Alowyn Gardens is now closed for the Winter to undertake an exciting NEW SECTION OF THE GARDENS, in the front paddock.
Prue and John would like to thank all our visitors who came and spent time with us over the past season and we look forward to seeing you in the first week of Spring, 2013.
We are pleased to announce that we have decided to extend our open season this year by two weeks until the Queens Birthday weekend in June. We will officially close for the Winter on Monday 10th June, 2013.
We hope to see you before we close for the Winter.
For only $30 we will print and laminate a Seasons Pass which will enable the holder to come to the gardens as many times as they like up to the end of May 2013, to experience the ever changing personality of the gardens. We will print the name of the holder on the laminated Season Pass card.
Please call in to order the card or ring us on 97302400 to order ahead.
Early Summer in the perennial border at Alowyn Gardens is a delight. The cool mornings followed by warm sunny days have brought on a patchwork of colour. The herbaceous perennials are in full flight with lots of colour from achillea, penstemons, geums, “Bishop of Llandaff” dahlias with their lovely dark leaves, phlomis russelliana over a metre tall this year and of course the beautiful salvia nemorosa in many shades of purple. Also in the spotlight is the buddleia, shasta daisies, verbascum, verbena bonariensis and the glowing yellow coreopsis.
The roses are still performing well with “Pierre de Ronsard”,”Graham Thomas” and the rugosas looking lush and lovely.
The Spring garden at Alowyn is certainly making a statement. Early roses, irises, hellebores, cyclamens, bluebells, dianthus, apple, crab apple and quince blossom and the amazing but beautiful Beschorneria yuccoides all in bloom.
The Wisteria floribunda archways are now in full flower and some of the racemes are challenging last year’s winner, which came in at 1620mm. The perfume of the Wisteria is wonderful and the haze of mauve and white is spectacular and an absolute “must see”.
We say goodby to winter, Spring is here. The wisteria has been budding, teasing us for the last 2 weeks with the buds now breaking out into their mauve fanfare. At the present rate of development, weather permitting, the wisteria should be in full flower in about two to three weeks time, about mid October.
Last year, the longest raceme on the wisteria archway measured 1620mm, very special indeed. On a warm sunny Spring day the perfume of the Wisteria is wonderful and the haze of mauve is spectacular and an absolute must see.
At the same time there is another wonder of the plant world at Alowyn. The Furcraea bedinghausii has started to flower, an exciting vision as you walk up the entry path to the gardens. This unusual plant, with origins in Mexico, only flowers once in its lifetime. It grows for about 12 years up to a height of 4 metres, then suddenly a flower stem appears which grows rapidly for a period of four to six weeks. Our Furcrea flower stem has grown three metres over the past three weeks and is still growing. The stem will grow to a height of approximately 5 metres reaching a total height of up to 9 metres, then it will burst into scores of weeping branches which carry hundreds of greeny white bell flowers. It has an overall vision of a strange but very dramatic aerial Christmas tree. Unfortunately the plant dies after flowering but produces hundreds of little plantlets to start a new generation.
Alowyn Gardens welcomes the Spring and is open again on Saturday 1st September 2012, from 10.00am to 5.00pm weekends and public holidays.
Come and visit to see early Spring in the gardens, the bulbs and hellebores are looking lovely in the birch forest and the quince blossom is just beginning.
We would love to see you. The coffee and cake will be ready for your arrival.
The weather may be cool but our coffee is hot and we would love to see you. We are spoiling all mothers with free entry and coffee. .
The gardens are looking lovely in the late Autumn with:
Seasonal fruits and vegetables available: persimmons, apples, pumpkins, artichokes and more.
We are hoping to see lots of mothers and their families before we close at the end of May for the Winter.