My Husband’s Labor of (Everlasting) Love

One day we had new friends over for dinner, this was the first time they had been to our house. One quick look at the front yard and Pauline said, “Hey John, you have your own private bush-land right here.”

I was rather touched how she just noted and stated the obvious. Where others have seen what they consider to be a mess, lack of roses, or your ‘typical’ garden flower, she saw bush-land, exactly how John meant it to be.

She didn’t say it condescendingly,  (as perhaps some have). I took it as intuitive insight to the kind of man John is. He loves his Western Australia, he loves the native flora and fauna. He loves it so much so, he has studied, cataloged, and photographed  a lot of it. He understands the benefits of native gardening. It isn’t rocket science either, I got to teach it to my children in their Science book how  an understanding of biodiversity counts for a whole lot in nature.

So I am on board with his garden, but last year as we traveled to Wongan Hills, I had an idea for our back yard. They were selling seeds for their everlastings, and I suggested to buy some for the back yard.

He looked at me, “Do you know how much work that is going to be? I will have to take up all the grass..”
“You don’t like the grass anyway,” I persisted.
After some discussion, he bought a packet of seeds.

While I was back in the USA, I was given updates and reports on his progress in the backyard. He had to dig a lot of grass, pull a lot of weeds, and do it over weeks. Finally the seeds went in, and I was soon due to be back.

When I finally arrived back, a wave of appreciation had come over me. He not only planted the seeds, and bought more seeds online, he designed and constructed a recreation of something like you would see in the back West Australian woods. Some men give women flowers, but this man gave me my own private everlasting garden.

Everlasting daisies  display in Western Australia from winter to early spring.

They are also called paper daises.

The number of flowers depends on the rain received earlier in the year.

Not much work I fear is getting done in the house, I like to sit in the back yard and marvel at the flowers.

Even the ones not completely open are so lovely.

Each “flower” is really a head of tiny florets, surrounded by colored, petal-like bracts of white, yellow, or pink.

Rhodanthe chlorocephala subspecies rosea is the most widely grown subspecies and is commonly known as “Pink and White Everlasting”, “Rosy Sunray”, “Pink Paper-daisy” and “Rosy Everlasting”.

Just when I thought the pink ones were my favorite…

…this white one opens, and is also as lovely.

You can cut plants back and they will flower again.

To top it off, I have a great view from my kitchen window now as I wash the dishes. 🙂

We still have room in the back yard for Pink Fairy Orchids!

Want your own Everlasting Garden? See Lucinda’s Everlastings!