With registrations open for this year’s Spring Garden competition, we spoke to resident Sue Kennedy who won first place in both the Front Gardens and the Courtyard or Balcony Gardens categories of the 2022 competition. See our 2022 Winners.
What prompted you to enter the Spring Garden Competition for the first time?
I have a love of gardening which goes back to my childhood, where I was surrounded by our beautiful home garden with a very enthusiastic gardening mother. In adulthood, mum and I would be regular visitors to nurseries.
I purchased my present home 15 years ago, and not having had the opportunity for many years to have a garden, set about planning and planting this one. Working full-time, my reward on Friday afternoons would be a visit to Bunnings on the way home to collect a plant or two. Over the years as I worked on my garden and it grew to maturity, I thought it would be exciting to one day enter a garden competition.
Retiring at the end of 2019 and with 2020 a COVID-19 pandemic year, I found myself spending a slower, more relaxing time in my garden. I decided it was time to take the plunge and enter a competition. When I suggested this to my daughter she was very encouraging and so seeing the City of Ryde ad for the local garden competition, I entered.
What do you enjoy about gardening?
I find gardening both creative, relaxing and sometimes wonderfully exhausting. It’s a real learning process as well and as we garden we learn and build on our gardening skills and knowledge. Great to keep retirees’ minds and bodies active as well.
When I started designing and before putting in every tree, bush and plant I first went to Bunnings to purchase a mattock. The chap there said ‘Madam you need a light-weight plastic handled mattock’ and he was right. So easy to use digging out old plants and making new garden beds in clay heavy soil.
When do you start preparing your garden for the spring?
Parts of my garden are now 15 years old, other areas have gone through learning curve changes over the years.
My garden front and back is tiny but each area is mostly full and established. Late autumn I cut back perennials and start to germinate spring flower seeds for planting in August, especially for the front garden. Pests seem a constant problem even in winter, so I try to keep up a regular spraying program with eco oil and Neem oil. I have native bees and native fish on my plot so using eco products is important.
Salvias feature in both the front garden and back courtyard and once they are cut back heavily in late autumn, in early July I plant winter annuals such as primula as a space filler until the salvia take over again.
I’m a big believer in feeding the soil, which I continue to do throughout winter to support the microbes in the soil and prepare it for warmer spring weather.
What advice do you have for people entering the competition for the first time?
When I first entered the Garden Competition I was nervous and wondered if my garden measured up to the expected requirements. But I was quietly very proud of my garden and the joy it gave me, and also people who stopped and talked to me about the garden. An opportunity too to share some cuttings with other enthusiastic gardeners. The judges were fabulous and put me at ease with their enthusiasm and interest as to how my garden came to be. So gardeners, have a go, it’s a wonderful fun experience and lets you show off your amazing and creative gardens.
