My Garden

I have neglected my vegie garden for probably two years now and this winter is so warm, I am wondering how I will keep things alive over summer as our backyard faces west and just BURNS in the the summer!

However, I am planning/hoping to do a bit of preparation early and try and keep on top of it.

First I emptied all my old compost bins and let the chooks dig them around for about a week (this is usually how long it takes me to get from one job to the next!)

We have four beautiful bantams, but this one - Eagle, is my favourite (I think she is at the bottom of the pecking order) and she always seems so earnest in her scratching work.

Then I had some teenagers who happened to be hanging around (there seems to be quite a few here at times) build me a fence - hopefully to keep out the chickens and our two free range rabbits.  This worked pretty well, but Robin has since put on a gate with hinges (what luxury!!) and there is one small section that still needs to be fenced properly.  I've added lots of "good stuff" and the chickens have continued to mix it up for me.

This is Peta - she used to be Peter

Next I am going to lay some hosing down, the kind that I can plug into the hose and it will soak the soil for a time.  Robin and I have been discussing the best way to build a shade cover over the garden and I'm sure this will help it survive the fierce summer sun.

I also want to grow lots of flowers as I have been dabbling with dyeing fabrics with natural dyes and am very keen to do more.  And what better way than to grow and harvest your own!

And this is our white nectarine that blossoms beautifully every year and keeps the bees very busy but then promptly becomes infested with fruit fly - it's the bane of my life and nothing I have tried has worked.  We nearly cut it down this year ... but then the blossoms came again.

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The Grounds

29/3/18

Temina, Erin and Natalie

After visiting the art gallery last week and having lunch in the beautiful Botanic Gardens, we sent the boys on an adventure - to find their way home by public transport.  This was prompted by the fact that we couldn't fit all of us in my car!

Monique then took all us girls to a place called The Grounds, in Alexandria.  I can only describe it as an old warehouse space which has been converted into rooms of gardens, with hanging plants and greenery everywhere.  There was even a mini petting zoo for the kids, complete with the biggest pig called Kevin Bacon (unfortunately I didn't take a picture of him).

Amelie, Monique and Natalie

There seem to be three main restaurants/eating areas, linked by avenues of greenery; it reminded me of a lush Edwardian greenhouse.  I have been trying to create a similar feel in our sunroom - visiting here was both inspiring and a tiny bit disheartening.

Leave a Comment Erin, garden, Natalie, Sydney

Acorns

15 September 2017

In the middle of August we went for our first family trip to the snow (without Robin unfortunately, so we took Joe with us instead).

On our way down we drove through Canberra and Joe had a memory of gathering acorns there years ago with his mum.  He wanted to do it again ... so we made a detour off the main road, found a park, and collected acorns!

For us it was amazing and wonderful to find them literally scattered along the street!  We thought it would be hard to find some, but there they were, at the first park we stopped at.  People walking their dog even stopped to ask what we were doing - we must have looked so excited and interested.

There were long acorns, fat acorns, one with their furry hats still in place and others without them.  Occasionally some were still green too.

Weeks after we came home, the girls planted some - we may have our own little Sherwood Forest soon!

 As of March 2018, no acorns have sprouted.

Leave a Comment family, garden, holidays, outdoors

A Moth and Some Flowers

26 September 2017

Last night Erin came running in to me, "Come and look at this amazing moth".  And sure enough, on the bathroom wall, was a moth with colourings I have not seen before.  We took photos and showed them to Nanna and Poppy (we are staying here at the moment) - it was lovely to hear her sharing it all with them.

And staying here - all the flowers are out in this jungly garden.  I am sitting here on the deck, before the sun comes over and makes it too hot, listening to many busy bees hard at work on the lemon tree flowers.  In the last couple of hot evenings the scent from the lemon tree has been wonderful.

It is prolific this lemon tree.  Even having to battle with possums and cockatoos, mum and dad still have more than enough lemons for themselves and everyone!  And it acts as nursery maid to some of dad's orchids, and the pot plants - all benefiting from the shelter and protection it gives.

This morning Dad was very excited about his oak tree - it is growing tassels for the first time, does this mean it will produce acorns?



After a quick google I have discovered that these "tassels" are catkins, the male flowers that produce the pollen which then disperses to hopefully fertilise the female flower allowing acorns to grow.

He grew this oak from an acorn he collected on a visit to Edinburgh years ago, walking in an area he used to go when he lived there as a youth.

And now for reason for the original idea for this post - flower photos from Dad's jungly and overgrown but happy garden.

Leave a Comment family, garden, Sydney