Driveway Garden Tour

The Driveway Border is the first part of the garden that visitors walk or drive through. At the fork there's a huge Cordyline and a decision to be made - go straight ahead, or turn left? It might be a good time to stop and look around - you'll reach the house soon enough.

There are a lot of different plants and trees to look at in this sheltered part of the garden. As you walk towards the house, you'll enjoy an assortment of plants, including Phormiums, fence-hugging roses, specimen trees, bulbs and perennials. You'll also pass the last resting place of Lucky Puss, who wasn't all that lucky - but that's another story...

Have fun investigating the network of paths in the Hump, full of evergreen Pittosporums, or take time to admire the spring shrubs and the blossom trees, if spring's your favourite season. I hope you'll see something that you like.

Introducing the Driveway GardenIntroducing the Driveway Garden...
The Driveway Garden was my first great digging effort, as I slowly transformed the strip of rough patchy grass between the flowering cherry trees along the driveway. I remember it taking many weekends, and I wondered what I'd started!
Driveway Garden ImagesDriveway Garden Images...
Every day I give thanks for the trees and shrubs which grow in the Driveway Garden. These garden areas are hugely varied, providing dappled shade as well as open, sunny spaces. The dogs and I walk around the drive every morning. Here are some of my most recent pictures.
Five Years On - The Hump GardenFive Years On - The Hump Garden...
The Hump Garden is now five years old, and is my largest and most colourful garden area. Garden growth has been so vigorous (with so much open space and sunshine) that paths and plants are shifted around (and sometimes removed) every year.
The New Hump GardenThe New Hump Garden...
A large area in The Hump was cleared in the winter of 2018. Trees were felled and chainsawed, pieces carted away to dry out for next year's firewood. Yippee! A brand new garden area for me, expansive, sunny, and free of plants and shrubs. Here was my big chance to prove myself...
Down Come the Trees...Down Come the Trees......
The Hump used to be a very difficult garden area - no irrigation, little sunlight, towering pine and gum trees. I tried making paths, planting natives, dragging in hoses, even planting rhododendrons and maples. What was I thinking? Nothing really worked. But in the winter of 2018 everything changed. Over three magical days the Hump trees were felled.
Kiftsgate RoseKiftsgate Rose...
I bought a batch of old-fashioned white rambling roses second-hand, back in the day, and planted them to climb up large trees in my garden. The Driveway garden's Gleditsia was paired with the rose Kiftsgate.
The Old Hump GardenThe Old Hump Garden...
The Hump used to be a rough, and inhospitable area of my garden. For years and years it had a rather chequered history. Ideas for development blossomed, withered, and died. Plants came and went, often relocated elsewhere. Paths were cleared and edged one year, decommissioned the next.
Driveway RhododendronsDriveway Rhododendrons...
The Driveway Gardens promised dappled shade from overhead trees, and lots of space. Here was my chance to become acquainted with rhododendrons. They seemed such suitable shrubs for a large country garden. Suitable? I'm sure that the rhododendrons themselves would rather be described as 'noble and imposing'...
Golden Elm Tree BlossomGolden Elm Tree Blossom...
It's mid-spring again and the Golden Elm trees in my garden have just burst into blossom. Their flowers are a stunning light lime-green colour - so much more subtle that the pinks and whites of the show-off flowering cherries and crab-apples nearby.
Wooden Garden SeatsWooden Garden Seats...
Finally the Driveway Lawn has some sturdy wooden garden seats. How about sitting in the shade underneath the big flowering cherry tree? It's such a peaceful spot, and there's much to enjoy in the surrounding spring gardens.
Seven Garden GnomesSeven Garden Gnomes...
Garden gnomes aren't supposed to pop up willy-nilly all over the garden. So this cheerful troupe of small chaps might just surprise garden visitors who walk down my driveway.
Driveway Lawn Garden BenchDriveway Lawn Garden Bench...
The Driveway Garden used to have a wooden garden bench, nestled in underneath the trees by the edge of the Hump. Cats would climb the trees behind, while birds flitted (hopefully) out of their reach. It's a great spot to experience a bit of nature...
Driveway Golden LeavesDriveway Golden Leaves...
It's Autumn in my garden, and the thorny Gleditsia tree in the driveway is starting to lose its leaves, forming a carpet of gold on the gravel. Early Autumn is a mellow yellow time of year, a time for thinking and planning new things.
Driveway by the HouseDriveway by the House...
As you walk around the gradual bend in the driveway, past the weeping cherry trees, you'll see the house surrounded by roses. The trees and shrubs in the Driveway Garden mightn't have changed so much since I first came to Mooseys, but they've certainly grown!
Maple and Rhododendron GardenMaple and Rhododendron Garden...
In the winter of 2008 I chopped down a large Cotoneaster, opening up a huge new area of garden by the driveway. Out came seedling Pittosporums and in went rhododendrons and red maples. See how well this garden has grown...
Clematis MontanaClematis Montana...
I've tried several times to get completely rid of the Clematis Montana growing along the fence in the Driveway Garden. It smothers one of the flowering cherry trees, and is generally a nuisance - but it still lives! And I still quite like it!
Driveway BergeniasDriveway Bergenias...
The driveway Bergenias are beautiful edging plants. Throughout the year they provide neat, evergreen foliage, then in spring deep cherry-pink flowers appear. This is the famous Bressingham Ruby variety.
Cherry Blossom in SpringCherry Blossom in Spring...
Spring in the Driveway Gardens is very beautiful, thanks to a number of flowering cherry trees. The biggest tree sits in the middle of the Driveway Lawn, and I can see it from the house. I've planted miniature Agapanthus around the base, and encircled this small garden with river stones...
Stone Wall Foliage GardenStone Wall Foliage Garden...
The first part of the Driveway Garden is now crammed full of foliage plants, and edged with river stones. But in earlier days it was left neglected, to get on with growing without my help.
Shrubs Along the DrivewayShrubs Along the Driveway...
Plantings have changed down the driveway over the years. Some, like this early red flax (or Phormium), just didn't know how to stay in their place. Mind you, the Head Gardener did have a bad habit of planting shrubs too close to paths and driveways...
Driveway TreesDriveway Trees...
Mature deciduous trees grow along the driveway, and around the Driveway Lawn. They are a lovely mixture of Elm, Prunus, Dogwood, Sorbus, and Gleditsia. I love their autumn colours, spring blossom, and leafy shade in the summer.
Weeping Silver Birch TreeWeeping Silver Birch Tree...
Standing by the house you get a good view of the weeping silver birch, as the driveway curves out of sight past more big trees. In autumn there is much warmth from the golden and yellow leaf colour.
Mid-Summer RoseMid-Summer Rose...
Every year in mid-summer the scrambling rose called Wedding Day produces its creamy white single flowers, high in the trees which shelter the driveway.
Follow That SheepFollow That Sheep...
Walking down the driveway is the Moosey sheep's favourite journey. Once a month they are escorted from the front sheep paddock down to the back sheep paddock. Or vice versa - when you're a sheep, the direction of travel hardly matters...
The Welcome GardenThe Welcome Garden...
Welcome to the Moosey Garden! Just before the fork in the driveway you'll see this sign, in front of the Welcome Garden. It's a new development, full of New Zealand native shrubs. And just maybe Rusty the Dog will be sitting here to say hello!
Tussock GrassTussock Grass...
There are tussock grasses in all parts of the Moosey Garden - this brown variety is one of my favourites. Using brown as a colour in a mixed border should put me on the daring, cutting edge of garden design, too...
Flower Carpet RosesFlower Carpet Roses...
The driveway border is home to several bright pink Flower Carpet roses, seen here flowering in mid-summer.
Statue with BlossomStatue with Blossom...
This small statue sits underneath the big flowering cherry tree in the driveway. In spring the blossom is magnificent, and there is much serenity in the small circular garden bed.
Early DaysEarly Days...
I only have one very early photograph of the driveway showing the weeping flowering cherries, taken before I'd started digging the first driveway border. There's no garden!
Firewood for Next WinterFirewood for Next Winter...
In the middle of winter I truly appreciate the firewood that the Moosey garden generates. It seems that just enough timber falls down in the storms to provide for the following winter's warmth.
Sorbus Leaves and BerriesSorbus Leaves and Berries...
The deciduous trees down the driveway always put on a terrific display in both Spring and Autumn. This sorbus tree has the most beautiful colour changes in late April, and I always try and take a photograph of the leaves. And then there are the cute pink berries...
Flowering Crab Apple TreeFlowering Crab Apple Tree...
My blossom trees in the Driveway Garden are spectacular in spring, planted in the narrow border along the old sheep fence. The pale pink weeping flowering cherries are first, followed by this flowering Crab Apple with its dark pink blossom.
DaffodilsDaffodils...
In my early gardening days I bought in lots of big bags of mixed daffodils. Many were planted alongside the driveway. I loved coming home and driving past them in spring. The flowers were such a cheerful welcome home.
Viola In The DrivewayViola In The Driveway...
Lots of silly purple Violas self-seed in the middle of the driveway. They have a precarious existence and are under constant threat from car and bicycle tyres, gumboots and dog paws.
Autumn Garden LeavesAutumn Garden Leaves...
Red, yellow, and orange leaves cover the driveway gardens in autumn. Berries start to redden, and the driveway itself is carpeted with ginger-gold.
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