Do you have a favourite garden that you love to travel to? Maybe it’s your own backyard, or Sissinghurst in England, the blossom season of Japan, or your local nursery? My Nan and I used to have cappuccinos at the nursery up the road from our house. All those camellias were a thing of beauty to us.

I got a rude shock when I moved to the farm, where I had to garden a virtual dust bowl – a former ram and emu paddock, with only bore water and the driest of conditions. My Mother In Law took pity on me and gave me a catalogue for Lambley Nursery and said, “This will be your new education”.

Today, I achieved a long-held wish to visit those heavenly gardens, which also started out as bare paddocks (a weed-filled former potato farm) and which today draws visitors from around the world.

Students, like me, eager to learn the art of dry gardening and hopefully transfer that to our own homes, make a pilgrimage to Lambley Gardens and Nursery and try their darnedest by ordering from the catalogue.

David was so generous with his time and knowledge and, as a cherry on top, his beloved wife was at home and joined us for tea. Criss Canning (great to follow on Instagram) is the only living artist represented by Sotheby’s here in Australia, famous for her still lifes and, as I discovered, is now living a much-deserved life of love, beauty and success.

So, my reason for mentioning all this is that I also recorded a podcast with this remarkable couple (I hope you’ll forgive my lack of technical skills) to learn about: success with your garden; the challenges an artist faces on their road to success; and, as travellers, the locations that inspire them.

If anything, enjoy the garden pics and, of course, your weekend.