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Willow Tree Garden Tour

The last area at Mooseys to be completely developed lies along the water race from the plank to the side driveway. My original plans for this area were natural, wild, and romantic - expanses of green lawn, a grove of Oak trees, swathes of daffodils naturalised underneath.

My first compromise was to give up the idea of lawn gently sloping down to the water. The gentle slope was there, but the Lawnmower Man indicated he couldn't mow as he didn't fancy falling into the water - the slope wasn't quite gentle enough. So I began to dig slowly along the bank, and as I did I filled the dirt with the reject roses which had been given the boot from the vegetable garden. The first summer these looked rather small, but bravely flowered.

I remember the day my digging reached the Willow Tree. This scruffy tree is actually a large stump which has been allowed to sprout. In winter it is of course completely see-through, but in summer it is transformed. The Willow Tree acknowledged its new raised status in the garden by providing waterside shade - a most peaceful spot to sit and read, or peep over the water to the Stables Border and the Frisbee Lawn.

The digging continued, shapes of the garden dictated by the water race bank and the remaining tree stumps in the level ground. I left a small enclosed lawn area behind the Willow, which I hoped would be perfect for rhododendrons. I applied liberal quantities of horse-poos, straw and newspaper for mulching, and limbed up the Oak trees. The daffodil bulbs which started life in the grass were now in the middle of a garden. They weren't quite the right sort to plant under trees anyway - they were far too big and ended up flopping over horizontally.

Finally this garden has reached its end - the driveway which marks the extreme side of our property. Birthday plant presents from London son were planted here, including the Viburnum which is called the "Wedding Cake Tree" (my second most expensive purchase ever for the Moosey garden). Recently this end has been enlarged to surround the remaining tree stumps, and several ill-placed rhododendrons have started a new life here under the shade of old gnarly surviving Tree Lucerne.

So now the southern side of the water race is completely planted. The Willow Tree has become a landmark, a destination for coffee drinkers and summer readers. A sage green plastic chair is elegantly chained to a nearby post, the shade underneath is well watered, and the rhododendrons are starting to fill out nicely. In summer there are roses to enjoy, surrounded by foxgloves, delphiniums and penstemons, lupins and blue pansies. There are flaxes and grasses in the sloping garden. The water rushes past, the willow branches swoosh gently in the breeze... the simple sounds of paradise.

Willow Tree Summer Garden... Sat 13th Jan 2007: It is very important when taking a photograph of the whole of one garden area that the sun is in the right place - and that the surrounding lawns are freshly mown! Here's such a view of the Willow Tree Garden - well, of most of it!
Clary Sage... Sat 13th Jan 2007: The Willow Tree Garden, being open and sunny, houses some of my favourite large perennials. Each year in mid-summer the big Clary Sages grow tall and form flowers, surrounded by roses and foliage plants.</p>
Rhododendron Garden... Sun 7th Jan 2007: My rhododendron garden, planted mainly with anonymous, unwanted shrubs, is really growing well in the dappled shade and shelter of the Willow tree. After just a few seasons I am enjoying a kaleidoscope of warm colours each spring.
Cats and Dogs... Sun 7th Jan 2007: The Willow Tree Garden was a favourite haunt of Smoocher the ginger cat. Here he and his sister Tiger would roar up and down the willow branches, infuriating the dog. There was much barking...
Calendula Flower... Sat 19th Feb 2005: The Willow Tree Garden has a sunny spot where I grow annual flowering Calendulas. Each year they produce seedlings for the following summer - and provide colour for many months, even in winter.
The Eggy Garden... Fri 11th Feb 2005: This is the new garden at the driveway-end of the water race. The gum trees on the boundary fence are quite close, so I am wondering how dry it will get in here. In homage to my lovely relative I affectionately call it the Eggy Garden.
Unknown Rhododendron... Sat 27th Nov 2004: The Willow Tree Garden is hosting many of the newest rhododendrons I've rescued from nursery sales. This year they have all shown their first flowers. This particular shrub is a beauty - but what's it called?
Tree Peony... Thu 18th Nov 2004: I finally have a tree peony in flower - it was a gift from a friend, and has suffered from being shifted around the garden. This spring, settled at last in the Willow Tree Garden, it is flowering.
Tree Stump and Daffodils... Sat 18th Sep 2004: Some of the remaining tree stumps in the Willow Tree Garden are still visible, waiting for the surrounding garden plantings to cover them up.
Blue Delphiniums... Tue 16th Mar 2004: This patch of blue delphiniums by the Willow Tree is well sheltered from the wind. The bees are attracted by their deep rich colours - it's rather noisy weeding around them when they are in summer bloom.
Willow Stump... Wed 10th Mar 2004: If you have a garden named after you, it only seems polite to have a close-up photograph. This is the Willow tree, in all its summer stumpy glory.
Perennial Garden... Fri 27th Feb 2004: Here is a view of the Willow Tree taken from the lawn behind. There are many perennials planted here. The clumps of blue delphiniums, sheltered and happy, are about to bloom.
Willow Tree Lawn... Fri 27th Feb 2004: At the back of the Willow Tree I've kept this small enclosed lawn, which is delightfully warm and shady in summer. When the surrounding rhododendrons fill out and the Oak trees grow taller I hope this lawn will become a more secret place.
Willow by the Water... Fri 27th Feb 2004: The Willow Tree is re-growing from a large stump on the water's edge. I keep pruning the lowest shoots to create a canopy underneath, where I've planted hostas and rhododendrons.
Water Garden Ferns... Thu 26th Feb 2004: Ferns have taken up residence along the banks of the water race. They decide where to grow, and I let them live a natural life. There's no personal grooming for these plants.
Yellow Rose... Wed 25th Feb 2004: This is one of the reject roses which found a good home in the airy spaces of the Willow Tree Garden. I have no idea what type it is, but I like its summer display very much.
Garden by the Water... Mon 23rd Feb 2004: The gentle slope from the grass down to the water's edge was too difficult to mow, so I dug a garden here, filling it with rejects from other borders. Roses and flaxes are happily growing side by side.
Gertrude Jekyll Rose... Sun 22nd Feb 2004: This Gertrude Jekyll Rose started life in the vegetable garden. She has thrived in this new garden, which has good soil, space, and lots of sunshine. Gertrude is spindly and frail if planted in an overcrowded place.
Pink Roses... Sun 22nd Feb 2004: One of the reject pink roses which enjoys the summer in the Willow Tree Garden looks a lot like the Sam McCredy rose Sexy Rexy - in fact I'm certain that it is this rose.
Across the Water... Fri 28th Nov 2003: Looking over the water race from the Willow Tree Garden you can see the Stables Border to the left and the end of the garage to the right. The Frisbee Lawn, with its splendid Golden Elm tree, is in the background.
Along the Water Race... Sat 15th Nov 2003: Standing near the Willow Tree you can look back along the water race and enjoy the view to the distant Moosey glass-house. The Plank which spans the water, though wobbly, is an heirloom and I doubt I will ever replace it.
Cat Walking the Plank... Tue 25th Feb 2003: The Plank marks the boundary between the Dog-Path garden on the left and the new Willow Tree Garden on the right. This cat is the faithful Jerome, who will follow the gardener to the ends of the earth (i.e. the property) and back.
Wooden Garden Bridge... Thu 16th Mar 2000: Here is the water race, with water from the Waimakariri River, flowing underneath the car bridge at the edge of the property. There are gum tree leaves on the bridge.
Tree Stump Dog... Tue 21st Sep 1999: Taj-dog is standing wistfully by three of the stumps over the water race. This is a photo from the Moosey archives, when this area was garden-free. Taj-dog has his eyes on something, probably Stephen, a cat or a bunny.
Tree Stump Camouflage... Thu 1st Apr 1999: This used to be one way to minimise the stumps in the lawn look, by camouflaging an offender with a wheelbarrow. That was before my grand planting schemes for the Willow Tree Garden got under way.
On the Catwalk... Mon 29th Mar 1999: Here is an archive photograph of Jerome following a gumbooted gardener over the Plank on an afternoon walk. The cats walking circuit is well established and finishes back at the garage, about three meters away.
Barrel Water Bridge... Sun 21st Mar 1999: This is what the area by the car bridge used to look like, before it was swallowed up by the great Moosey Digging and Planting Machine. You can see a young version of the Willow Tree in the distance.
Little John Taj-dog... Wed 3rd Feb 1999: The Plank spans the water race and marks the beginning of the Willow Tree Gardens. The lawn used to be quite stumpy, until the gardens were developed to disguise the old tree remains. This is Taj-dog crossing the Plank.