Path terminates here

Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop.   Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Today will be the final installment of the stroll down my garden path. This is not because I've lost interest in showing you any further, but simply due to the fact that this is where my path stops... 

You may have the impression that my path is quite long, since it has taken three installments to view. This is not the case. It is not much more than 40 metres in length. By having traversed it slowly we have enacted the words of Yogi Berra, namely that “You can see a lot by just looking.”

We shall therefore complete our last few steps by continuing to observe as much as we can of what lies on either side of the path.

Let's begin...who's coming? 

Speaking to me???

Yes, Toby. You can come along too!

Remember, we ended our last walk here after we'd stepped down on to the lower terrace...see, Pumba is still guarding the spot.

If we turn around now, we can see the small round table and chairs behind us, a lovely spot to sit on a hot day. The pond is situated a stone's throw from here and the sound of water tumbling into its depth is particularly captivating and relaxing. 

 

We cannot see the pond from here, but do have sight of the water feature that feeds it, if you peep through the green undergrowth to our left.

Turning slightly again to our right, we look across to the back of the greenhouse which sits on the bricked level just below where we're standing.

Our path off left of this, leads us down a slight slope to reach the greenhouse, but for now, have a closer look at the ornamental basket hanging from the remaining trunk of a little flowering quince. It blew down in a storm shortly after the greenhouse was erected last year and I didn't have the heart to remove the trunk. 

Looking down from this spot, you'll see the ferns growing beneath. They were also planted a year ago, after the construction of the greenhouse and path.

Now let's step back and across to the left again, where we'll have a closer look beneath the swamp cypress and Japanese elm, the two trees dominating this part of the garden.  

The wooden disks forming the little walkway beneath the trees were cut from trunks and branches salvaged from my garden. They work so well here. That's an aspidistra growing in the half-submerged terracotta pot off to the left in the picture above. I took these pictures at the beginning of October. The fushia on the extreme right is now in flower, so I'll need to take some up dated pictures soon. 

Japanese elm trunk off right. Irish moss growing in a hollowed out rock in foreground.

Salvaged dead yukka stump has pride of place amongst the pebbles and hollowed out rock.

Bark chips, stumps and another metal sculpture.

Here's another last look at one of my ferns. I do so love ferns!

Lift your eyes now, stand on your tippy-toes and glance a little into the distance ahead. You'll have a view of the pool beyond the New Zealand flax.

Here's one of my bromeliads. I've only recently begun to grow them.

 

The next picture was taken last year in November. It was shortly after the path and terrace had been constructed and all the mess cleared away. I was very busy for several weeks getting everything laid out and planted to look good in time for Christmas. I spent several nights gardening until after dark. 

The end of the path (picture taken Nov 2009)

As all gardeners know, there is never an end to gardening.  Each season and each year presents new challenges.  Gardens are constantly evolving.  Their purpose is to keep us interested and entertained.  I'm always on the lookout for logs, bits of wood, twigs, sticks, bark nuggets, stones, rocks and pebbles.  These are my treasures tucked away throughout the garden to provide a constant source of pleasure and joy to me and myriad housing possibilities for the little creatures that grace my garden with their presence.  We all work in harmony, together.  

Next time, I'll show you the greenhouse...

Toby is already waiting there for us.

“There are hundreds of languages in the world, but a smile speaks them all”
- ANONYMOUS