TOMATOES

I used to have a greenhouse of seeded tomatoes but none of them grew any bigger than a few centimetres. I ended up moving the greenhouse. Imagine my surprise, when I went down to water one day and in the same area where the greenhouse stood, were seedlings of tomatoes. Not one, but two! I must say, it is exciting. However, the only problem is that I don't know what kind of tomatoes they are. I grew a few different varieties in the greenhouse, you see. Anyway, no fruit as yet, but plenty of flowers. I have OTHER seedlings which have turned into fantastic bushes of plants. These seedlings are producing fruit. So I am thinking, it will not be long until the 'unknown' tomatoes will produce fruit too! Tomatoes are my favourite fruit. And I have different varieties (roma, (heirloom)green grape, periforme, heirloom purple, cherry tomatoes, etc) in pots and in the ground. It got me thinking about how amazing seeds are. Here, I was trying to do the right thing and have them in a greenhouse and for some reason, they did not take. However, in the ground, which is hard clay, they thrive. A client of mine had a flood through her garden & house at the end of 2010. And now, in the midst of builders rubble of a newly built fence, are seedlings of tomatoes and capsicum. I can't wait until they produce fruit to see what varieties they are. I am now thinking that certain seeds don't need the 'correct' seeding practices because, if it the time, they will grow.

Christmas 2010

Christmas time again. The last few years in Melbourne, we have been battling harsh droughts and therefore no rain. This Christmas, saw precipitation coming from our skies yet humidity and cloud cover. Boxing day is 19 degrees and we are faced with the realities of a Summer which may be wet and cool. Floods are in the north end of Australia; fire warning in the west and Melbourne looks like its going to have its usual "four-seasons-in one day" season. Our dams are more than half way. Over seas, its unseasonally cold in Europe. Seeing small villages in Ireland without water due to frozen pipes. Heathrow was shut the weeks before Christmas due to icy runways. In America, temperatures are down to -7.

Rain

I am not complaining about the rain. However, is it too much to ask for it to rain from 6pm to 4am? Enough time to get it out of it's system and then gardening folk can get on with their days! The farmers in the north don't want any more either. How awful. Five years of drought followed by a season of flooding! This is worse for the crops and soil than the drought. Hardly seems fair, does it? We work in the rain and it has to be really coming down for us not to work. At the beginning of the day, this seems to work, however by afternoon, we realise we are drowned rats anyway. Can one get any wetter? Might as well work! Everything sticks to you. The drains of the older houses are flooding and our equipment are getting ecstatic with the amount of white smoke they are blowing. I AM NOT COMPLAINING but...its very frustrating...certain things cannot be done in the rain. Ladder work, for example is a very bad idea in the rain. Mulching is another one. I have mulched in the rain and ended up looking like a chocolate covered peanut! Which isn't the look I was going for! The rain we are getting is not misty, its actually soil deepening rain. Which is good, but also means that everything is growing a lot faster. We were at a client's the other day and we had to mow the lawn three times. The entire lawns took three hours to complete! So we have the same allotted time in Spring as any other time and we work three times as hard, because as well as the lawns, there are overgrown hedges, dead-heading, mulching, WEEDING and the list goes on and on. It also been very balmy, which makes working in the rain so much better, because there is no cold factor. Very Queensland weather. However, as Melbourne does it, we're now going lower than 14 degrees in the night again, which is much better. Our dams are not past halfway and they have dropped the restrictions, forgetting about how quickly they can drain. Governments only think three years ahead. Not to the whole picture. It would really be nice if there was a politician out there who would see the big picture. Yes, I want dream land to turn into reality. I think I spoken about this before. Obviously, its something I care deeply about. Rain is water, but it won't last forever. If anything can be shown from the last few years, we know it dries up quickly.

More flowers

Its been a great year for flowers. Spring has sprung and we're getting the best flower crop for years. Funny what a little rain and bit of TLC can do. I just wanted to share these with you. Not much to say. Just open your senses and be mesmerised by everything. Enjoy!

Flowers, flowers, flowers!!!

Spring time means flowers, flowers and more flowers. Wherever you look, there is a wonderful display of flowers and buds. My grapes are in flower, so too are my tomatoes and berries. These flowers shown here are a small array of petals in my garden. We were told that the hellebore would not flower until next season. So we're very lucky! We're not completely aware of everything in the garden beds of our new home. From first glance, I knew there were geraniums and roses, but the poppy was a surprise. We also have iris, lavender and a collection of salvias. I have potted fuchsias and scented geraniums and of course herbs and veges. I have orchids and this hellebore.

The rain has completely drenched our garden at the moment and although we have been told that we will be getting a months rain fall in two days; its nice to think the drought has finally broke. Of course, the rain has brought us nasties with it. Snails have taken over my garden. I was spreading some seed the other day and came across three of the buggers hidden in the raising mixture. All other insects seem to be in full flight this season too. As well as weeds. They seem more prevalent than ever. A colleague commented that they seem more resistant this year. I am beginning to think that weeds are never going to truly disappear and that we as a horticultural society need to accept that. They will not disappear completely and I don't want to put any more poisons into the ground. Its been proven over and over again that the more elaborate the pesticide, there will be other nasties associated with it plus the weed will eventually get resistant to it as well. Perhaps we need to look at the weed and appreciate it for what it is. Of course, as a gardener in rich areas, I do not think they would want to partake in leaving weeds as they are. :) It is a nice thought though.