It’s been eight years since I first discovered Kandos and the Convent and nearly seven years since I moved here permanently.

The first thing I started on, before even moving a stick of furniture in, was the garden. Once a showplace, over the last four decades it has been stripped back to bare essentials and then left to it’s own devices. I wanted to establish something that did justice to the grand old building and its heritage. However the last year or so has seen lots of challenges – including a long period of drought and ferocious local bushfires. Combined with what has become a thriving business with my wool shop, the garden has taken a back seat.

Time for some major love, particularly if this poor garden ever has aspirations of participating in another Kandos Gardens Fair! This year, feeling that it’s a time to be motivated rather than allow the lull of COVID to take over, for the first time, I’ve called in help and hired someone to help clean out some of the garden beds. My original thoughts that once the garden was established, it would be less work were surprisingly naive. Every year there’s more to prune, feed and weeding gets harder as plants take over areas, particularly the vicious and plentiful roses. I’ve done all the pruning and weeded beds that had smaller plants that may have disappeared under an industrious outside weeder. I’m not sure what has survived the vicious last Summer and the garden is still a tad bleak from our frosts (which otherwise I love in the country).

There’s still a few beds to tackle but after a few weeks, we’re now up to feeding and mulching. I’ve had literal truck loads of mulch sitting on my paddock next door waiting to be spread – its time has now come. Oh, and that reminds me, I also have a paddock next door that’s in the midst of becoming an edible garden – what was I thinking!!!