"Oh, to be in the garden now the soil is damp ..."

Is there anything more exciting than working with damp, friable soil on a sunny winter's day? Well, there's probably a few things but not if you are an Australian gardener who has longed for that elusive, soaking rain. Only weeks ago I wondered if the soil would ever hold water again, and today I think I can plant anything and everything and it will grow forever.

The jonquils have tripled in height since the rain, the peas keep outstripping the lattice, and the arctotis is becoming a rapidly advancing silver avalanche down the garden. The 'Winter Joy' wallflower is about to become just that, and the centranthus and yellow daisies are competing for the best display. Even the lawn has clumps of green. Is it grass, do you think?

I almost want Spring to arrive tomorrow but I know we need some more frosts to kill the bugs, etc. and restore the normal seasonal balance. So, I'll continue to enjoy Winter, working in the garden when it's sunny and warm, and sewing, reading or writing when it's cold outside and cosy inside.

 

The non-stop flowering pink Marguerite.

 

The silver lace of Pyrethrum.

 

Bees are still enjoying this Correa.

 

Lemons are thriving, too.

Switzerland, here we come ...

 

Zoe, Shay and Luca about to leave for their holiday in Switzerland last week.

Haven't we gone quiet?

Ah, nothing like some winter weather and beautiful rain to make us go a little quiet on the gardening front. I hope everyone who needs it has received some rain, although hopefully not quite as much as the Gold Coast and northern NSW Coast. I've never experienced a flood but I imagine that the damage would be extreme and cleaning houses that have been flooded must be dreadful. I know how long it took to dry the carpet every time I flooded the laundry! And that didn't contain any mud.

Plants in the garden are an entirely different green now. Although we haven't had a huge amount of rain (heading for 100mm over three weeks) it all seems to have soaked into the ground, and there's been almost no evaporation.

Did manage to dig over two vegie garden beds and then plant 150 pansies around the edge. Richard had grown them from seed as he likes to have nearly as many flowers as vegetables in his area of the garden. The weather stayed fine long enough yesterday to mulch up many barrowloads of material for the compost. We still haven't been out to collect autumn leaves yet. Looks like we may have to collect them while they're damp as they could take a long time to dry out.

ShellyC and family arrived safely in Switzerland on Tuesday. The weather is hot and humid and the children are enjoying the wading pool. Hard to imagine when it's wet and cold here.

Hello, Red Current

It was great to meet Kath (Red Current) at the markets this morning and see all her lovely clothes and toys for children. I hope you had a really good day, Kath, even though the weather was more conducive to staying home by the fire. I look forward to seeing you again, and your blogs will have even more meaning for me now.

View from the Kitchen Sink

My family have often wondered why I was never interested in buying a dishwasher. Firstly, I don't really mind washing up and, secondly, with views like these through my kitchen window, it's not really a chore. The views change with the seasons - in the Spring there is usually even green grass in paddocks - and I can watch the birds taking a bath or enjoying their breakfast.

 


 

TANYA - these are for you

The new balaustrades so your mother doesn't fall down the steps!



The 'play' or propagating area of the deck. Running out of space for boxes and trays of plants.



Michelle can't believe that your father actually bought that green paint for the lattice. I can't work out what to plant against it as every other green clashes with it. A climber with burgundy leaves would be great but I don't know of any, yet.

To Prune or not to Prune . . . ?

So many things in the garden need cutting back and tidying up, yet I am loathe to take too much top growth and leave the roots unprotected from the frosts. Perhaps I'll just have to be content with deadheading.

The Tree Dahlias are no longer (in fact they are a lot shorter, ha ha) and now cut into 24 cuttings, each with two nodes. I'm not sure whether to plant them now or wait until Spring. Will they still be viable then, does anyone know?

Completely emptied one of the big compost 'bins' ready for the influx of oak leaves, but by the time I'd removed the top from the other bin so we could use the compost underneath, the first one was a quarter full again. Still, it's amazing how much material can fit in.

Two inches of rain over 3 days was so very, very welcome. I get a bit exasperated when I read and hear people say what wonderful soaking rain it was. They would get a real surprise if they scratched the ground and found just how little had penetrated, even in loose, composted soil. I am thankful for the rain we did get, but so much more is needed over a long period of time.

 

Front garden in winter.

Chinese Garden of Friendship at Darling Harbour

Two wonderful days spent in Sydney this week, mainly to see 'The Lion King', which was every bit as good as everyone says it is, and also do a little sightseeing. Below are photos of the Chinese Garden of Friendship at the southern end of Darling Harbour. A delightfully peaceful oasis in such a busy city.

 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 

I Want More Weeds

No, I'm not crazy. The only places the weeds are growing in my garden is where the soil is damp from the dripper hoses, elsewhere it's too dry for the weeds to grow - sort of a back-handed blessing. Therefore, if I had more weeds growing it would mean that the ground was damp enough for the plants to grow too.

Sunrise over the mists and turning tide at Mossy Point