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Tuesday, September 27, 2005

the banksia rose from hell

I've been on a mission to get rid of the banksia rose from hell.


It's looking very picturesque here and is a beauty to behold when it's in flower, but in reality it sends out 10 foot canes that take over the path and need continual trimming and I'm sick of listening to DH complaining about the flowers and leaves dropping in the pool, poor dear doesn't complain about much - and I'm just getting to the stage of life where I want to sit and enjoy my garden, not slog it out with plants, so I've decided to get rid of the things that need high upkeep (DH has been warned he could be next)
Before:


After:
(looking really bare) - I put all of this through the mulcher, gawd blimey I ache!!

Saturday, September 24, 2005

it must be true....

......I read it in the newspaper




(thanks Chris Henning, Sydney Morning Herald)

Friday, September 23, 2005

easy peasy...



there's a reason I avoid temperamental plants,

the petulant, the moody, the highly strung, the sensitive, the touchy,

the ones who like their compost just right, not too much sun, not too much shade, not too wet, not too dry..

it's because there ain't no room in this garden for both of us

that's why I get on so well with nasturtiums, daisies and calendulas - they don't try to compete with me



so imagine my surprise when I found a camellia thriving enough to actually flower


not a big flamoyant flower, it doesn't pay to be an exhibitionist

... just a sweet little flower to start with this year, then maybe next year.....if it behaves and keeps a low profile....

Thursday, September 22, 2005

days like these.....

There are days when something happens in the garden to lift the spirit and make it all worthwhile...

that's how I felt when I saw my little visitor.....


Wednesday, September 21, 2005

short term memory

One of the features of ageing is that you start to forget things....

this can truly be an enriching experience as you discover things you put away and forgot about.....

like this,


I vaguely remember finding a little struggling bulb in the garden and sticking it in an empty pot and telling it to try harder next year....
and it did!!

have no idea what it is.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

my avocado fixation

I have a problem...
(well, probably more than one)
I can't bring myself to throw away an avocado seed....
they are just so big and fecund and full of promise

Thursday, September 15, 2005

the first duck of spring...



summer can't be far away when the first duck belly flops into our swimming pool.

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

bare trees

I've been thinking of some fibre artwork based around trees - leaves, vines, jungley looking, but at the moment all my trees are bare and it's a time of year that I love, I like the cold and bare trees always give me a proper sense of the season.
As Australia doesn't really have native deciduous trees, we have to make do with imported exotics, this is one of my crepe myrtles that is in the far corner of my secret garden

also a japanese maple that I had bought to turn into a bonsai 35 years ago, it sort of got away from me,

and I just love the texture of the bark on the maple with the contrasting bromeliad colour

crab apple



It always amazes me how this poor old decayed crab apple manages to continue to grow and do......





......this, each spring

first try

I have bits of gardening journals on different sites going back over the past few years, so I hope to eventually move it all here and do my best to keep it updated.

At the moment I'm playing around with the html to alter the template - not sure if I like this background, it's interesting though, to work on the template, and try to figure out which bits go where.