We love hearing about your Lane Cove hobbies. Local Lane Cove Identity Yumi Wong Pan (many of you know Yumi as she used to own One Village in the Lane Cove Shops) grows roses as a hobby.
Last week she won two prizes at the Upper North Shore and Hills District (UNSH) Rose Society. She won the highly coveted Graham Ross Pick and the Best Old Garden Rose (a David Austin Rose). Graham Ross is a well-known celebrity gardener and a presenter on Better Homes and Gardens.
We asked Yumi about her hobby.
How Long Have You Been Growing Roses?
I have been growing roses for a year.
What is the Upper North Shore and Hill District Rose Society?
The Society aims to encourage, improve and extend the cultivation and appreciation of the Rose. We have monthly meetings where we get an opportunity to bench our roses. We had our first anniversary in May this year.
Tell us About Your Award Winning Rose?
Tamora, the David Austin rose is from my garden and it won the best Old Garden Rose.
I won the Graham Ross Pick for my floral arrangement. The flowers in my Floral Design were sourced from Lane Cove florists. The stunning Mother of Pearl roses was sourced from Rita at Spotted Orchid.
What is the Secret to Growing Good Roses in Lane Cove?
Good soil, lots of love and commitment. Being part of a rose community is so helpful – even if it’s just online.
How Many Hours A Week To You Spend in the Garden?
In summer I can spend up to 10hrs watering and spraying my roses (all organic eco products), in winter..well this is my first winter with 27 roses so I am not sure but I expect maybe 1-2hrs. Last winter I only had 2 or 3 potted roses so they took only 30 min-1hr a week.
Is there a Lane Cove Garden That Inspires You?
There is a lovely little Croatian lady who lives on Sutherland St. She has the most perfectly manicured and beautifully designed garden. It’s a paradise. She has created a mini Croatia in Lane Cove. I often walk or drive past when I need a pick-me-up and it makes me so happy to see so much beauty. It’s not a big garden but it looks stunning all year round, she really takes care of it. She has lots of red roses, standard roses and bushes. I’m not even a big red rose person but she has made it highly aesthetically pleasing even to a pastel colour lover.
What do you like about living in Lane Cove?
We LOVE Lane Cove! I have two kids Micah is 21 months and Caleb is 4.5 years old they have diggers and dinosaurs in my rose garden. We are around the inner west a lot for Caleb’s therapies. He has William’s Syndrome – (thought I would sneak that in as it’s William’s Syndrome Awareness month)! Unfortunately, at some of the parks in the inner west we had some very unpleasant experiences with parents and grandparents. I was very upset and stopped going to a particular park after being shaken up. My husband told me that we forget how lucky we are to live in this area and how not all places are as nice as this.
The parents we meet at parks around Lane Cove are always so friendly and I have made some good friends through visiting local parks. The mums I meet around here embrace Caleb and show a genuine interest and care for him when they discover he has a disability. They show him compassion and kindness. Social interactions mean the world to Caleb and so many people in Lane Cove know us because he is such a friendly and happy child. It is really a blessing for our family to live in a place with so many caring people around us. I sometimes think it would be nice to have a bigger garden to grow more roses and to have more space for the kids but we are in such a prime location in walking distance to everywhere, I love where we live too much to give it up.
Keep up the good work Yumi!!! We are sure your garden will inspire others to plant roses.
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 grows roses as a hobby. Last week she won two prizes at the Upper North Shore and Hills District (UNSH) Rose Society.){kind=link}