Croweas Are Bliss

Friday, June 19, 2015

Winter 2015

Start of Winter and it seems colder than last year. I don't know, maybe its because I'm in it more this year. The end of Autumn saw me falling off a ladder. Something I hadn't (weirdly) planned to do, but it still happened. Luckily, I wasn't too badly hurt. I ended up on my foot and damaged ligaments. It hurt A LOT! I am ok now. I garden, so I need my feet. I like how the doctor says "Keep off it as much as you can" People assume that I sit behind a desk all day. The great out doors is my office and although I wouldn't change this, sometimes it can be detrimental to your health! Anyway, I digress...
Winter! Cold and rainy. Cold mornings, but still dry. We're not getting enough rain to really penetrate the roots. So, I am still hand watering - not as much, but a bit. So how many people have been doing cuttings? I did some Acacia cultriformus prostrate cuttings the other day. I tried this another time, but they died straight away. My little seedlings are doing well.

My seedlings

Of course, being winter, not much is happening. However, they all seem to be alive, so that's great. We've also been getting some interesting plants come up. For instance, below our stairs, where there is nothing, just dirt and a drain, there is some potatoes growing. They just popped up one day. This same place a few seasons ago, we had tomatoes spring up. Perhaps its just a magic food bed! I am growing brussel sprouts at the moment, and Kale. I like kale. Its very easy to grow. The in thing at the moment, is to make Kale chips. I make mine with olive oil, vinegar and salt. Yum! My sister makes hers with chili. That would be nice too. I'm looking forward for my crop of potatoes. I love potatoes. Its so easy to stay indoors on these cold days, but the garden still needs some care. Weeds still come, especially after the rain. Plants needs to be pruned and trimmed. Rose pruning is also one of those chores which has to be done, but done well. Its not too hard, but people still seem to do it wrong. For people who have roses and don't know how to prune correctly, they should really get someone who knows what they're doing. Next post will possibly be able rose pruning. Enjoy the season.

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Summer Rain

Do you remember Belinda Charlisle's hit "Summer Rain"? I loved that song. I also might be showing my age...I'll admit it, I turned 40 last week! 40 and fabulous. I received two beautiful bouquets of native flowers which are still going strong. I love the fact that these are lasting so long. They're both quite large bouquets so I had to go and buy two new largish vases. All I can is, thank Goodness for Savers. :) My wedding bouquet was natives and I like that these were natives too. Obviously from people who know me quite well!
Its been quite hot over the last couple of days. My son and I have been subjected to inside activities. Its hard, when a small person has pent up energy and just wants to go outside. So I decided we should out go for a bit. Look for some worms. We ended up very dirty but isn't that the whole idea? Of course there was no worms, too hot for them, but it was fun looking. :) It bucketed down for about five minutes. A lot of noise - thunder - for nothing, really. Oh this weather is crappy at the moment. We're sliding back into drought territory...some parts of Australia are already there. I find interesting that there is no flutter of talk about this...anyway. Although, as our Government stands at the moment, it really doesn't surprise me...(Lets not get into rant territory about the Government Dani!)

We have been getting huge thunderstorms. I say huge, because the noise has been huge, yet the rain hasn't been anything spectacular. The small four-legged feline does not like the thunder. However the three year old loves it! The garden knows when its rained though. The garden doesn't thrive as well after a good watering as it does after the rain. The smell, it just oozes yumminess for the plants. You can almost hear them sigh with relief. Its nearing the end of February and we haven't had too many 40+ days. I wonder if that's it for this season. Anyway enjoy the Summer rains people. I know I am...

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Natives

I started this blog in 2009 with a post called natives. Fast forward 5 years and we're going to talk about natives again. I have become better acquainted with the exotics and even have some favourites, but my first love will always be natives. They are just so beautiful and unique. They suit our arid conditions, including topography, climate and diversity. It seems odd, as an Urban horticulturalist, that we don't plant more native species, as they are the ones that survive our harsh conditions. Black Saturday proved that. I have become a real fan of the paper daisy. Its flowers are everlasting and even as they die, they still look wonderful. They are the ultimate cut flower. Of course, there is one species in this lot that you won't see in the same spot all the time, but he's a favourite Native to Australia as well.

Crowea exalata

Xerochrysum brachteatum

Tiliqua scincoides scincoides

Banksia blechnifolia

Adenanthos sericeus Cuttings

Correa 'Dusky Bells'

Eremophila maculata Purple

Banksia ericifolia 'red'

Callistemon viminalis

Anigozanthos flavidos 'Red'

Grevillea Royal Mantle

Banksia blechnifolia in flower!

Friday, August 29, 2014

End of Winter

It's been too long. It's the second last day of winter. It was especially cold this winter. And there is a chance we could go back into a drought. The plants, as they have the last few years, have no idea what they're supposed to be doing. There have been roses refusing to die down. It's just one of those months, I guess.

Xerochrysum bracheatum syn Helychrysum bracheatum

What goes on now in your garden? This morning, I was trimming back. An Eremophila and grevillea look a bit sick so instead of giving completely up on them, I decided to chop them back. Spring is coming so let's hope it brings some rain which will be fabulous for our plants. I planted some potatoes the other day - I hope I get a bumper crop this year! I can't get over this weather - quite beautiful!