The Shambles, Always planting

Leo and Austin, Easter Eggs and Great Grand dads wagon

As a follow up our Open garden at Easter. It was gratifying to note 700 visitors and a very successful result for the "Hunchy Community Association"  and the "Blackall Range Horseless Carriage Club."
Of course we couldn't resist adding some new plants , or adding to our current stock

Asystasia gangetica ( Blue form of Chinese Violet) Ground-covering herbaceous plant Malaysia

Asystasia gangetica micrantha (White form of Chinese Violet) Groundcovering herb South Africa

Cuphea salvadorensis (Christmas Cigar Flower) Mexico, El Salvador

Callicarpa dichotoma ? C cana (White Beauty Berry) China

Dombeya calanthe syn. Dombeya burgessiae Tall shrub pink flowering , maple shaped leaves, flowers in clusters South East Africa

Drimiopsis maculata (Leopard lily)                South Africa

Felicia amelloides (Kingfisher daisy) Half hardy perennial , light blue flowers. South Africa

Hibiscus acetosella Short lived perennial with bronze foliage and pink flowers. First recognized by French botonists in 1896. Congo Angola

Hibiscus schizopetalus (Japanese Lantern Hibiscus) Finely divided petals and long stamen. Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique

Knifophia (seedlings from yellow)

Lonicera sempervirens (Dropmores Scarlet Honeysuckle) Semi-evergreen climber with scarlet flowers Eastern United States

Nepeta faasenii

Salvia involucrata x karwinskii  "Follets Folly" Red flpowering tall perennial shrub.

Salvia involucrata "Joan" Tall shrub bright pink flowers.

Salvia involucrata " Mulberry Jam" Tall shrub Mauve flowers

Salvia pallida Pale Sage. Tall, Oval leaves scalloped edges, pale blue flowers Argentina

Salvia macrophylla "Purple leaf" Like green leaved S. macrophylla Cobalt blue flowers Peru

Verbena canadensis "Homestead Purple" Named in 1990s by Dr. Alan Armitage, of the University of Georgia. Vigorously spreading, deep purple clusters from June to November. garden cultivar

Also couldn't help taking photos of grandchildren in our garden trolley. Body rescued/remanufactured by Laurie Jeays, Wheels by Fred Vowden (Michaels Grandfather) sometime in the 1920s. Never hrow stuff away

Michael Simpson

Easter in the Garden, Another highly successful event.

Heritage Rose stall "Easter in the garden"

The best weather possible and a garden bursting with colour assured a very successful Open garden Event over the Easter weekend. Garden enthusiasts, as would expected  were at the gate well before opening time to comb through the fantastic and very large Plant fair and Heritage Roses stall at "The Shambles". About 700 visitors over the Easter Saturday and Sunday left with arms full of colourful plants. 

As enormous effort by Kate Stock and the "Hunchy Community Association" meant that the plant fair and Heritage Rose stall were not only filled with lovely plants but were attractive and very professionally run as well. Thanks to all the Hunchy volunteers in set up, gate minding and help in general.

Gates about to Open , Easter Open garden "The Shambles"

Refreshments this time were provided by "Blackall Range Horseless Carriage Club", and the entertainment by "Smokin' Melaleucas" (Martin, Chris, Kev, Jim and yours trully) on Sunday afternoon.
Many thanks to our helpers who did not come from the organizations mentioned above. Eleanor, Denise, John, Leigh-Anne, Chris, Ed, Tracey and Chris Collie as well as  Martin Leonard. Some of us got to share pizza, wine, music and even a camp fire when the gates closed.

A small part of the enormous plant selection at "Easter in the garden"