Re-purposing an old lamp post

The replacement driveway lamp post

This is an old property and there are quite a few redundant installations which included a lamp along the pergola pathway to our Gazebo. The lamp itself was in very good condition and matched the one in the driveway that had not so long ago been driven over by a truck. The decision was made to delete the pathway lamp and use it as a replacement for the driveway lamp, making all the old wiring secure at the same time. When the lamp was lifted off it’s base we found an older base underneath, very securely fixed into the ground. This base was centred on our pergola pathway both coming towards and going away from the Gazebo. The spot is in shade under Californian redwoods so a difficult spot to garden in but a great spot for a feature. We had a can of black spray paint, a square of salvaged timber and a sandstone look concrete paver all in reasonable proportions so Tom got to work and assembled it all on top of the metal post. The initial consensus was that a black pot would look great on the pedestal so a pot also received the spray can treatment.

Under the pergolas

It does look good too but I felt it didn’t set the right tone for a wedding venue so tried a cream pot, I think this feels more comfortable in the spot.

From the Gazebo

Then, in the window of an antiques shop in Katoomba I saw a lovely concrete urn which could look fantastic. Then the question will be should we respray the post underneath white or maybe grey? A bunch of these white Hydrangea paniculata would look lovely in the urn.

Hydrangea paniculata

 

Farewell to the summer holidays

The holidays seemed way too short this year. We swam, sat on the beach, had encounters with a tree snake and bluebottles, saw Christmas bells (Blandifordia nobilis) in the bush and generally wound down. This was followed by the  Australia holiday and hot weather and the garden got away on us a bit. We have been working hard this last week reining it in and tidying it up in preparation for our first wedding of the year this weekend. The lawns are causing the most stress of course as we try and supply them with their required 25mm of water per week in very hot weather. The garden has emerged looking lovely for the wedding and as long as the afternoon storms hold off it should be a beautiful ceremony in the deep shade under the Linden and a cool reception in the gazebo with all the blinds rolled up for a change!

Fuchsia magellanica and white iceberg rose

Rudbeckia with weeping elm and white crepe myrtle in the background

The iceberg rose has been planted in between a camellia hedge, the Fuchsia and a large Buxus sempervirens. It would not be a recommended planting but has proved very successful here. The rudbeckia are putting on their usual bright show but are not particularly long lived. I have been delighted to see quite a few seedlings appearing this year for the first time so we will pot them up in preparation for autumn replanting.

Tiger lilies

Nicotiana, cosmos and Celosia argentea

The tiger lilies seem to be naturalising in this spot among an old planting of Nandina domestica. I have not had such success with all the lilies I have tried. We replanted our entrance driveway bed with nicotiana this year despite warnings that it may not do well, susceptibility to powdery mildew I think was the fear. We planted them well apart and they have been giving a summery show. We did spray once with spinosad after finding a couple of caterpillars. There are a few of the Cosmos bipinnata “Velouette” down the middle and more recently we have added in the magenta Celosia argentea. So far so good!