Gallery
Mornings are cool to the skin, dew on the lawn underfoot. The light is changing and the plants are perkier. The leaves are shifting colour as a spectacular show unfurls across the garden. There is so much thought and creativity threaded throughout the garden at Barewood, every season touched. Time to sit on the roof and soak it all up in the evening light š
Friendly giants swaying in the autumn sunshine, you can’t help but smile at a sunflower. These beauties are another @koangainstitute delight.
Just a week since we sowed the soil improver mix we have lift off, and the vetch is coming along beautifully too. We’ll share some of that over on our stories and if anyone has any tips for cover crops and vegetable growing in general, we would love to chat!!
Xx
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Praise be, for gorgeous local businesses who prop us up in the areas we fall short on. @gray_floral always have a brilliant and varied supply of seedlings ready to roll, healthy and strong. We’ve not successfully seeded swathes of veggies ourselves yet so we’ve loved picking up some potager bumper packs from these guys.
We’ve been preparing some of the beds in the potager with a common vetch cover crop from @koangainstitute , ready to plant our brassicas straight into, as well as also trialing some beds of the soil builder. So excited and curious we are! Playing with some regenerative methods to get the soil in tip top condition for our spring plantings š±
Remembering the first flush of roses in the garden āØ
The garden has been pouring stone fruit, plenty to give away, plenty pickle and preserve and plenty for the birds. These peaches are little, but perfectly formed - we didn’t thin them out as they were growing, but they are still juicy and luscious to pluck from the tree or off the ground.
We pickled some with ginger, and made peach and chilli hot sauce. Perfect pantry fillers for those chilly days ahead x
Michaelmas, twinkling in the borders and providing a lush fullness along the brick wall, baked in summer sun. Loving all the greens that are appearing, then peppered with colour as blooms erupt!
Luisa in action. A day plucking, prepping and jarring plums for winter. Up the ladder, under the branches, in the kitchen. Life at Barewood is unfurling, and we can’t wait share more of it with you as our plans come together slowly but surely x
A Saturday haul, slowly collecting pinecones for winter warmth, and fresh blooms from the in laws farm. Nothing like a bit of pottering to soothe the soul, and nothing like fresh flowers in the house to brighten your day x
Through the orchard gate, you’ll find Luisa. Tucked towards the back, heavy with fruit. Tomorrow is liberation day, as we pick her bounty!
Soft pillows in dreamlike hues. Hydrangeas are reliable bloomers at this time of year it feels!
The darlings of the moment ♥ļø captured in that magical dusk light as the moon was rising š
The wild plum thickets are alive; possums, pigs and plums in abundance. No one is going hungry as these plump jewels ripen and fall. Happily nestled between pine trees, and sprouting in surprising places around the land. We’ve been busy collecting baskets of these beauties to roast and make some kind of jam. Simply roasted with the stones in, removed when cool and then jarred. Sweet without added sugar, a tart finish on the back of the tongue. Delicious.
Take a bow, her majesty has arrived. There’s an extraordinary display to be seen by these velvet pink lillies. 7ft extraordinaires that must be seen to be believed.
š«āØWishing everyone a joyful, prosperous and peaceful 2025āØš«
āØāØOrlaya blooming like stardust last weekāØāØ
These were the first lilies to open, a gentle yellow paving the way for a riot of pinks shooting up in other borders!
The Potager. A beautiful space, serene and green, the potential for abundance is major, but in complete transparency it’s the piece of the garden that challenges us (Rosie!) the most. I can’t speak for Pete…maybe he finds it breazy!
The birds have a keen eye over the potager, waiting for us to leave so they can swoop and dive for their dinner. They can see it all from up there, so we’ve taken inspiration from those sneaky swoopers and gone birds eye to create a map of the potager. The plan being to make copies and use to plan and record what goes where, when, and why. Basic steps to understanding the rhythms and making the space work for our needs.
Does anyone have experience in potager planning? We would love to hear your thoughts and experiences wonderful gardening communityš±
The many guises of green, very much on display and especially gorgeous in the evenings light š«
Besides gardening, there’s a whole lifetimes worth of other jobs around the homestead that require our attention. You will never be bored at Barewood. We never truly sit still.
Pete and his great friend Steve spent some serious energy and time clearing some fallen trees, splitting logs and putting some hours on the tractor. So the other evening we whipped up some burgers, grabbed a wine and had an epic bonfire to clean up the clean up. Jobs done and wine time all in one happy swoop.
We’re in the middle of a glorious sunny bustling day of tours here at Barewood. The knowledge and generosity of experience that comes with every member of a tour group - well, you can’t put a price on it. It’s honestly just such a joy to welcome people, to talk candidly and with curiosity, and hear their gardening experiences of the garden. Every garden is unique, as is every gardener, and there’s always a surprise around the corner to put us to the test. The twists, turns and teaching of caring for a garden.
Cornus kousa ‘Satomi’. Wandering the garden at Barewood you’ll spot a number of spectacular dogwoods all on display, giving joy at every turn. They are quickly becoming a favourite of ours.
Striking, sculptural and delicate, they’re hardy to the wild mix of elements we experience here in the beautiful Awatere Valley. In the small amount of time we’ve been here, we’ve experienced gushing floods, icy hail, cracks of thunder, strikes of lightning and bikini weather heat, and no doubt there’s more to come. So, we like hardy!
Everything’s getting big and blousy and gorgeous, and the borders are filling up day by day.
In total transparency, our plant knowledge has a few rather gaping holes in it but we are gaining knowledge everyday. It helps that when @carolynferraby pops round I follow her around scribbling down plant names, without a shadow of a doubt spelling them completely wrong, but doing my best. And that’s what we’re here to do at Barewood - just give it our very best shot, and continue to share this magical wonderland with all of you online and in person.
If you would like to visit the garden or have an idea, send us a messge. We are open for garden visits, and if you’d like morning tea on the veranda that can be arranged as well š«āļø
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The unfurling of various giant poppies around the garden is such a happy surprise. Every offering a different colour of papery petals, they come and go pretty quickly too. A blip of beauty in an ever changing landscape.
Everyone’s very busy here. The comforting buzz of a bumble. The garden at Barewood is teeming with life from dusk till dawn, the birds, bees and butterflies, further afield we can hear cattle and for a few days we’ll listen closely to the sheep grazing our land to bring the grass down. There’s also the lesser loved fly and possum doing the rounds…but all life is good, and are daily reminders that we are not the only ones here and we all need to co exist somehow. So sometimes, just sometimes, I’ll let the snail eat the cabbage.
Beneath fragrant tendrils, the house is hidden away. Cocooned for the summer by sweet smelling blooms.
Luminous spears of lupins, peppered all over the garden and standing to attention around every corner. Gorgeous after the rain.
Moments of stillness between many moments of joyful garden graft. Barewood is not taking part in @gardenmarlborough this year, but we’re so excited to have the opportunity to visit some other gardens in the area š±šøšæšøš
Captured here at dusk, you won’t have to look too hard to discover this feathery beauty - Anthriscus sylvestris ‘Ravenswing’ gently woven throughout the garden here at Barewood.
Some gentle shaping along the front border as the garden begins to reveal itself, this garden is a masterpiece unfolding before our eyes. Everyday, a new bloom bursts. The bees are humming with joy.
An extraordinary historic home nestled amongst this whimsical and romantic garden. Built in 1908, Barewood is fringed with a variety of mature trees that create an incredibly effective shelter belt from the winds. Alongside millable pine for stacking the woodshed in winter, you can seek out old English oaks, a variety of gums, pin oaks, willow and poplar. The habitat they nurture for bird life is like nothing we have ever heard before. All gorgeous, full of movement and life.
Well goodness gracious me. Here we be, just under a month of life at Barewood and so much to share.
A happy collision of right time, right place and right circumstance has landed us where we are right now, the next custodians of Barewood homestead and garden. We are Rosie and Pete - keen gardeners, landscapers, builders, designers, home makers. We’ve turned our hands to many things over our years thus far, but caring for Barewood may be one of the larger leaps of faith we’ve dabbled with!
We are constantly learning the landscape here, watching and documenting, asking questions and furiously googling. We are so lucky to have the support, guidance and wealth of knowledge from @carolynferraby and Joe, always at the end of the (landline!) phone should we need.
We’re so grateful to be here, so thank you for following along on this massive adventure, we’re so excited to share this exquisite creation with you, and if you’re in the area, drop us a line - we are open for garden visits and tours!
Oh, and that’s Whisky and George, resident lawn rugs at Barewood - thoroughly enjoying their retirement to the beautiful Awatere!
#barewoodgarden #gardensofnewzealand
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140 Barewood Road, Seddon, Marlborough 7285, South Island, New Zealand
Please email us at posieshow@gmail.com