Arborus Innominatus

....or in my lingo the 'No Idea Tree'! Now that our camelias & rhodies are on their last legs, there's not much in the garden to grab to chuck inside for some colour. So a few branchs of spring blossom from one of the trees down on our small meadow had to suffice. Every year when this tree emerges from the depths of a miserable, cold Adelaide Hills winter to put on a truly glorious show, I ask MOTH what kind of tree it is. And each year I get the same response from Mr. Know It All, ' It's an Arborus Innominatus Mills'. So today when I brought this arm full inside, I did my best Pauline imitation & asked MOTH to please explain. 'Well Millie if you must know it translates to the 'No Bloody Idea' tree. Yep, ask a silly question & all that.

JOY

Last Christmas our beautiful 'girls' down on the Tennis Court flowered early, so I was able to enjoy dozens of white Christmas lillies strewn artfully arranged throughout the house over the Festive season. Sadly, this year the freezing cold, miserable start to our Aussie summer has delayed their blooms & a couple of nights ago when we wandered down to check on them, the buds were still tightly shut. MOTH reckons they are at least 2 weeks away - cue deep, heaving sobs from moi! However, when MOTH stumbled in from work last night, he was carrying the most exquisite branch of stephanotis (Bridal Veil). 'Here Mills I knicked this from a customer's place I was working on today.' Oh always the romantic my MOTH! So I popped the blossoms into small water vials & tucked them into the stocking hanger on our grotty, smoke-stained mantle. I wish we had SmellaBlog, as the scent wafting from them this morning is nothing short of divine!

Scentsational!

Enjoy this adorable trio of gorgeousness while I try to keep up with a very busy, heavily overcommitted week. Plus the arrival of grumpy, grouchy MOTH the Christmas Grinch who made a huge appearance early this morning!! Flaying his arms around & muttering loudly "I hate Christmas, I hate Christmas. Do we have to have those decorations everywhere Mills, you know I hate Christmas!" I think I posted last year about putting him in suspended animation from about now until Dec. 26th, so hand me the knock-out drugs quickly!

Image: Sarah Wood

Jigsaw Pieces

Sadly, our 3 fireless-nights ended last evening. Spring has gone back into hiding here in the Hills & it was freezing again. An arduous week of crunching numbers at work is over thank goodness & my weekend starts today. The second to last piece in the Bathroom-From-Hell reno. jigsaw falls into place on Sunday. MOTH's wanted to put the new ceiling in last, & he managed to install half a couple of weekends ago. The other half will go up on Sunday & we are almost there. The last thing to do is the special manufacturing of a very large inset mirror, & we couldn't measure up for that until the ceiling was in. I'm trying to keep a lid on my excitement, but the Another Room Completed butterflies are starting to flutter in my tummy.

Thank you to everybody who left such precious comments on Sunday's Pink Post, they meant so much to me. I picked the very last of our Winter camelias yesterday & was able to mix in some glorious Spring cherry blossom that's just starting to flower. The house has been a riot of pinks over the past 2 dreary, grey months, with our camelias enjoying a bumper year & I'll miss them like crazy as the weather warms up. A happy weekend to you all, dear Hedgies.

Feed Me, Feed Me!

Normally this would have been MOTH's catch cry, but the No Fat Ever Again diet has put a sudden halt to that. However, a few months ago it was all the camelias in our garden screeching this at top note. They do like a feed up in late Summer, but somehow last year they got missed & were not happy about it.

So this year, MOTH heeded their call & fed them up liberally with his Seven Secret Herbs & Spices recipe & boy, oh boy have they responded! The big old spruce in the background is in another area of our garden.

However on Saturday the Hills were subjected to another big Winter storm - heavy rain, hail & high winds. Yesterday morning MOTH stumbled out to get the paper & came back inside to report that the wind had snapped off a large, heavily laden branch of one of my favourite camelias right by the front door. Not wanting to despatch the lot to the compost, I tried to rescue as many of the flowers as I could, so this morning, they are inside everywhere.

A florist I'm not, but they look ever so pretty thrown willy-nilly into a tall glass cylinder on the kitchen table.

And in the Hallway.

And here's just a few of the different varieties currently giving us much pleasure in the garden. I popped a few of them into a set of crystal trifle dishes that Mum & Dad received as wedding presents in 1948. They sit in the cupboard gathering dust mostly, so it's lovely to be able to use them. They are a delighful reminder of the delectable desserts served in them by my darling Mum.

Miracle Worker

Here are our lovely Tuberoses & oh, I do wish we had Aromablog so I could share them with you all!! Even though most of the buds have yet to open up, the ones that have are exuding the most exquisite heady perfume throughout the house. The scent is described as complex, exotic, intoxicating, sweet & floral all at once & that they are in truckloads. Because this is the first year we've grown them in this garden, MOTH asked me to do a bit of research on whether we need to dig the bulbs & store them due to the cold climate, or just leave them dormant in the ground, like we used to do in our old garden down on the hot Adelaide Plains. Well I didn't really find the answer for him as I got somewhat side-tracked.

I've discovered that Miss Tuberose is known as the 'Mistress of the Night'. Tuberose represents sensuality. It is an alcove perfume meant for a woman without inhibitions, who's ready to use any means to seduce - crikey!! In fact this fragrance has a narcotic effect that pulls down the psychological constraints and taboos that forbid, to abandon oneself to physical passion. Now of course this has no relevance to us, with MOTH & I currently sleeping at opposite ends of the house!

Tuberose is also known to improve one’s capacity for emotional depth (could have used this with a few old boyfriends). Used during intimate moments, it's fragrance can enhance the fantasy factor (? turn MOTH into Jon Hamm) & encourage a romantic bedtime. It's also used to enhance motivation (that will please my Boss), enthusiasm, expansion, sensitivity & spontaneity. The flowers are worn at the back of the hair over a plait in southern India by women to entice their husbands with its aroma (note to self - cancel next Saturday's appt. with Mel @ Smooth Hair, I feel a plait coming on!). The mysterious aroma of tuberose uplifts our soul and brings sublime peace to our mind. All well & good but does it stop snoring??!!!

Sweet Tuberoses For Everyone

MOTH has excitedly reported that our pots of tuberoses down on the Tennis Court are starting to look very, very good. As I'm still blogging on my slow, slow work laptop (grrrr, grumble, grrrr, mumble), I can't take a pic & post it. However I do have great news on the technology front, young Dr. Nick from the Computer Hospital called & I can pick up Patient Processor & bring it home to recuperate - YAY!!!

So this post is to thank you all for your patience this week, all your comments on The Renovator's Prayer were absolutely fantastic & great fun! I am lucky to have my Mr. Serial Renovator. Even though the work pace here is slowed by all of his other commitments, once he gets going he's awesome to watch. His meticulous attention to detail is what makes this project so special.

I also wanted to send a big Hey to Janine Marshall from gorgeous N.W. Tassie. Many of you know Janine through the great comments she leaves on blogs. It's always lovely to hear from you Janine, & thank you so much for all the contributions you make.

Image: Country Living

It Was The Best Of Times!

How lovely it is to be back! Thank you, thank you to everyone who left beautiful Christmas & New Year wishes, we loved reading each & every one. There was a whole lot of love & plenty of joy here at The Hedge this Festive Season, although it was compressed into 3 OTT days. The interstate sons + one partner arrived just before lunch, with the local boys + one partner not far behind them. The noise levels then reached those similar to an A380 on take-off, but it was sweet music to my ears!

MOTH wore the Merry Christmas apron in a futile attempt to convince those present he actually cooked lunch.

Puppie Tazzie, experiencing her first Christmas spent the entire morning wrestling presents from everyone here .....

......and here.

The result of the pressie opening frenzy.


My beautiful girls, MOTH's famous Christmas Lilies made their spectacular appearance right on time this year.

So went straight onto the Christmas lunch table in all their prettiness.

Certain family members were absent in this pic, out having a quick gasper before tucking into the food marathon!

My 'Don't be sillie Millie, those won't ever grow' Sweet Peas continued to bloom in profusion to prove MOTH wrong in truckloads!

And looked gorgeous in the Guest Room.

This year I planted new yellow Asiatics one freezing cold Sunday arvo in the dead of Winter, & much to my absolute delight, they rewarded me right on my birthday, saving MOTH a whole lot of cash at the Florist! Here.....

......and here this morning.

I fell totally in love with Lori's Panettone French Toast with crispy bacon, lashings of mascarpone & a snow flurry of powdered sugar & enjoyed it 5 mornings in a row between Christmas & New Year! I don't think I've ever fallen off the diet wagon with such a resounding thud!

These beautiful books were kindly delivered by Santa & then his lovely birthday fairy on Saturday & are sitting on my bedside table. So for the next few weeks I'll be living temporarily in Provence with Vicki, preparing delicious picnic nosh with Sophie & absorbing the late Ted's fascinating insight into his life.

I still have a week's vacation left, so posting may be a little erratic. Posting or the beach, posting or the beach - DECISIONS, DECISIONS!

Hello Possums!

I've always had an aversion to the ordinary garden variety Gladioli. Well I need to think again, as the boys at VSF (Very Special Flowers) in New York have created a right beauty with this mass arrangement of white Gladdies. Who would have thought they could look so fantastic in all their singular glory!

I have bad memories of the horrendous triangular Interflora plastic bowl floral 'arrangements' (see below) of year's (& other husband's) past - yuk! And I reckon I wouldn't be the only one. MOTH has always had fab taste in flowers (with a little help from the girls at Victoria's in Hyde Park over the years) bless him! Dame Edna's excessive use of the multi-coloured varieties - not good!

I reckon dear old Glad's been given a bit of a bad rap, maybe it's time to give her a second chance. What do you think?

Image 1: VSF Image 2: Brant Image 3: Daylife

Wildflowers in the Desert

Hello Mother Dearest,
Seeing as its Spring now, the Sturt Desert Pea’s have sprung!
It’s a really special moment up here, because all we see year round is red dirt - haha!
Love Son #4 xox (Who works in a remote site in far north South Australia).

Sturt's Desert Pea (Swainsona Formosa) is the Floral Emblem of my home state South Australia. It occurs in arid woodlands and on open plains, often following heavy rain. It can also withstand the marked extremes of temperature experienced in the inland deserts - searing hot days & often light frosts at night.

The original collection was made in 1699 by William Dampier on Rosemary Island in the Dampier Archipelago in Western Australia, where he collected a specimen from & described it as :
'A creeping vine that runs along the ground ... and the blossom is like a bean blossom, but much larger and of a deep red colour looking very beautiful'.

The name commemorates Captain Charles Sturt (1795-1869) a notable Explorer of inland Australia, who in his early notes refers several times to the beauty of the desert pea in flower and the harsh nature of its habitat.
'We saw that beautiful flower in splendid blossom on the plains. It was growing amid barrenness and decay, but its long runners were covered with flowers that gave a crimson tint to the ground'.

Wonderful Weekend

The weekend's here & I've had such a good week. All the camellias in our garden are starting to burst forth with the most stunning blooms. I've continued to feel & look well. I had a really good win at work with some quite unexpected new business coming my way. And you have all made my week with your fantastic comments - thank you so much. So there's nothing more for it - enjoy the weekend everyone!

Image: Country Living

Wisteria Lane

All images Lear Mahoney

I really don't fall into the Desperate Housewives category - not skinny or crazy enough & as a previous post lamented, I don't have Mike the Plumber. However, I do have 2 delightful Wisterias patiently waiting in their pots for me to something with. Son # 5 dropped them off a few weeks ago, after over-ordering for a client, so Mum Millie's inherited them. We had the most glorious one at our old house, wrapping itself the entire length of the wrought iron work on our return verandah. When it was in full bloom in October, it used to stop the traffic on our street, with cars screeching to a halt & folk jumping out with their cameras.

However, since these 2 arrived MOTH & I have been scratching our heads as where to best place them. We know they need a sunny spot & as they can get out of hand in the blink of an eye, somewhere we can easily maintain them. So we did a complete lap of the property on Sunday arvo trying to find the best place, & returned none the wiser. Most of the walls of our house are covered in mature Boston Ivy which we really like, so we are lacking a wall for them. I stumbled across these pics in my file & while we don't have a pool deck area, I really like the way in which they've been pleached. So watch this space, they are starting to look like those desperate girls on Wisteria Lane & I need to find a permanent place for them very soon.

Bouquets all Round!

I love working remotely from Head Office interstate - no inter-office politics, no micro-management from the boss & no attendance at the compulsory Friday drinks! However, there are moments when I miss the companionship of my colleagues (for only a split second mind you!), & I've had some good wins to celebrate this week. So firstly, a bouquet of these gorgeous roses to Moi, for closing sales on 2 large Accounts I've been working on since last year - high five's all round!!

And secondly, & most importantly, bouquets to all of you - for the wonderful, humorous, touching, encouraging, supportive & delightful comments left here @ The Hedge this week. This is why Blogging is so fantastic & so these roses are for everyone who visits, or even just lurks, enjoy them & the happiest of weekends to you!

Steel Magnolias?

Images Homes & Gardens & Flickr

Never ever!! I've inherited my love of Magnolias from my darling Mum, & I'm so glad! One of life's most amazing experiences is to stand under the embrace of a Magnolia tree in full bloom. To drink in the intoxicating perfume, to stand in awe of its majestic yet gentle beauty & forgive it unconditionally for its all too fleeting display of blooms.

I have loved putting this post together, the soft, ethereal nature of each petal seduces the camera lens to come closer.....and closer. The most feminine of flowers, so vulnerable & fragile, yet so powerful in its ability to stir feelings & emotions. Mystical, magnificent Magnolia!