tour for the band, who are at the peak of their performing, but hopefully Bernard Fanning, the lead vocalist, will continue to pursue his solo career so we can continue to enjoy his amazing talent.

You know Spring has arrived...

When the big fat buds on the wisteria creeper are bursting open......

When the mother swan takes her cygnets for an outing on the lake...

and when the grapevine is suddenly green again.

Orange

This week I have orange flowers in the kitchen so I thought I would go with an orange theme for today!

Office Space

If you work in an office (even part-time, like me) it is worth making the effort to customize your office space so that you enjoy being in it. That's not hard to do if you are a collector like me, with no end of things to fill the space. The trick is not to overcrowd it, as clutter is unproductive. Just pick a few interesting things and group them together.

You can also use your pin board as a decorating space, not just a place to pin telephone messages!

You should also change things around once in a while to keep the space interesting.