The (Moor)Field Guide: 16

Mid Spring, End of Oct 2024. Big Rose Garden news & big changes ahead, the Why and How? The Productive Garden in full swing and getting summer ready. The Dry Garden & Long Border are weeded & awake.

The young Malus plena putting on a floral show in the Long Border.

What a month October has been, so much so I am delivering you the (Moor)Field Guide for it a couple of days into November but it really has just been such a big month. It has been challenging, exciting and liberating. Winter has well and truly passed on now and our days are longer, the skies bluer and the sun warmer and if that doesn’t put a pep in your step after some long cold months I don’t know what will.

It is, of course, a hugely busy time for the garden. Everything grows faster than you can keep up with it and it is equal parts exhilarating as it is anxiety inducing. Mid spring is the peak of so much to do and everything all at once to prepare the garden for the approaching summer. The kind of heat that renders much garden activity to that of hiding under the shade of the biggest trees, preserving like people possessed or taking refuge in the pool dreaming of what one might do when next the ground can be dug and things planted with a hope of surviving. Add to this the very exciting adventure that awaits us, Nessie’s first overseas trip with family to the US and while my mum and other family are staying behind here at Moorfield, we need to make sure the garden is in good shape before we leave to ensure it is not too big a job for everyone else.

In amongst all of this we have been camping in beautiful places by the beach and bush and celebrating friend’s birthdays and many visitors staying and most recently, a halloween party for the little people in our lives. And on that, who knew that Castlemaine, our nearest town at 15 minutes away, was the first town in Australia to celebrate Halloween back in 1858?! A Halloween Ball was held at the wonderful Red Hill Saloon which still stands today on main street of an outlying community and the most beautiful of villages, Chewton which I never tire of driving through on my way “into town”. It was particularly special to learn this was kicked off by the Scottish Gold Miners of the time, my ancestry on both sides, who did it to continue their tradition of Samhain . The Fletcher’s who built Moorfield back in 1862, local grocers at the time during the Gold Rush, were known for their hospitality, their garden and parties according to a genealogist who did some research for us. I feel they would have approved of our festivities, the kids certainly did.

Moorfield spooky touches, the kids on the hunt in a Trick-or-Treat Treasure Hunt and some of the wonderful creations they came up with in "the Witches House" aka the stone barn.

This month has also been a very exciting month for me personally as I embarked on furthering my education, taking my hort qualifications to a new area which as gardeners we have been well invested in for many years but is only just starting to be recognised now, Therapeutic Horticulture. I have had a wonderful few weeks with my new classmates and can feel my mind and heart expnading into this new realm, it just feels so natural to be taking this step which speaks deeply to my own journey into gardening and I look forward to getting to be part of a world which brings much deserved time amongst plants and nature for our most in need of the solace we all know it can provide.

The beautiful Moongate on the way to my classroom. What a gorgeous environment to learn in.

So, from here you will find below much about the Rose Garden and the issue’s we are having and some of the options I have up my sleeve. I can definitely say there are many of you who have been very understanding and embracing of us going down this road with one of our most beloved garden areas and so I look forward to hearing your thoughts. There is a poll as part of that section. I am also delving into the Productive Garden with it’s Veg Patch, Berry Patch and Orchard and touching lightly on other areas like the Dry Garden and Long Border, two areas which will be a big focus in the (Moor)Field guide for November.

I have also decided to add site maps and designs for each area in this guide just refresh you all on the finer details of the design and layout of the garden so hopefully it will read clearer for you, especially those of you who are new to us. Welcome!

We hope you enjoy this (Moor)Field Guide, thank you for being here and supporting us. Pip, Hugo and family xo

The overarching garden map of Moorfield.