Coming Up Roses

Yellow Tomatoes

2012-02-09T10:53:00.000+11:00

I feel a batch of chutney coming on.

Home: 9th Feb, 2012

White Nectarines

2012-02-05T08:34:00.000+11:00

In my last post I mentioned White Nectarines.
It's the first time our tree has fruited - I think this is the 2nd year it has been in the ground.
It made about 15 fruits.
Here's what's left.
They are especially perfect - we don't like soft fruit.
But we don't like juiceless fruit either.
It has to be juuuuuust right.
And hooray!!
They are.

Thanks Garden - You're Ace!

2012-01-27T17:12:00.000+11:00

From the garden today.
Some roses.
And some tomaties.
Thanks garden.

oh yeah!!
And our first ever nectarine (a white one).
No evidence, as we ate it.
It was PERFECT.
Thanks Uncle Tony and Uncle Pino for striking the tree for us.
(they both struck one for us and one carked it but we can't remember which was which!)

Home - 27 Jan, 2012

Our First Ever Apricot Harvest!

2011-12-29T18:04:00.000+11:00

Hooray! Hooray!
The apricots are ready.
We traipsed over to our "allotment" (Pendlebury Hill) yesterday to work on the rose garden and
we were pleasantly surprised to see little orange dots all over the apricot tree.

Below is the tree last year - overgrown with grass and weeds.
Lots of newspaper and lots of pea straw and this year we have around 15 kg of fruit!

Apricot grading has commenced,
to be followed by jam making, cake-baking and preserves.

Recipes to follow over here
Cooking with Freefalling.

Photos:
first 2 - iphone - 28 Dec, 2011
no. 3 - Nov, 2010
no. 4 - 29 Dec, 2011

Onions

2011-12-21T11:37:00.000+11:00

Well, the onions have been in for 6 months and are ready to come up.
The smelly ones were ready first.

The non-smelly ones were a bit slower and some developed bull necks.
Have since read this (by Peter Cundall - he always has the best tips) and understand the reason.
Note to self - read article again next year before planting.
Now to cure them and store them away.

I know everyone says how much tastier home-grown vegies are,
but Vince and I were both surprised by the "high degree of niceness" of home-grown onions compared to the store bought ones.
Kinda crisper and fresher.

I Can Feel the Vitamins Exploding in my Brain!

2011-12-17T20:46:00.000+11:00

So excited to make dinner tonight from fresh produce straight from our vegie patch!

The last of the Broad Beans.
The first lot of the onions.
My purple potatoes.
And a big handful of flat-leaf parsley.

I fried them all up in some extra virgin olive oil, some chopped bacon and some freshly ground pepper and salt.
We are both full as fat little ticks!

Photos: 17th December, 2011 - Home, Ararat

Now and Then

2011-12-07T12:20:00.000+11:00

2011

2008

Innit pretty now?
It's my favourite place at the moment to sit in the garden and hang out with my peeps
(note tennis ball under table).
And I love that most of it is second-hand!
Our $2 bbq table from the tip.
A transplanted rose from the previous owners.
A white nectarine tree struck for us by Uncle Tony or Uncle Pino (they both struck one for me and I can't remember who did this one).
My old deckchairs from Mum & Dad from 1996.
My chandelier from the reclaim shop (can you see it hanging in there?)
The geraniums are struck from cuttings from the house we stay in at Port Fairy.
Vince grew our beautiful lawn from runners he collected from overgrown footpaths.
I dunno if you can see it in there Natalie, but behind one of those chairs is the white daisy which you struck for me.
My chair covers - half-price on sale!
My blue and white pot from the Reject Shop.
It's so satisfying to bodge something up from stuff you can find and free stuff you are given.

I love too - that now, this one little corner is so productive.
We chopped out those awful Pittosporum trees and now we have
4 fruit trees (peach, loquat, white nectarine, mulberry)
herbs - rosemary, thyme, parsley, oregano, sage, mint.
And there are roses for picking - azaleas, daisies, geranium, statice, gazanias and nasturtiums.
It's amazing how much you can shove into a couple of square metres!

Photos: This morning - 7/12/11
and
2008

Strawberries

2011-11-27T17:37:00.000+11:00

In the strawberry patch with those that the Blackbirds DIDN'T steal!
I mooshed those little suckers up (NOT the Blackbirds) and made them into ice-cream.
Recipe over at Cooking with Freefalling if you're interested.

Photos: November, 2011

Round the Garden Today

2011-11-07T16:51:00.000+11:00

Lots of lovely colour.

Photo: 7th November, 2011

Have I Mentioned....

2011-11-02T10:52:00.000+11:00

......I love irises?
Oh. I have.
Well, just in case you didn't quite catch it the first several times,
I love irises.
Here's my pink one
(from the Bunninyong markets)

Photos: 19th October, 2011

Another Bearded Iris

2011-11-01T06:03:00.001+11:00

I DO so love them.

Photo: 31st October, 2011

Baby Fruit Parade

2011-10-26T20:14:00.000+11:00

When that world food shortage kicks in,
we'll be right for fruit.
We can probably feed the rest of Ararat, too.
And neighbouring towns.
And neighbouring small countries.

Oh, and we have a Loquat tree and a Pomegranate tree too.
But they haven't made any babies yet.

Photos:26 Oct, 2011 - Home & Pendlebury Hill, Ararat

This Morning

2011-10-18T09:02:00.002+11:00

Russet Bearded Iris.
And it's only the first one!!
Lots more buds to open.

Look at the shimmer on that petal!

Photos: 18th Oct, 2011

In the Garden Today

2011-10-15T19:13:00.002+11:00

The first Iris of 2011!
And the first David Austin - William Shakespeare Rose.

Photo: 15 Oct, 2011

In the Garden Today

2011-09-26T16:18:00.001+10:00

Ranunculus.
In the White Birch garden bed.

Photo: Home - 26 Sept, 2011

From the Garden

2011-09-23T16:44:00.002+10:00

Echium.

Photo: Home - 23 Sept, 2011

In the Garden Today

2011-09-16T15:45:00.001+10:00

Crocuses (crocii?) growing under the Callistemon in the front yard.

Spring 2011
iphone shot

Succulent - Early Spring

2011-09-05T13:02:00.000+10:00

......and red camellia.

iphone app - 5 Sept, 2011

Creeping Up on Me

2011-08-17T13:31:00.001+10:00

I don't know the name of this camellia - it was already here when we bought the house - not my roses (way too early).

As much as I love gardening, I also love the respite from hard work that comes with winter.
3'ish months of not having to trim and weed and mow and plant and water, is rather nice.
Both the garden and I go into hibernation.
But I know it's time to wake up when my camellias start to show themselves.
Spring is just around the corner!

Camellia - Desire

Camellia - Buttons 'n' Bows

Photos: Home, August - 2011

So long, Autumn

2011-05-31T10:30:00.000+10:00

Until we meet again next year.

Photo: Home - 31st May, 2011

Round the Garden on a Grey Autumn Day in Five Easy Photos

2011-04-20T14:39:00.000+10:00

Made some new cushions for the chairs on the front porch yesterday,
getting it all ready for our "sitting in the sun like lizards" sessions that
we look forward to every winter.
(Also killed all the resident spiders, including one redback,
so my big brave husband could venture out without fear).
I'm not sure what that green succulent is called but it always reminds me of seaweed.

I love dirty old geraniums (that's what my cheeky nursery man calls them).
I don't know why modern gardens don't embrace the geranium - they're the bomb
(or 'whatevs' it is the young folk say these days).

My Crepe Myrtle - aren't the leaves just beautiful?
And it makes these flowers in Summer - what's not to love about a Crepe Myrtle.
(perhaps remembering how to spell Mrytle - Myrtle)

Sometimes gardening requires patience (which the good lord did not see fit to bestow 'uponce' me) - and it's torture waiting for plants to produce fruit or flowers. I had this Birthday Candle Banksia 3 years before it made these little flowers - they remind me of corn cobettes.

Impossible to grow coriander round these parts in the warmer months.
It's looking nice and healthy coming into winter - I feel some thai curries coming on.

Plenty of other stuff happening in the garden,
but after 5 photos I tend to lose focus (see what I did there?
photos/focus - genius).
Time to go and trim the hydrangeas.

Photos: Home - 20th April, 2011

You Never Know

2011-04-12T08:41:00.000+10:00

Fuchsias didn't really register on my radar.
I don't know what I had against them.
They just seemed a bit too fussy and prissy.
I didn't think they would be made of stern enough stuff to survive in my garden.
(ie: alternating being lavished with attention and then neglected for months on end).

I couldn't have been more wrong.
They are really hardy little buggers.
All through summer and now well into autumn they just keep on flowering.
And they are the happiest, jolliest little plants.
Lots of strong colour.

So I lashed out and ordered a few more from Brenlissa online nursery.
They come in lots of different flavours and you can get upright ones
or ground-covers or ones for hanging baskets.
I think I've been converted.

Photos: Home - April, 2011

Here's a Tip

2011-04-02T05:44:00.001+11:00

DON'T deadhead your Marigolds with your fingers.
THEY STINK!!!!!

(but they look pretty).

Photo: Home - 1st April, 2011

Hooray! Hooray!

2011-03-27T18:03:00.005+11:00

The peaches are nearly ready!
And this year - they are going to be MAGNIFICENT!
We've had a sneaky early one - and it was just about the best peach I've ever eaten!

The crop isn't as big as last year's but there are still a lot of them!

Photos: Home - 27th Mar, 2011

So Cute

2011-03-22T05:54:00.004+11:00

Aren't baby vegetables CUTE?
I grew this one from a seed - it's about 4cm (1 inch) long.
It's the first zucchini I've ever grown.
It's called Midnight and it's especially for containers (I ran out of room in the vegie patch!).
I planted it on 26 Jan - so just 2 months from seed to vegie.
And the schtinkin cabbage butterflies won't touch it!

Photo: Home - 21 Mar, 2011

Hepples

2011-03-18T16:36:00.000+11:00

Remember Gabriel Gate - that french chef fellow who used to be on Bert on the tele and talked about hunions and hepples and cooking in the huven?
Well, that rather took my fancy and forever more, to me they will always be "hepples".

Anyway...
Guess what I know about growing hepples?
Nuthin.

Well...
Remember I spoke of how about 3 or 4 years ago we wanted to buy an investment property in a country town but we accidentally ended up living in it? Well, we had another crack at it about a year ago and bought a lovely brick home built 45ish years ago by Mr and Mrs Pendlebury.
One of the wonderful things about the Pendlebury's house was, that it was built on nearly half an acre and it had a street at the front and a street at the back.
That meant that half the yard and the house could be for the tenants and the other half - the huge backyard and garden shed could be for us!
And there I could plant all the stuff that wouldn't fit in our own home yard.
So far, at Pendlebury Hill (see what I did there? It's on a hill and the Pendleburys built it - genius!), I've planted a Quince, an Olive, a Pomegranate, Raspberry Canes, a Blueberry bush, a Dahlia patch, and the beginning of a rose garden.
(This is to accompany the White Mulberry, the Black Mulberry, the Lemon, the Navel Orange, the Washington Orange, the Emperor Mandarin, the White Nectarine, the Tahitian Lime, the Kaffir Lime, the Bay tree, the Passionfruit vine, the Grape vine and the Loquat I have already planted at our own house - and the rose garden, and the vegie patch and the 35,000 (maybe an exaggeration) different ornamentals and natives! Lawdy, lawdy, I've been busy the last 3 years!)

Anyway....
before he died last year, Mr Pendlebury dropped in to see me and wish us well for the future and we got talking about the garden.
He told me about the two apple trees he had planted and how they had six different varieties growing on them.
Isn't that amazing?
You can just splice different fruit onto one trunk and they will all live together quite happily doing their own thing.

So....
because I didn't really know anything about caring for apple trees and at the time I was a little pre-occupied with other stuff - I pretty much left them to their own devices for the last 12 months.
Ha!
As if they needed my help!
The two little trees are FULL of apples.
Stupidly, I didn't ask Mr Pendlebury what exactly the different varieties were.
I'm pretty sure I've got a Granny Smith.
A Golden Delicious.
A Red Delicious.
Does anyone know what these ones might be?

Photos: March, 2011

Dirty Little Blighters

2011-03-07T13:38:00.010+11:00

I'm frequently at war with some dastardly critter in my garden.
Presently, it's the white cabbage butterfly Pieris Rapae.

I quite like the butterflies - they flit all over the garden and make me feel all "English Country Garden".
But they lay eggs - LOTS OF EGGS!
And the eggs turn into caterpillars.
Fat green caterpillars.
And the caterpillars chow down on my nasturtiums and Bok Choy and Cauliflower and Broccoli seedlings.
See those eggs there on my Bok Choy?
They are EVERYWHERE!!

Having had a rather nasty dose of cancer in my household already, I am loathe to use any toxic chemicals on the food we eat, so I will always search for a low-impact remedy to control pessstssss, bugsss and aphidssss (anyone remember good old Allan Seale and his sibilant "s"? I loved that ad - I wish someone would put it on youtube).

Anyway......
the interwebs suggested egg shell halves might work.
Apparently, cabbage butterflies are territorial and they think the eggshells are other cabbage butterflies so they fly away and find somewhere else to lay eggs.
Lots of people have had great success with this method.
I didn't think cabbage butterflies could be that dumb.

So half a carton of eggs later.....
it turns out Ararat cabbage butterflies are of a superior intellect.
You'll notice they indulge in no pretence, they laid their eggs right next to my deterrent.

Now, I'm going in for round 2 - a little concoction of molasses and pure soap.
I've heard the caterpillars would rather starve than eat leaves coated in molasses.
Whaddya reckon?
Is it gunna work?

Photos: Home - Feb&Mar 2011

The Amazing Pinkie Rose

2011-03-02T12:20:00.000+11:00

When we bought this house 3ish years ago in a Victorian country town, it was originally intended as an investment property.
It was a pretty daggy house but it was in a great position and was structurally sound.

We didn't have a lot of money for renovations, so anything we did to prettify the appearance from the street, had to be achieved via the garden.

Anyway...the house had these weird brick pillars holding up the little front verandah.
They were very u-u-u-ugly.
Our options were to replace them, paint them (which always looks like a lame attempt to beautify) or hide them.

At our house in the city, I had a lot of success with a Climbing Gold Bunny.
When it was in full flower, it used to stop people in the street and they would take photos. It was extra special coz my Grandma gave me $20 when we first bought our city house to buy a rose for the garden.
I loved my Grandma.
And she loved roses.

So I thought some climbing roses on the pillars might work - to hide and distract.
But there was concrete on the ground along the front of the verandah.
I didn't know if it would work, but I got Dad and Vince to cut 2 square holes in the concrete in which I could plonk a couple of roses.

And guess what!
The Pinkie Roses love it!
Their roots stay nice and cool and just moist and the leaves bake against the bricks.
Absolutely ideal.
It never fails to amaze my Mum - "I can't believe it grows out of that little hole in the cement!"
They are a real show-stopper.
And the great thing about that is, when people walk by and you are in the garden, they will comment on it and that is such a great way to strike up a conversation and get to know your neighbours.
Especially the older ones, who always have good stories.

Oh yeah - and we loved our little investment property and the little country Victorian town so much - we packed up our city lives and moved into it.
Best decision - EVER!

Photos:
1,2,4&5: Nov, 2010
3. Oct, 2007

Green Zebras

2011-02-28T09:08:00.001+11:00

It's all Green Zebras and Black Russians around this joint at the moment.
These two tomato plants have been incredibly successful in the vegie patch this year.
Tomatoes really are quite easy to grow.
You just plonk 'em in the vegie patch - stake them as required - splash a bit of Seasol on them every now and then and that's about it.
They don't really taste any different from red tomatoes but I'm always up for something of novelty value.
They come from my "go to" vegie man - Diggers.
Next year I think I'm going to go with one of those fat brain looking ones and some little yellow cherry ones.

Last year I made 37,000 jars of different jams and chutneys.
My absolute favourite was Peach and Tomato chutney.
I only made a couple of jars and really only made it for my Dad.
But it was fabulous - especially with cold chicken.
So when our peaches finally are ready - usually April - I hope I have some tomatoes still growing.

Photos:
1. Feb, 2011
2&3. April, 2011

Do the Funky Chicken

2011-02-27T07:52:00.000+11:00

Summer - 2011
A magpie having a shower under the hose out on the footpath.
He was having the best fun.

Photos: Feb, 2011

Abracadabra!

2011-02-26T04:52:00.001+11:00

Look!
I grew these from sticks.

My first propagating experience.
Next year they will be tall enough to hide that weird ugly fence.
What IS that kind of fence? - looks like something used in a pig pen.
I was hoping they would be purple but they are kind of pinky mauve.
I think I might have to acidify the soil a bit more to get them purple.
They are past flowering now.
There's a few stragglers.
They'll get a haircut soon.

This is them the same time last year (in the picture below).
Haven't they grown a lot?

photos:
1. iphone - Feb, 2011
2. Feb, 2011
3. Jan, 2010

PS. Comments turned back on, by special request!

Should I?

2011-02-25T11:28:00.008+11:00

Summer 2011
The BBQ table found at the tip.
Should I paint it?
Or should I live it a bit rustic-like?

There's no bricks holding up the bench anymore.
It's got 6 legs now.

I think I may have hit the saturation button a bit hard - look at those orange roses - they are glowing!

Photo: Feb, 2011

PS. I turned the comments off on this blog, coz I'm easily confused.
Sad, but true.
I always miss comments when they are posted here and I hate to miss them.
The freefalling blog is "where it's at" when it comes to blog comment action.

Teeny Tiny

2011-02-22T17:24:00.004+11:00

Isn't it the most adorable thing?
It's a teeny tiny punkin (that's what Dad calls 'em).
Our next door neighbour Ally gave us a punkin seedling from his garden a little while back.
Now it's growing out the back near the white mulberry tree.
And it's made it's first punkin.
I've never grown a punkin plant before.
I don't even know what kind it is.

Photo: 22 Feb, 2011

Casualty No. 2

2011-02-14T13:31:00.006+11:00

Earlier this year my beautiful pink flowering gum, snapped off at the base.
I was very sad.

And last night it happened again!
This gorgeous rose - Double Delight - that my mother-in-law kindly struck for me, snapped.
B#st##d!
It wasn't even that windy.

That's it!
Every plant in the garden will be staked within an inch of its life!

(and I'll take a cutting from the rose to see if I can grow a new one).

Photos:
Jan, 2010
Feb, 2010
Feb, 2011

WooHoo!!

2011-02-13T22:51:00.000+11:00

The first Black Russian Tomato.

Destined for bickies with that there little onion (one of ours)
and some cheese.

Photos: 13 Feb, 2011

6 Weeks Later

2011-02-13T20:12:00.005+11:00

It's been 6 weeks since I took this photo of the white strawberries.
Fraises Des Bois.
(As Julie pointed out, that's Wooden Strawberries for those who don't parlez the francais - wink).

As well as sitting in front of the strawberry patch and just scoofing them straight from the plant, I whizzed them up with some little strawberries off the Golden Leaf Strawberry and made some very delicious warm strawberry sauce.

Anyway.....
6 weeks later and the plant is still fruiting like the clappers
(what ARE the clappers?).
I have 6 different strawberry plants and this one is the most prolific.
I thought the Fraises Des Bois would be the least successful of the 6 as it is an "alpine" strawberry.
Just goes to show - you just never know til you have a crack, do you?

Photos - Jan, 2011

Gentle Encouragement Goes a Long Way

2011-02-13T03:00:00.000+11:00

You may recall I had to have a word with the carrots and explain the manner in which I hoped they might grow - I gave them an example to follow.

Well...
They listened!!

Here are the Heirloom Carrots.
Purple and white and pale yellow.

And here are the Mini Round Carrots.

Bravo carrots - well done!
And to show my appreciation, tonight they are heading for the roasting pan.
To feature in this Jamie Oliver dish.
roasted carrots and beets with the juiciest pork chops

Photos: Home - Jan & Feb, 2011

Aren't Seeds the Coolest?

2011-02-04T11:49:00.003+11:00

Look what they can do?
'Mazing!
innit?
I only put these in 9 days ago and look at them already!
The problem is I have to thin them out.
It's just like that movie "Sophie's Choice"!

Photo: Home, Ararat - 4 Feb, 2011

More Babies

2011-01-29T14:05:00.009+11:00

More baby plant purchases from The Native Shop in Dimboola.

In a couple of years they will look just like these photos (fingers crossed).

Eremophila laanii - Pink Emu Bush
3 x 3mt
For Pendlebury Hill - between the Pomegranate tree and the Judas Tree

photo: wikimedia

Grevillea Robusta - Silky Oak
30 x 20mt
LOVE, love, love these trees.
I'd have to say it's my all-time favourite tree.
And you know, I never really noticed them til we were on holidays in Forster 3 years ago - then they hit me right between the eyes..
I ordered two for street trees at Pendlebury Hill.

photo: Mallee Native Plants

Melaleuca wilsonii - Violet Honey Myrtle
2 x 2mt
For Pendlebury Hill - next to the Olive tree

photo: Wikimedia

Melaleuca linarifolia - Snow in Summer
8 x 5mt
I adore this plant - it is absolutely glorious in spring.
It's for Pendlebury Hill - Southern side - next to Cherry Grevillea

photo: Kate's Photo Diary

Eucalyptus forrestiana - Fuchsia Gum
6 x 4mt
Western side of house next to Scarlet Blaze wattle (it's on its last legs)

photo: Melburnian at Oz Native Plants

Acacia microbotrya - Manna Wattle
6 x 4mt
Eastern side of house next to Grevillea in the corner.

photo: TrekNature

Eremophila alternifolia - Native Honeysuckle
3 x 3mt
For the western side of the house on the northern side of the Little Spotty Gum

photo: Mallee Native Plants

Little Babies

2011-01-29T10:35:00.009+11:00

I wanted a few more native plants around the joint (and over at Pendlebury Hill) so I've ordered 16 baby plants from The Native Shop in Dimboola.
One thing about this rainy weather - it's great for planting out newbies.

Here's a few I ordered - all suitable for clay soil - and what they will look like in 2 or 3 years.
Aren't they just beautiful?

Eremophila racemosa
2 x 2mt
For the eastern side of the house next to the Weeping Myrtle (right side).

photo: Berri Native Plants

PimPin Mallee
2 x 2mt
For eastern side of house next to Weeping Myrtle (left side).

photo: Mallee Native Plants

Banksia Ericfolia
7 x 5mt
Eastern side of house.

photo: marbiz

Eucalyptus Woodwardii
10 x 5 mt
For western side of house where pink flowering gum used to be.

photo: Ivan Holliday - Westflora

Grevillea ‘Poorinda Constance’
3 x 5mt
For Pendlebury Hill between the Quince tree and the Judas tree.

photo: Jim's Plants

Summer: Bang for ya Buck

2011-01-08T13:16:00.008+11:00

I do love a lot of bang for my buck.
And don't these nasturtiums deliver?
Such tiny unassuming little dudes,
but they liven up any corner they live in.
This little one at the front gate is my favourite at the moment.

He's a mix of all three nasturtium colours (red, yellow, orange).
Don't they look like little paint smudges?

And I love their pinwheel leaves.

Look! They've got eyelashes!

AND....
you can even eat them!

Photos: Home - 8th January, 2011

Oh Come On!

2010-12-10T19:20:00.004+11:00

You're just not trying!

But surprisingly tasty.
Kind of peppery.
And nutty.

Photo: Home - 10th Dec, 2010

Spring 2010::Asphodeline Lutea

2010-11-06T17:13:00.001+11:00

I love the green grey swirly leaves of my luteas.
This is the first year they have flowered -
although, they have only been in the ground since winter 2009 - ie: less than 18 months.
We planted them in the garden bed outside the lounge room window.
It's a plant of the Mediterranean, so it suits our wet winters and dry summers perfectly - here are some growing naturally in Crete - the last shot on this link is a bewdy.

According to the interwebs it is also known as
Jacob's Staff and King's Spear -
and the roots are edible - roasted on the fire and served with oil and salt.
If I get hungry, I'll give it a try.

I bought them via mail order from Lambley Nursery which is an excellent source for dry-climate plants.
I don't think they have any yellow ones at the moment but they do have a couple of different whitey ones.

Photos: Home - November, 2010

Spring 2010::Lemons

2010-09-07T16:37:00.003+10:00

This is my Lisbon lemon.
I'm very proud of the crop it has given me this winter.
It must have about 30 lemons on it.
I planted it around 2 years ago.
I selected a Lisbon rather than a Eureka or a Meyer,
as it prefers a cooler climate.

They have such a lemony shape.
And they have a lemony flavour.
Not at all like Meyer lemons which are kind of sweet and round.

I've made some salty preserved lemons and some lemon cordial.

My mandarin in the background is just 1 year old
but still produced 6 mandarins.
And that big white monstrosity in the background
was the original mailbox when we moved in - it's hideous,
but I can't part with it.

Photo: Home, Ararat - September & October, 2010

Summer 2009/2010::Roses

2009-12-23T16:24:00.001+11:00

Abracadabra

I am a lover of roses.
You just can't beat them.
You just plonk a stick in the ground,
give 'em a bit of water every now and again
and out they come - in glorious technicolour.
Mine don't even really get a fertilize.
A splash of Seasol if they are lucky.

brass band

I ordered 10 new ones from Treloars in winter.

This one is a standard called Brass Band - I think it is my favourite.

And don't let anyone tell you, you can't transplant roses in the middle of summer.
This one, name unknown, an original rose at our Ararat house, I moved in January 2008.
It's coming along beautifully.

unknown

Autumn 2009:: Nasturtiums

2009-05-14T08:39:00.000+10:00

If I was a flower, I think I'd be a Nasturtium.

Photo:
Vegie patch, Ararat - April, 2009

Autumn 2009:: Flowering Gum

2009-04-12T18:41:00.000+10:00

Put this one in the ground in winter 2008.
It didn't really do much in Spring.
I thought it was a goner.
Look what it made!
3 little flowers.
Clever!

Photo: Backyard, Ararat - 10 April, 2009

Autumn 2009:: Tomatoes

2009-03-15T15:36:00.000+11:00

All hail the first born!
Picked today.
Eaten tonight.
With kipfler potatoes (home-grown),
olive oil
and oregano.
Yum!

Photos: In the vegie patch - on the bird bath - 15 March, 2009.

Summer 2009:: Crepe Myrtle

2009-02-22T16:57:00.001+11:00

Ta Da!
It made its very first flowers.
Clever Myrtle.

In the early morning light.
And.........
absolutely covered in buds.

Photo:
In the front yard, between the Callistemon and Camellia - 22 Feb, 2009

Summer 2009:: Potatoes

2009-02-16T15:32:00.000+11:00

So, this year, I grew my first crop of potatoes - ever.
Who knew it was so easy?
You just chop em up and stick em in.
Simple.
And who knew they came with the added bonus of these beautiful little flowers?
(probably, lots of people knew that)

I stuck them in around October. I don't really know what the "rule" is for watering potatoes, but I watered them every couple of days which seemed to be often enough.

By January we were eating them.
I don't think I actually "harvested" them correctly, coz I pulled out all the little ones as well as the full grown ones.

They are Kipflers.
I don't think I'd grow this variety again.
They are okay - with a consistency like roasted chestnuts.

Next crop - Purple Peruvian Potatoes.

Photos: The Vegie Patch, Ararat - Dec 2008/Jan 2009

Summer 2009:: Flowering Gum

2009-01-27T20:18:00.000+11:00

I LOVE flowering gums.
They are so showy and exuberant and **HAPPY**.
We only planted this one as a baby last summer.
Look what it did for us this summer!

Photo: Pink Flowering Gum, western side of Ararat house - 25 Jan, 2009.

Summer 2009::Succulents

2009-01-19T19:23:00.000+11:00

Learning to love succulents.
When I was growing up, my mother poo-pooed succulents.
I think she thought they were rather gauche.
In her defence, it WAS the seventies and they probably weren't used to their best advantage.
Being an impressionable child, I took on board my mother's off-hand attitude to the poor old succulent.
However, as I grew up, developed a mind of my own, I realized mother was NOT the oracle of everything - admittedly, she does have a rather ~~large~~ enormous head which houses a particularly big brain - but style and asthestics is a deeply personal thing.
Anyway, as the Australian summer withered pot after pot of petunias and pansies, I started experimenting with pots of succulents to pretty things up.
And what a revelation they were.
They change colour with the seasons, they produce spires of flowers, they come in a variety of shapes and sizes and textures and best of all - they don't have to be mollycoddled.
Go the succulent!!

Photo: Dish of succulents, on the table under the peach tree, Ararat - 7 Jan, 2009.