Weeks 10 – 16 TRIUMPH!!

“At first people refuse to believe that a strange new thing can be done, then they begin to hope it can be done, then they see it can be done–then it is done and all the world wonders why it was not done centuries ago.”

Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

Its been 6 weeks since I last posted an update about the Abandoned Garden, and although I may not have been writing, I have been working.  And for all those people following me who might have imagined the jungle had gotten the better of me – all I can say is … not yet!!  Quite the opposite, because this weekend marks a turning point, as one part of the garden has now been successfully cleared.  Below are lots of update photos, as well as many photos of some of the other things I’ve seen over the last 6 weeks.  Hope you enjoy ….

Before …

before ….

before …

finally !

after

After – clear and ready for beautiful new plants …

And here are some photos of the things I’ve seen over the past 6 weeks (when I haven’t been in the garden) :

A perfect day at Bronte beach

Sunrise in the beautiful Hunter Valley

An art gallery in Sydney

shopping!!

Finally … progress!

Week Eight and Nine

Two more weeks have passed and finally I’m seeing the fruits of my labour!!  Its taken nine weekends, but one section of the front garden looks clean and clear.  Now that the humidity is less, and the air is almost chilly, battling back the grass and weeds is so much easier.  The rapidly sprouting vegetation has slowed, and my frantic need to battle the regrowth is easing.

Beautiful Hibiscus in full bloom

The camelia hedge needs a trim, but looks gorgeous at this time of year

Some sort of Australian weed - but it looks incredible against the clear blue sky

 

Week Seven

I’ve discovered over the past couple of weeks that in order to get a task done, you need focus and unwavering dedication !!   Even though I’ve posted no updates over the past two weeks it doesn’t mean that there hasn’t been much activity in the jungle.  And at last … I’m seeing results.  I must admit there have been many times that I thought the jungle would get the better of me … but I’ve discovered that the only way not to be swallowed up by the enormity of this project, is to focus on one thing at a time, without being distracted by the many other things that need my attention.  Here are the results so far, together with a few other things that inspire me.

Before ...

After …

After ...

Beautiful wisteria!

Beautiful wisteria!

As a welcome to autumn 2012, here are two photographs I took in autumn 2011…

autumn 2011

autumn 2011

Weekend Four

I am discovering that in order to tame a Jungle  a great deal of time, not to mention effort, is required!

This week I visited my local hardware store and, after much deliberation, I actually purchase a lawn mower!   I took my prized possession home, assembled, read the “how to mow a lawn” instructions, and then spent many hours mowing … in the blistering heat … many hours!

Mowing the lawn is a bit like painting a wall – there’s a great sense of satisfaction when the job is done, but it’s really hard work!!

Here are some photos of Weekend Four in the junlge ….

The Beast

The Result - beautiful !!!

The Wildlife

Spiders are everywhere in The Jungle

(All photographs: by me, Lyn Masterton)

Weekend Three

More rain in Sydney this weekend  …

Summer in Sydney (photograph by Evie Masterton)

I also visited the Sydney Flower market one morning – amazingly I managed to get out of bed at 4.30am, arriving in Flemington at 5.30am, and home in time for breakfast at 9.00am.

Sydney Flower markets

But back to The Jungle progress-report – I’m still working my way down the first, very long garden bed, and I’m glad to say that I’m starting to make a small dint.  Here are a some shots from this weekend …

Rosie lost in The Jungle

Weekend Two

Over the weekend Sydneysiders experienced every season in just two days – pouring rain, wild wind, chilly nights, and the most glorious blistering hot beach day on Sunday.

Sunday beach day in Sydney

Delicious pomegranate and lemon drink we made after the beach

 

Despite this weather-driven adversity I continued on with my garden rescue, and managed to make some progress in the overgrown garden beds.  I’ve also come up with a plan of attack, which I hope will keep me on track ….  Priority number one is to clear ALL the overgrown garden beds, on the lower terrace.  (Just to give readers an idea of the enormity of this project, the Abandoned Garden consists of 5 areas or terraces, covering approximately 1,000 square metres.)

Earlier in the week I met Tommy, a very brave man with a lawn mower.  Tommy took on the challenge of cutting the foot long grass, and now the entire garden looks so much better – a little instant fix me up!  Of course, after all the heavy rain, the grass grows so fast, and I have to start considering how I’ll be able to afford to have my knight-in-shinning-lawn-mower-armour, Tommy, back to keep the grass under control.  I never thought the day would come when I’d be thinking about saving up to purchase a lawn mower, but wow, I really am!!

At the end of Weekend Two

A beautiful ground cover plant I found over the weekend, and would love to eventually use in my garden

Day One

One down, hundreds to go ...

Here is the seemingly harmless first tree/weed I successfully removed on Day One.  Although it appears small, it took me approximately two hours to remove!!  During these two hours I laughed, cried buckets of tears, scratched my arms to bits, and somehow covered myself in dirt.  But most of all these hours provided me with much-needed time to think.  I had thoughts of defeat, as well as thoughts of never giving up and not allowing this small noxious weed to get the better of me.  I thought about my life, and how it is that I’ve come to find myself alone in my abandoned garden.  And as I looked around The Jungle, while taking brief moments to catch my breath, I realised that the garden had been abandoned because it was too much hard work.  For many years no one, including me, had cared enough to make a difference.

I suppose that’s the moment when I decided to take on this huge task.  With every seemingly insurmountable problem, I promised myself I would not give in, I would not give up.  I’m not sure how long it will take, but one day The Jungle will be beautiful again.

That night I came across this wonderful quote, which was to become my first post:

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden” from “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett