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June

Francesca

Its been 1 year since I started the blog and 1 year since I began Villa del Vento as an official business. A lot has been done in 1 year... and there’s a lot we haven’t gotten around to. Alex started the temple gazebo, built a jetty, a shade pergola, dug a stream, lined sheds, built barn doors, paved a patio at the back door, not to mention the 101 fix-it jobs that keep popping up. I’ve made plaster mouldings and painted walls, windows, doors, and ceilings both inside and outside, dug new garden beds, planted 100s of trees, shrubs, perennials, and bulbs, cleaned out a muddy, stinky lake, laid brick edging and paths, and made mirrors and frames for Daniela's shop... Not to mention the tea parties, markets, and cake orders! Mum has sewed curtains, Dad has made jam and cut up an entire forest of fire wood among their many other jobs and projects this year.

I've been doing some under-planting and maintenance in the garden this last month. Some of it is quite hard work especially with all the mud. Every time I step from the soil to the gravel path I gain a centimetre in height so by the end of the day I’m walking on mud stilts! The work is fun because I can see some structure forming and the promise of a more finished looking garden. It’s a bit boring to photograph though since nothing will really show results until the new spring growth happens. It all looks so very wintery!

 

We have started a new garden area which includes Dad’s New Orchard and my Secret Garden which is in 3 parts: a potager/flower garden, an oriental garden, and a fern gully which connects to the existing native garden. We have dug the stream and the gully, planted pittosporum hedging, and Alex has built a pergola which he will cover with slats to create dappled shade for the ferns. This is of course an on going project. We always have a few things on the go at once because I like to get the ground work done so that the new plants can start growing as soon as possible. Finishing off can be done as the garden grows up.


I have gathered together quite a few plants for the Oriental Garden from our own nursery collection and from the bargain tables at garden centres. So many garden plants originate in Asia (which is not surprising given the vastness of the continent) so it's very easy to find bits and bobs that will fit right in. It will be a mix of Chinese and Japanese plants with the style leaning towards the European pastiche rather than authentic Zen.

 

I’ve shared so many ‘before’ photos and frustratingly I don't have any ‘afters’ yet but this is my sketch plan for next summer. The bits in red are still on the to-do list.

Let’s see how much we can get done over the next few months. I’m busier every week with cake orders but I try to spend as much time as I possibly can outdoors.

 

Meanwhile back in the kitchen…


My aim with this blog was to share our progress and also the ‘history’ of the Villa. Now I think we are pretty much up to date so in the next 12 months I will write with the seasons, starting in August with ‘Winter’.


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