Hodge Podge Garden

At the beginning of summer I planted out a garden bed. It then turned into a makeshift vegetable garden because I couldn't be bothered building a separate one in the back and only wanted some herbs, tomatoes and zucchini. When those started to die off we had the pest guy in to treat around our house for termites because our neighbour refuses to cut down their termite infested gum tree (another story for another day) and so it was necessary to save our place - structurally. But in order to do this the garden needed to be dug out. I didn't get much notice and all the plants were quickly evacuated into a bunch of different containers. Some survived, some died.

Seeing the bare beds has depressed me (the other bed had its plants dug out due to a new fence being put in.) So today I finally went to Bunnings and stocked up. Whatever plan I had in mind quickly evaporated when I got there what with the little one having a meltdown and world class tantrum and me juggling bags of soil so I just sort of threw the plants that I liked in the cart without any thought to size or quantity.

The result?

Star Jasmine, blue and purple Pansies, white & purple Alyssum

Still not entirely sure what I want to put in this bed! Trying to decide between cumquats or white roses. But for now: Dwarf Lavender, Rosemary, Star Jasmine, left over Pansies.

Assortment of bulbs for pots and garden. Can't wait for April!

LOVE the idea for this Star Jasmine design which I think I can achieve on the fence.

Have been thinking about Ornamental Pears a lot for the front of the house in front of the windows to provide some shade and privacy. Love the Lillipilli hedge and Star Jasmine border.

So yes. It's not ideal, although I do like the first bed and will improve once I start training the Jasmine but it's SO much nicer than just seeing bare, ugly beds full of bits of building debris.

Looking back on 2014 to 2015

2014 was a momentous year of change for me. The end of a 5 year relationship, moving out on my own for the first time, moving from the inner city and out to the suburbs, meeting someone new, and the beginnings of a new life for myself and Z.

I have a lot of things I want to accomplish in 2015 - most of which are house related - some are the obligatory lose weight, get lean, cook more, etc. 

Start paying more attention to my wardrobe after giving most of the lovely things I hadn't worn in over 2 years away to charity. Buy things I love and will wear to death. Not just "nice things" that sit in my closet to admire.

Travel. Go to NYC, Chicago. Spend more time travelling around Australia again. Visit friends. Have fun.

Most importantly, and this is a big one, the house. Everything is set for re-painting, re-carpeting, new kitchen, new bathroom. I have been using Pinterest a lot to make visual lists of items needed to purchase for the redecoration - going with sort of a midcentury modern look with a lot of simple things from West Elm. The biggest job around the place is going to be the landscaping - lord help me! It's a huge suburban block with a LOT of grass that never seems to stop growing and literally has to be mowed once a week otherwise it goes crazy and my neighbours give me the sideeye.

I want a simple, fuss free "classic" garden. I'll be focusing on the front to start with. Lots of white agapanthus bordering, white camellias, star jasmine along the fence, weeping mulberries (love these), possibly some white roses and as a centrepoint I would desperately like a jacaranda.