Brrr...

Gees, I can't believe its mid November! How bizarre! 15 degrees today - rain all day. As a gardener, one wonders if its worth working. Two trains of thought. Yes, might be slower & more dangerous but lets tell lies to the client allowing them to think nothing changes in the wet weather. To me, its a no brainer. You can't be at 100%proficiency in thewet and there are certain tasks that cannot (or should not) be done in the wet as its just too dangerous and we're not paid enough to take the risk. Soooo did I work today? No... But I've worked with some people who don't care about their employees just the $$$ at the end of the day!! Awesome! Not!  :-| anyway it was an indoor day today. The other day I revamped an old garden bed which despirately needed the 'face-lift'. Sooo, I removed all the geraniums and half of the plectantra and  replaced it with Dianella, Scaevola, thyme, & Eremophila. I composted it and watered them in with seasol. There's another bed we 've decided to expand & we're going to convert it to a herb garden! Its already got sage & oregano in it! I removed the geraniums & euphorbia (as its poisonous & I want to try and make it as kiddy friendly as possible!). And in another bed, I planted cucumber, tomatoes & radishes! Yummo! I already have rocket so if we're lucky, we'll end up worh a salad plot! Yay! It all depends on this weather. When I first started this post it was a very cold day. Today, a week later is 30! Tomorrow, however, is going to be 17! Soooo glad climate change is a myth...(sarcastic font just in case...) its freaking out my hayfever & Will's asthma...not good...

Clivea

Flowers in Spring!

Geranium...beautiful

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! :)