14 October 2013

My Dream Garden

Last week, I gave you a tour of My Dream House, which I thoroughly enjoyed doing. It might even be my favourite post ever. (How could it not be? Daydreaming about my dream house is my absolute favourite thing to do!)

Today, dear readers, you get to see My Dream Garden.

Let me start by saying that I'm not much of a green thumb. Neither is my partner, yet we both would love to have a beautiful garden. Secondly, I'll admit that the Mediterranean climate of South Australia might not be conducive to growing certain plants and flowers, which you see here. 

With that, I'm simply going to say... That is why I'm calling it My Dream Garden! It is my ideal garden, which would probably never be real, at least not here in South Australia, and not without the assistance of a serious gardener, not to mention a much larger block of land than we will probably ever own.

Anyway, disclaimers aside... 

In my dreamiest of dreamy gardens, I envision an old-fashioned cottage garden, with rambling roses, a romantic pathway leading to a secluded bench, ivy growing along trellises, an inviting al fresco sitting area, and lots of beautiful flowers.





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 hollyhocks


 foxgloves


In the front garden, I would like to have a white picket fence, with an arbour covered in pale pink roses, framing the path to the front door. There would also be a jacaranda tree, which is an iconic feature where we live. I've seen whole streets here lined with these purple-flowering beauties. Glen and I love them. A white flowering tree, perhaps a pear tree, would also be in front. Maybe there would be some white or blue plumbago growing along the fence. Elegant shrubbery, flowers, and a pair of topiaries in grey pots would be near the front door.


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 jacaranda


plumbago

In the back, my dream garden would provide places for entertaining, as well as for relaxing with a good book or a nice glass of wine. I'm picturing a shaded al fresco area, housing an outdoor dining set, BBQ/ grill, and a lounge setting. It is always so wonderful to be able to dine and relax outside, both day and night. In this hot climate, to be able to enjoy the pleasures of being in the garden, shade is essential. I would love to have a dark grey pergola, with glory vine growing over it, to provide shade, while also allowing some dappled sunlight through. I love the look of dark grey fences and trim. They look so sophisticated, and dark grey recedes behind garden greenery so beautifully.



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On cool autumn and winter evenings, we love to sit around the fire bowl, sipping red wine.



My favourite thing in the world is cherry blossoms, so I would love to have a pink-flowering cherry tree in the garden. Other trees I would like to have include a golden elm, a few birches, a lemon tree and a lime tree (because I love to make lemon and lime desserts!), and a dwarf Japanese red maple.


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I would love to have a pergola covered in wisteria, ideally being off the dining room, where we could gaze upon the wisteria through white French doors. (You see, I really do have it all planned out!)






A stone path, leading to a secluded bench, would be a perfect spot for reading, relaxing, and getting away from it all.



I love the look of green-and-white and black-and-white gardens, but my love of colours like pink, purple, blue, peach, and yellow would not allow me to have a strictly monochromatic colour scheme in the garden. I think all of these colours could work in harmony together, depending on where things are planted, of course.


 lily of the valley


 peonies

 wattle

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I don't want to forget to include the birds in my dream garden. I'd like for them to enjoy a bird bath and bird house, as I enjoy their melodic chirping and singing.




Glen wants to have a small greenhouse, where he can grow pots of herbs and veggies on large raised beds. Greenhouses look so charming, I think it would be a lovely feature.




We both daydream of having a hammock big enough for two, somewhere in the garden.



Since I'm dreaming of the perfect garden, I'd love to have an outdoor bed. There is something incredibly romantic about a bed being outdoors!



In my ultimate garden fantasy, there would be peacocks strutting about, to complete the daydream. (Don't worry, I wouldn't let any cats to get near them!)


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