I am The Compulsive Gardener

Hi. My name is Deirdre Mowat and as you can guess my passion is gardening. I have spent the last 25 years pursuing this interest and developing two gardens in this time. When not actually in the garden I have acquired a large library of gardening related books, and have been writing short articles for various magazines, club newsletters and also speaking at gardening events.

My current garden is located in one of Sydney's northern suburbs and as a consequence my focus is naturally on what does well there. Of course when talking plants we need to be aware of Australia's diversity and that people even across wider Sydney have widely varying soil types and microclimates... no one said it was an easy topic.

No matter where you live or what the climate there are some common interests of gardeners. We all like to appreciate the effect of the seasons and the mixture of colour and form when planning our gardens. Of course the truly "compulsive", dare I say obsessive, among us will also like to push the boundaries with particular plant species, often seeking to see what we can grow in our local areas.

My own particular favourites are the Salvias - just don't ask how many I have in my garden.

Of course, on the days when we cannot be in the garden, there is always the option of reading about plants, other gardens and gardeners.

Hopefully I can share some of this with you through this web site. The articles and plant profiles are generally based on my own experiences and the photographs have been taken in my own garden where possible. However, I also welcome submissions from other keen gardeners to help broaden the information available.