Another batch of pumpkin soup.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Basil Gone to Seed
Apparently I should be pinching the tops so the plant doesn't go to seed. I'm not sure why that is considered dreadful. Is going to seed the end of the plant? Do the leaves turn bitter? Obviously I failed to head the advice so maybe I'll find out soon.
Grass tree
In pre pc times these were called black boys. Now they are only Grass trees, although someone recently said they are also called Native trees. They grow wild out in the bush in some areas I've seen them in Central and Northern Queensland and also in Western Australia. The WA ones had bigger skirts. They can live up to 600 years but grow very slowly, only about 1/2 an inch a year. The flower stalk, however grows very quickly, up to an inch a day. Apparently they only flower every 2 to 3 years, but this one did last year too. Clearing bush land is making them rare.
Not a Good Spot
With so much rain, alternating with sunshine, plants are thriving everywhere, but not everywhere is suitable in the long term. This is inside the box containing the pool filter and pump. When I finally get around to weeding, it will have to go.
The way in
Day 41 February 21st
Is it time for some tree trimming or is this a good way to clean the roof of the car?
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Frangipani
Lovely to look at, even better to smell. Unfortunately this one gave up its original home to a vegetable bed. It trasported well and thrives, but I have to remember to walk round to it and inhale.
Mosquito Nursery
The palm droppings are major breeding grounds for mosquitoes. They are perfect for holding small ponds of stagnant water.
Resiliant Spider
This spider is very determined and perhaps a little foolish. She keeps spinning her web between the trees and a garden bed, so almost every day I bump into it and drag half of it away.
Big Guy
He/she wasn't technically in the garden, but he wasn't inside the house either, and he was too big to miss. He must have been four inches across at full stretch. The folk law is that these spiders are quite venemous, but their mouths are so tiny they can't bite us. I don't know if it's true.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Shrubbery
When we re-did the garden I planted a few lavender bushes and a brunfelsia on the edge of the deck. The neighbours are friendly so we didn't feel the need to completely screen ourselves off from them. However, when they started to travel they rented their unit out to visitors. Being on holiday they were partial to lingering breakfasts on their deck just when I wanted to swim laps. They were English, so they just pretended I wasn't there. When I called hello they looked as if I had scaled the embankment and crawled onto their deck. I was definitely invading their space by acknowledging that they were there. So I decided to grow a screen. The brunfelsia had hardly grown at all since we planted it, so I added some lillipillies and watered them diligently. They grew quite quickly, but so did the brunfelsia now that I was watering. They can grow quite quickly;they just need water. So now I have a crowded little shrubbery.
A Cuckoo in the Nest
Day 30 February10th
This is supposed to be the low water ornimental garden, not a pumpkin patch.
The Tuscan Look
When we added some new walls a couple of years ago I tried really hard to match the old ones. I needn't have bothered; a bit of rain and some moss and all bricks look the same.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
New Pumpkin
There are several new pumpkins appearing. I know not all of them will get beyond this stage.
Redlands Soil
Day 25 February 5th
The Redlands soil is, as you would expect, dark red clay. It is heavy, holds water, and can be almost impossible to dig. It also colours and stains anything it touches.
Almost all the plants and seeds I buy appear to need well drained soil. Redlands clay is certainly not that; it holds on tightly to the water it collects. Yet Redlands used to be the vegetable garden of SE Queensland so it must be pretty good. Maybe the farmers added gypsum to make it drain better.
Only the very bottom layer of my vegie beds is redlands soil. The rest is a mix of manure, lucerne, seaweed, straw and kitchen compost. So, as a little experiment I dropped a handful of pumpkin seeds on the land under the palm trees. All the pumpkins I have had in my garden so far have been feral. They have set up base in a vegie bed with no encouragement from me, so I assume they are pretty hardy.
I'm waiting to see how well the do in the Redlands soil.
Kookaburra
This isn't the photo I wanted to get, but it is the right kookaburra. For about half an hour on Friday morning he was playing in the garden. He would swoop down from one fence, land on the half pool cover, slide along for a few feet then fly up to the other fence. Sometimes he slithered all the way to the uncovered side of the pool, plunged in, then flapped like crazy to get back in the air. A few times he ignored the cover altogether and just did a splash in and out of the water. I don't know if he recognised which was water and which was solid, but he was clearly playing. Between dips he shook himself dry and rearranged his feathers before going in again. I didn't manage to get a shot of the action,just this one of him relaxing afterwards. We knew he had finished playing because he turned his bck on the pool.
Basil
A few months back I had an abundance of tomatoes in the garden and no basil. I can't understand how I allowed that to happen. I can't keep up with the tomato crop if we don't eat bruschetta, and you can't have bruschetta without basil. So I planted three types of basil, but failed to keep abreast of the tomato situation. Now I have lots of basil and no tomatoes! I need to find out whether I should try to keep up the basil bushes when they go to seed, or just keep planting new seedlings.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Seeds
I'm a bit of a catalogue addict. I don't actually buy much from them. I just like looking through them at all the things I don't really need and in most cases don't really want either. The Green Harvest catalogue is different. I want to buy lots of seeds. Never mind that so far I have been singularly unsuccessful with seeds. It sounds so easy and I am eternally optimistic that this time I will have a flourishing garden all grown from scratch. No short cuts with sturdy seedlings from the farmers market or the nursery.My seeds have arrived. Soon it will be time to stop reading the packets and ordering them accounding to planting times, time to start potting.
The Day After
Day 21 February 1st
I watered the vegie garden yesterday, so naturally it's going to rain today.
Water
Day 20 January31st
It's been so long I've forgotten the rules. I can't remember if we still have restrictions. I'm pretty sure I'm allowed to water after 4 pm, but I'm not sure which days, and I have a suspicion that Monday is the day of rest for all water hoses. No problem, as they say here. We have tank water. It seems strange now to think of the days of drought when putting in water tanks seemed essential.
Salt
Day 19 January 30th
A couple of weeks ago our pool began telling us that it was hungry for salt. Unfortunately it had to remain hungry or thirsty as none of the pools shops had any stock left, and the floods meant that none could get through. Later when some salt became available, it was sequestered by the government for essential services. So the salt that is finally available to us has come from Lake Deborah in Western Australia and is very expensive. The local franchisee complains that the franchiser still takes his huge percentage and all the coast is born by him and us. This caused me to wonder just why people buy franchises. MacDonalds I understand. Open it and they will come. But Poolwerx? I don't give a hoot what the name of my local pool shop is. I just want convenience and service. They could call it Elephants in Tutus. If they hand over the salt with a smile and carry it to the car, they have my business.
Not even shade
Day 18 January 29th
When we first moved here there was a long row of palm trees standing sentry along one side of the garden. They must have served a purpose once. They may have made the garden look established quickly, or perhaps they reminded the owners of a beautiful tropical holiday they once had. Or maybe they were from northern Europe and wanted to impress the foks back home. Whatever the reason they serve little purpose now. They don't even give real shade. We've already chopped down 10, but we still have 12 left. We should probably removed them all, but there's always the feeling that they might come in handy one day; a bit like string or wrapping paper. So they still stand, and the fronds still fall.
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