Mr Magnolia and the hedge that needs to go

The first of our magnolia flowers appeared today.

When Sam was two, he was given a book by Aunty Audrey called Mr Magnolia and this was the first page.

And now every time I see a magnolia tree I find myself saying exactly that under my breath......... (I suspect Sam probably doesn't!)


 The sky looked like this for most of yesterday. 

So it was a worker- free day for us.


This is the view from inside our new room looking out on the garden. Joanne pointed out to us that the banksia rose hedge  should really be moved back. We had noticed that too. It just doesn't look right.
 So Bill headed out this morning to start taking down the fence....

And I started taking some cuttings to replace it.

....and a few other bits and pieces.

AND THEN I had another thought.
 We don't have to have a banksia rose hedge at all. We can have another kind of hedge!!!
We will move the fence line back further so the view from our new room is within the rose garden and research some other hedge plant to go all the way around the three sides of the rose garden to enclose it.... a bit like a walled garden room.
Please post some ideas if you have any. They would be most appreciated.

The rest of the day was spent discovering what was new and trying to evade the swooping magpies which terrify me.
This pretty dutch iris has just started to bloom....

....and I was thrilled to find this Lambley Dumble salvia  that I thought had disappeared. It's not looking terribly robust just yet but it will get better if something stops chewing it!

Amy flew to Perth and then caught another flight to Karratha yesterday to stay with Sam, Kiann and Flynn.
This morning at 5am they drove to Coral Bay for a few days....a 6 hour drive.  She must have started the trip in the back with Flynn, who wanted her (Ahmee ) to draw him a big shark ( 5am, dark, journey has just begun, Amy not a good morning person at the best of times.........love that boy!!)

Some of my favourite browsing magazines are garden catalogues and this one arrived yesterday. 

Clive Blazey suggested that..."less is more when we work with colour".
Mmmm......there's no chance of that here. Our garden beds always look like a box of smarties..!
I can't help myself.
Same with my patchwork......

This is the top of a floor pillow. It's huge!
I used the scraps of Notting Hill.
It needs to have piping attached, a bottom sewn on, stuffing added and a button sewn in the middle.
Trip and Toby will probably think it's for them!