Hi. My name is Deirdre Mowat and as you can guess my passion is gardening. I have spent the last 35 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. (See my local climate info) 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. I have spent many years researching and growing a wide range of plants. The knowledge and experience I have gained has been distilled into these pages and a couple of small booklets which are available on this site. These are a real labour of love, as I can assure you there is no profit in them, but they do help to keep the website going and are in a way my gift to other keen gardeners.
Hopefully I can share some of my enthusiasm 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. I hope you enjoy reading my regular Blog and delving into the Plant descriptions.
Happy gardening from The Compulsive Gardener.