Bulbs

By now, the winter bulbs are sprouting and flowering. Its always a nice reminder of where you planted your bulbs the year before. If you're like me, and your garden is a hotchpotch of mystery, its nice to see colour spring from lots of different places throughout the garden or in pots! I have a few pots dedicated to daffodils and jonquils. I was never a fan ofbulbs purely   because I didn't understand the amazement about them. Remember, I come from a life of natives and so bulbs were somewhat a mystery to me! The following photo is a circle bed dedicated to bulbs! I don't know what's it going do throughout the dormant seasons but at the moment, its looking  gorgeous! 

This is at a clients place in the middle of the bush! A hot h pot h of different types of plants reside in this garden. But there is some order to it. 

I love daffodils. In the grey Winter, they always brighten up the garden! So I hope everyone is enjoying their bulbs this year! Keep bulbing!! :)

Rose pruning

I know this is not my first post about rose pruning. Probably won't be my last either.  I've learnt a lot through the years about this particular art and yes, anyone can prune a rose but to do it properly does require a bit of knowledge and practice.  Practice, practice and more practice! I used to hate rose pruning. I didn't respect the rose. I am not a fan of the flower (whaaaat? How can you be female and not like the flower?) and with a background in natives, I had like minded people around me who hated the rose too. Working as a gardener made me appreciate the humble rose. Its adaptation to any condition. Does well in our drought and frosts and is a very resilient plant. There are so many varieties and species, its hard to keep track. And the colours! The colours are wonderful. Again, not a fan of the perfume but I know there are differences within the species. Pests and diseases do like roses but they are managed. Old gnarly roses are wonderful. They are truly amazing. Rose pruning is an art. If you can prune a rose to give it more flourish and inflorescence the flowering season then you're doing something right. I learnt primarily from a mate who's in his 60s and has been gardening for 30+ years. I've now my own style but I've come to realise that there is a lot more to pruning than hacking into a rose.  Once you learn how to do something properly, its very hard to unlearn it and you're very aware when someone if doing it 'wrong' (and you want to 'fix' their prunes!) but like a lot of 'techniques' in the gardening world, everyone thinks their way is the best! And get really narky at you if you tell them they're doing it all wrong...how ever you prune into a rose, please be careful! Make sure you are properly attired (long sleeves and heavy gloves) and have sharp tools. Make sure you discard the pruned off material properly. Another thing  I'd suggest is cleaning your tools between jobs. Anyway have fun with your rose pruning! :) 

Winter

Here we are in Winter.  Its nice to snuggle up in the doona at night.  I've relations and friends in Queensland who love the fact that its over 25 each day.  I've never thought I could do this.  You need that break.  Not that, I'm not glad Queensland is there, to have a break from Melbourne, but I like Victoria and the saying that four seasons in one day = Melbourne.  So true! The plants gets a breather to.  They're allowed to go into dormancy for a few months. Everything slows down. There's always prunin to be done.  Of course rose pruning is a huuuuge task in Winter and I don't know about anyone else but at the statt of every rose pruning season, I'm always a bit unsure. Mid season, I'm back at being an expert and the. By the end of it, I'm so over it! This year, however, I haven't done any rose pruning thus far - whaaaaat? Quite bizarre I know, but I suspect I'll be starting next week! 

The other thing about winter is illness and we've been a bit unlicky this year. I've had a peristant cold which does not want to leave! My husband has been battling tonselitis on and off and our son has been battling chest infections and brochitus! This year seems to be worse than last year anyway, keep rughed up people and stay healthy. 

Eremophilas

I've become quite excited about this genus. Not really knowing too much about them. I've just finished an assignment on them for uni & they are a very adaptable plant. I've had experience with Myoporum sp. primarily working in a native nursery, I came to realise that Myoporum parvofolium is a stunning example of what native plants can do in our Australian bush and be crossed over into a very innovative plant for the landscape. They are originally from WA so like hot dry climates but they do surprisingly well in our colder climate in Victoria. Eremophilas are also quite adaptable plants especially species which are grafted on Myoporum stock. There are some beautiful flowers of the Emu bush, my favourite, which is just esquisite is Eremophila albieta, gorgeous species. I hope they become more prevalent in the Victorian landscape. 

Unseasonably hot!

Melbourne has been having off the record hot spells. Skeptics of climate change could say that this happens every few decades and yes it does but the temperatures as a whole (not just the hot spells but over the year - in different seasons) are getting warmer. This is not a post about climate change but one about getting through this hot weather. I (foolishly) sowed some seeds a few weeks ago and they are actually (thus far) surviving. One could say - thank God for the change in water restrictions or they definitely would not have survived. I am quite annoyed that our water restrictions were changed though. It doesn't hurt anyone and I'm sure everyone survived! As the driest continent in the world, we still need to look after our water! Anyway, lets not get side-tracked again! :)
As well as the plants struggling, the humans are too. Definitely seeing more grumpy people and kiddies! My 18 month copes but like the rest of us can't sleep and that makes one grumpy little boy! He is drinking lots of water though and so is the plants.