My Love of Gardens | Southern Highlands Landscape Design

I have been creating gardens for the past 40 years, albeit without any formal training. Gardens are my passion and the love and sharing of gardens brings me enormous pleasure. The garden is a continual reference in my life, and deeply influences my decisions regarding interiors, table settings and creating indoor garden spaces. I love bringing potted plants indoors as well as picking from the garden.

Town Garden - Landscape Design Bowral

A Town Garden

location: Bowral, Australia

Landscape design in Bowral; a pleasurable multi-level town garden with a lawn and shade.

Landscape Design Garden Limousin France

A Garden in the Limousin

location: France

A beautifully designed parterre garden, complete with topiaries and hedges, in France.

Landscape Design South Acres Bowral

South Acres Garden

location: Australia, Robertson

A Tea House surrounded by Silver Pears, an expansive farmhouse garden, a life-long landscaping dream.

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There’s always a pull on my heartstrings when Au

There’s always a pull on my heartstrings when Autumn arrives.. my favourite season and yet knowing that it won’t be long before there will be very little to pick from the garden. Living a rural life has brought me heart bursting happiness. The warmth of companionship with like-minded friends … the quiet - … and being closer to nature. Seeing the effects of our ‘no spray’ policy here .. adding more and more to the garden to encourage insect life.. The joy of seeing dragon flies hover and drink from shallow bowls of water in the walled garden .. of hearing crickets at night through my open windows… So many bees and butterflies now - when at first there were none. But most exciting of all is that I am working on my third book which will reflect all of this love .. love of nature, my garden, my home and the countryside in which we live and the peace that this imbues. My love of nature is deeply embedded .. how lucky I was to have a mother from whom I could learn all this…
#nature #insectlife #garden #friendship #countrylife #joy

Happy Mother’s Day! To all those wonderful mothe

Happy Mother’s Day!
To all those wonderful mothers out there.. nurturing beings .. giving of themselves.. Whether they’re mothers to their children and their grandchildren - or their stepchildren - or their dogs - or other animals .. To all Mothers - this is your day. 💕💕💗💗💞💞💗💗💕💕
#mothersday #motherhood #nurturing

What an incredible day.. Once in my lifetime.. to

What an incredible day.. Once in my lifetime.. to witness the majestic coronation ceremony.. and to relish every moment.. and above all - the MUSIC!! Long live the King!🇬🇧🇬🇧👑👑Zadok the priest - Choir of Westminster Abbey

Despite the deluge of rain and gale force winds th

Despite the deluge of rain and gale force winds the garden still has a few offerings and I managed to pick a couple of bunches!
I tidied and fed the Pelargoniums and they are now set up for their winter residence in the greenhouse!
Yesterday’s cleanup after the gales took a couple of hours but what a perfect day for it… one of those golden Autumn days which made all the difference.
It’s been a busy time in the garden these past two weeks. We are planning a path down to the maple grove and low branches along the new path were lifted and trimmed of deadwood.
Outside pots and barrels have been emptied and prepped for bulb planting and lots of the Dahlias have been lifted and moved to new spots in the garden.
The wrens have been visiting and I adore the sounds of their twittering as they scuttle and dart around the garden.. #autumn #happydays #wrens #dahlias #gardenlove #mygarden

Autumn in Arrowtown: So much beauty everywhere…

Autumn in Arrowtown: So much beauty everywhere… just a three hour hop in the plane and we’re here…
Golden Poplars and Beech hedges for miles .. Hawthorns laden with claret red berries … soft light and nestling sheds .. velvet green paddocks .. I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I did taking them… #arrowtown #autumn #fall #softlight

We love gathering in the kitchen.. teas, chats, lu

We love gathering in the kitchen.. teas, chats, lunches, meetings, grandkids drawing … it all happens around this lovely old table.. I couldn’t resist wallpapering the walls in ‘Bees’ by @sibylcolefax and using @wmorrisandco ‘The Orchard’ on curtains and blinds. Carrara marble bench tops (which is marking but I tell myself it adds to the character!) and my beloved @falconaustralia cooker - a real work horse! Huge windows on the southern side overlook the garden and a pair of doors open to the west terrace and veggie garden.. everything I need in one room! #kitchen #countrykitchen #home #

The end of such a happy week - celebrating Easter

The end of such a happy week - celebrating Easter and enjoying quality time with family. The beautiful autumn weather meant we could enjoy outside lunches, teas and coffees and long walks!..

When time flies… Happy Sunday everyone! #home #t

When time flies… Happy Sunday everyone! #home #theweekthatwas #beautiful #mygarden #happy #countrylife #fortheloveofcountryhouses

Wishing you all a Happy and peaceful Easter. The s

Wishing you all a Happy and peaceful Easter.
The sunshine helped warm the chilly day here as we celebrated Easter. In the Northern Hemisphere- Easter happens in Spring - when new life is celebrated - bulbs push their way up through the cold earth ..
I managed to buy a couple of pots of ‘tete a tete’ daffodils. I potted them up and tucked them in using some exquisite moss a friend gave me.. the closest thing to a NH ‘spring’ like decoration!
As all our ‘offspring’ are elsewhere this year - we decided to have a morning tea to celebrate Easter. Baking terrifies me 😳.. but I was up at 6.00 am and baked delicious mini zuchini muffins.., mini blinis which I later adorned with creme fraisch, smoked salmon and dill, chocolate cake and cucumber sandwiches. A friend brought a delicious orange and almond cake - all laid out on the kitchen table for guests to help themselves as the dining table was too cluttered!
Of course it’s Easter in Autumn here in the SH and the Dahlias are putting on their final exuberant burst of colour. I rushed around the garden collecting little delicate ‘spring like’ blooms for the table.
And now - The dishes and glasses are washed and everything has been cleared away. Time to reflect and bask in the warmth of good friendship …. #easter # and
Ps - the beautiful table linens are from
@addtocart_babymac #easterinthesouthernhemisphere #eastertable #springandeaster #easterinautumn #home

Its slightly depressing to think that Summer is co

Its slightly depressing to think that Summer is coming to an end .. I say ‘slightly’ as I really love Autumn. We’ve had a busy couple of weeks in the garden. Bulbs have arrived and I’ve begun cutting back and emptying the pots and preparing them for planting. The dahlias continue to give us blooms and they’re lasting longer in the vase. The barn is still a work in progress and I’ve also been thinking about Easter and luckily I managed to find some daffodils for the easter table!.. The clocks went back last week and I find myself looking forward to early evenings drawing in.. cosy suppers in front of the fire, autumn leaves and berries in the house. The gentle rhythm of the seasons makes sense of it all .. bringing us back to a realisation that this big world of ours moves to her own rhythm .. uninterrupted by all the crazy things going on at the moment. I receive great comfort in this .. Something real we can all rely on … #seasons #autumn #fall #drawingin #contentment #simplethings #beingclosetonature

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