Philosophical question

My place to garden is country Victoria, Australia....sandy loam, hot summers, an average yearly rainfall of 18 inches ...but reeling after four years of some of our driest weather on record.  Quite obviously, sense must prevail when selecting plants, though I still fall victim to some temptations. I have been a rose freak, but have moved through the "feeding frenzy" to a much more worthwhile interest in those plants which will survive extremely difficult summer conditions.  How much money has been wasted over the years doesn't bear thinking about.   I used to spend much time poring over rose catalogues, but now tend to spend similar time checking out those plants which fit the conditions.  I'm learning.  I consider this to be just as much a part of the gardening process as the making, tending and looking parts.
 
There are, what I deem as, some successes in my garden.  I'm most proud of an area which survives at the feet of some very large and aggressive Euc. cladocalyx  (Sugar gums) - quite a few greys, Sth African bulbs, Aust shrubs (not as many as I should have).....and an area of succulents & Aloes (most of which I collected from the old farm garden up the drive - the older gardeners knew what would grow) Agaves and Euphorbias . Had I been asked to use these plants in my garden a few years ago, I would have scoffed - poor me (yes, fashion does play some part, as much as I hate to admit it). 
 
I'm not sure that many see my garden with my eyes.  I think it's pretty good, condsidering the conditions and my lack of time.  I talk a lot about gardening and plants.  I think I'm expected to have a manicured and very green haven.....my garden isn't that.  A haven maybe, and it is interesting, in that there are paths and different areas.   I love the masses of birds that visit - honeyeaters, wrens, wattle birds, willy wagtails, scissors grinders, magpies, silvereyes, robins, kookaburras, rosellas, lorikeets, grass parrots,  and those that pass by including cockatoos in their many guises.  I love to physically tire myself from working in the garden, and I love to amble through it to see what has progressed.  I love taking cuttings and planting seeds collected from many sources (my Euc ficifolia are progressing well, from seed collected on a recent trip).  I love being able to give friends plants I have started in whatever fashion.  I am becoming most delighted by those plants which survive our hot and often windy summers.  And what could be better than finding a sought-after plant in an unlikely nursery.  I have begun to collect together a few of various types of plants that  work, not in a true collector fashion - but because they survive.  I love looking at other gardens - in books or "in the flesh".  Other people's ideas can be enlightening.  Sometimes I feel disgruntled with my attempts after seeing others' successes, but given a little time and rational thought, I end up loving my patch again.  I have to keep in mind what it is I want to, and can reasonably, achieve.
 
I am interested that so many inappropriate plants are still being sold to /bought by(and lost by, no doubt) the community.  The number of azaleas at a recent local supermarket's spring plant sale was extraordinary.  I don't know if they withered and died, or were sold...in order to wither and die!!.   With water restrictions meaning gardens are crisping quickly, I wonder that someone in the trade doesn't take the challenge of coming up with some stylish ways to change planting preferences...but people still love their delicate "pretties".  I recently asked for a local nurseryperson to hunt up some particular Medit type plants, and was met with a rather perplexed look, the concept being lost on the person. It would be wonderful if, in this area, these types of plants became more the rules, rather than the exceptions.  It will take time to make changes.  I wonder how much we drive the nursery trade, and how much it drives us ?? 
 
I admire the work of landscapers and wish that I could employ their (in most cases) restraint and good taste.  I remember an Australian gardening illuminary once admitting that her landscaping was done with potted plant in one hand and spade in the other.  Mine, too.  If ever I make another garden I'd like to think that I would do so with much more preparation, planning and style, and with appropriate plantings.
 
I am, at present, mulching my beds to help them through the coming summer.  One of my gardening joys, believe it or not, is the smell of the damp chook poo I also add, mixed with the smell of the pea straw - heaven! 
 
Cara Jackman
 
 
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