Collector's peace.

Byline: Nicola Goodson-Wickes

Visiting Trish McDermottAAEs garden this month, it is almost impossible to believe that just over two years ago, the ground was more than six metres underwater.

In June 2007, as Cyclone Gonu careened across Muscat, seawater mingled with wadi overflow to swamp the borders and terraces

Today, the same borders and terraces bristle with plant life, and the once deluged carport shelters a cluster of orchids.

The carport orchids are not a solitary collection. This is a large garden and has been cleverly designed to accommodate its ownersAAE love of plants and visual harmony.

One border features a dynamic display of cacti in contrasting forms, including spidery agave and spiky opuntia, while a low wall provides a platform for sculptural potted succulents.

Fruit trees are grouped together in a corner by the pool, a fledgling fig growing alongside mango, lime, sweet orange and chico trees.

Prior to Gonu, Trish had a collection of white-flowering plants laid out in a plot shaped like a crescent moon.

The name of this area, the moon garden, reflected its form and usage Au she and her husband, Richard, would sit in the moon garden in the evening, when the pale flowers were at their fragrant, luminous best.

Today, however, her most impressive collection comprises the desert rose, Adenium obesum, which she displays in pots clustered together near the front of the house.

At last count, Trish had 32 specimens. Among her tally is a rootstock that she intends to use for grafting Au she wants to graft a specimen with deep red flowers to another that has pale petals with a darker margin. She has grafted bougainvillea in the past.

AoIt worked, but not every time.Ao Trish raises seedlings and cuttings in what she calls her alfresco potting shed Au a table shaded by a neem. Horticulture is a passion. AoIAAEll have a go at more or less any seed,Ao she said. AoI just love flowers. I think they are the most beautiful things in the world.Ao

A self-taught gardener, she has acquired her knowledge through experience Au an earlier collection of plants, assembled when she lived in Britain, was fuchsias.

She has lived in Oman for 19 years and currently works part-time as a co-ordinator at the Centre for British Teachers, which leaves her with enough time to enjoy her plants.

The garden is as much a haven for wildlife as it is for Trish and Richard, whose wedding was blessed there.

In addition to many birds, she has spied two hedgehogs in the borders and Roland, the resident tree rat, is a regular in the towering Washingtonia.

This last tree was one of the 300 or so plants that survived Gonu; the smaller specimens were potted up and moved with the McDermotts, who only returned to the house in August this year.

Trish still regrets the loss of her jacaranda and a scented Persian rose to Gonu, but she is undeterred in her enthusiasm and remains upbeat about the potential of the space Au AoA blank canvas is the most exciting part,Ao she said.

Her next project, besides grafting her desert roses and thinning out seedlings, is to build a pond and source water lilies. AoPeople say weAAEre crazy to spend a lot of money when itAAEs not our house and when Gonu destroyed so much,Ao she said. AoBut if you enjoy something, you canAAEt put your life on hold. And itAAEs so nice having something to come home to.Ao

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An evergreen succulent, this drought-tolerant plant is notable for its swollen, woody caudex (stem). The rosy, tubular flowers vary in tone from sugared-almond pink to sultry carmine, and look startlingly pretty against the elephant- grey limbs and dark, glossy foliage. At this time of year, Trish waters her specimens once every five days. Overwatering will cause A. obesum to rot.

Apex Press and Publishing

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