Letter from Julia
Dear garden friend,
Unearthed. was launched as a subscription-based online magazine in 2023, about 4 months before my husband and I drastically decided to upend our lives, buy a little butchery (with no previous experience) in a gorgeous village on Banks Peninsula- our favourite place in the world.
This new adventure required my full input and involvement so I made the difficult decision to refund subs and open up Unearthed. where it could remain as a sporadically updated garden-based blog and archive for all interested gardeners until I once again return to my passion!
Telling the stories of others is ingrained in me as a blogger of 16 years, columnist and author of 3.5 gardening books! So I WILL be back, and with the purchase of a lovely little valley home and a new garden to inch toward my new vision, there will updates here again soon.
In the meantime, please explore and enjoy the shared knowledge here, roaming gardens from both down under and the northern lands!
Nothing changes if nothing changes.
Julia xoxoxoxoxo
Latest Features
COSMOS
If I had to choose just one flowering annual to grow in my garden, it would be cosmos. No matter what, they seem to have a built-in garden vibe that is joyous and casual, a real plus for those looking to create an informal atmosphere.
Read on to learn how easy it is to get some cosmos joy in your own garden..
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW PERENNIAL MOVEMENT
I am finally graduating to the “design” phase of my gardening adventure, where I am on the hunt for curated atmosphere that pleases my eye.
Here I introduce naturalistic style planting, a wide and pleasing concept of design that has a foot in ecology, site specific plants AND an appreciation of texture and form from spring to winter.
FLAXMERE
My initial experience, and the many following at Flaxmere, opened my eyes to gardens as “spaces”, rather than just places.
Any pre-conceived ideas I had around them being delicate or quaint were rapidly unraveled.
Join me for a gentle guided walk through the garden (or realm!) of my mentor; Penny Zino. Share in her ability to create distinctly different areas within her 54 year old, 3.4 hectare garden created in the harsh North Canterbury climate. Not to mention the most incredible, New Zealand example of “naturalistic planting” as learned directly from Piet Oudolf.
BAREWOOD
Enter the storybook realm of Barewood garden in Marlborough, New Zealand. Explore the sprawling corners of the garden via the film by Flashworks Media and get a peep of an iconic New Zealand garden that is retiring from public access at the end of 2023.
WINTERHOME
As I’ve fallen further down this gardening rabbit hole and the idea to capture and share the intimacy of NZ gardens on film grew closer to reality….I knew that Winterhome would be at the top of my list.
See behind the scenes of our second installment of “The Magic of Gardening” film series and witness the beauty in a mature garden established along classical lines.
