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The Garden Curator

Garden designer | Landscape designer | Landscape illustrator

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Colleen Southwell

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Green leaves Illustration by Colleen Southwell

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It's rose pruning time here in our cold climate hi

It's rose pruning time here in our cold climate hills. A flurry of secateurs on the David Austin roses, hedge trimmers on the floribundas, and I'm left with a pile of crepe paper blooms, swollen hips, thorny branches in deep velvety colour and shrubs reduced to bare bones.
I tend to leave it until August here, later is better in our cold climate. I'm not too fussy, but roughly follow the process of removing damaged, old, crossing and dead wood, prune to just above an outward facing bud, and aim for a somewhat open vase shape. I'm not too concerned about the slope of the cut in our dry climate, the most important thing is that it's clean and not ragged, and I do disinfect my tools as I work to reduce spreading dieback disease. In inland Australia where humidity is low, fungal disease is kept to a minimum by simply watering roses at ground level and not overhead. Here they really are as tough as old boots and don't deserve their finicky reputation. Tough, beautiful, and stoic in the heat and dry...just like the country women who tend them!😘😘

An exciting thing is happening - I've been asked t

An exciting thing is happening - I've been asked to do a takeover of the @ausartcollective feed for the week, an opportunity to showcase some of my favourite Australian artists. Hooray!! AUS Art Collective is a fantastic feed featuring Australian creatives curated by @danijelakrhapurssey, editor of international art magazine @beautifulbizarremagazine. Thankyou Danijela for inviting me along!
Whittling my favourites down to a handful has been soooo hard, so I set some parameters...the subject must show reverence for the natural world, have fine detail that draws the onlooker in, and be uplifting, storytelling and beauty filled. To follow along, hop over to the @ausartcollective feed, it begins tomorrow Monday, and there is some serious talent in the line-up! See you there♡
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Image of An Australian Garden Reimagined #2 by @madi_young

I can hear the words "cracker frost this morning"

I can hear the words "cracker frost this morning" ringing out from farms across the landscape. It's crunchy underfoot, there's a blanket of mist and the earth has been dusted with glitter. It's a magjcal time of day, well worth peeling out of bed for to meet the sun as it stretches in readiness for the day. A cracker frost is usually followed by a cracker day, enjoy!

A little more of the piece posted a few days ago,

A little more of the piece posted a few days ago, sharing some blossoms in anticipation of spring here in the southern hemisphere! It's coming, I can feel it!

Our native wattle knows just when to appear, burst

Our native wattle knows just when to appear, bursting into sunshiny yellow in the deepest winter days and speaking of imminent spring. The purple native Hardenbergia is in full flight too, and together the gold and royal purple make a cheery pair.
This largely unattended little corner of the garden is the reverse side of the image posted yesterday. Beneath the wattle the kids stringybark teepee sits, a hiding place, perhaps I'll try it. It's a garden for the birds, with layers of thickety growth, a hiding place for them too. We recently planted a bundle of new natives here from @nativeplantproject, lovely healthy pots and so far they've survived the frosts!

Ok here goes, I'm really not good at this stuff an

Ok here goes, I'm really not good at this stuff and much more comfortable on the other side of the camera. But I'm all for this cause - for celebrating the women who have been behind this presence, so #challengeaccepted.
To those who have uplifted, encouraged, pushed, nurtured, inspired, guided and believed, thankyou. To those who have led the way, those walking side by side, even those noticeably absent on the path, I am thankful for your lessons. You know who you are xox
Special mention of two women who have been guiding lights on this creative adventure, @ingridbowenart and @madi_young. And two women who have inspired with words and wisdom beyond measure in the world of plants, @theplanthunter and @cultivating_place. Your support and encouragement is not unnoticed, and I am indeed grateful. And thankyou my friend @mirandamak_design for your nomination, and @photographybypip for the rare portrait!. ♡♡ #womensupportingwomen

Everything is wet. There are puddles on saturated

Everything is wet. There are puddles on saturated ground and leaky gumboots squelch with each step. The dogs have left muddy footprints on the verandah and the odour of wet sheep and soggy donkeys is present too. The wet washing hasn't seen sunshine for days, draped instead over racks by the fire, taking the best seat in the house.
But I don't mind a bit. The soil is sodden, the grass is green, the dams are full and spring is anticipated with greater hope than in recent drought stricken years. Hope, a precious commodity and one that germinates, at least in part, with rain!

© Copyright 2019 Colleen Southwell