A long and slender visitor

Visiting me the other day was this stick insect. It stayed motionless for hours just doing what stick insects do.

There has been some nice rain since the last post and a storm last night which delivered 30mm.

Where’s The Rain?

The SOI is at 7.6 and the dams have been emptied in preparation for the expected wet season but there is no sign of it here.

The garden needs watering daily and is still looking good but some heavy downpours would work wonders. There is supposed to be some storms over the next few days so here’s hoping….

The Tree Dahlia has produced its first flower, last year it was spectacular:

Some nice flowers on the Tibochina as well, I can see them out of the corner of my eye as I write this.

The sweet corn has set some cobs, the variety (Honey & Cream) is a lot shorter than others I have seen but as long as the taste is there, that’s all that matters.

Some nice looking tomatoes on the way as well, I think I gave the bushes too much fertiliser and they produced lots of leaf but there will still be some yummy produce. I will plant a second crop soon.

Lush new growth.

I fertilised this Hydrangea last year and it grew so much that it completely blocked access down the side of the house. At the start of winter I pruned it severely cutting all the old wood off back to just above ground level, I even wondered if it would survive but it is now if full growth with rich green leaves, the pruning has worked wonders but there will be no fertiliser this year.

A Floral Delight

Sitting on the back veranda having a coffee and a slice of home-made fruit cake is a delightful experience. As I look to the left there is a wall of white jasmine flowers, it even takes me away from the fruit cake:

Further up the side fence the jasmine mingles with the honeysuckle. In the early morning the perfume from the honeysuckle is heavy in the air, it is the first experience of the senses when I walk out the back first thing.

The side fence is actually full of color, a mixture of honeysuckle, nasturtium, jasmine and another one whose name I constantly forget. I also have some rather pleasant conversations over this fence with my neighbour, Betty.

The tibochina in the back yard continues to produce hundreds of buds and this year it looks like there will be white as well as pink flowers. Look closely and see all the buds on the picture:

Hely’s Rose

The new moon is in Scorpio and this climbing rose always flowers for Hely’s birthday the 26th October and once again it is in full bloom. This one comes from a cutting from Hely’s which came from Shirley.

The first harvest

The Bok Choy is the first to harvest. I had some raw and some stir-fried with tofu and a couple of other ingredients. It was crisp and delicious. There is nothing eating the leaves, perhaps this is due to the soil chemistry being in balance.

 

Here are some gazanias growing wild at the side of the house mixed with a creeper.

Walking out the back door there is a cascade of pink, I can see it from here.

The pansy's have lasted well, they need water every day and some blood and bone now and again.

There’s lots of life in the vege patch as the warmer weather sets in, even a couple of visits from a bandicoot at night who digs up the edges of the beds.

 
Last year the tree dahlia as spectacular and from the new growth which is appearing it will be another great show:

Spring Rains

30 mm of storm rain in two days has enlivened the garden greatly, storm rain has a quality which stimulates growth far more than watering or ordinary rain. Science says it is due to the Haber process converting free nitrogen in the air to a soluble form via the electrical discharge, then again it could be the fairies.

The tomatoes are looking great, lots of blood & bone plus seaweed emulsion and Charlie Carp.

 

Pak Choy and beans are growing well, the pak choy looks like the first harvesting will be within a couple of weeks.

Some good growth from the sweet corn. I saw on Gardening Australia that they recommend planting lettuce on the southern side so I will do that.

This is going to be spectacular, it is the new season’s growth of the tree dahlia, last year it was superb.

The front yard has received some attention, Helen, my neighbour gave me three shrubs whose name escapes me, they filled the space behind the three callistemon bushes.

The plant at the rear is an Abutilon (Chinese Lantern) I hope it grows as well as the label looks.

At the front of the house the erigeron is in full bloom and spreading across the driveway.

A Day In The Open Gardens

Spring on Mt.Tamborine is the time for the Springtime On The Mountain garden festival  this year there were only six gardens. Spending the day inspecting beautiful gardens is one of life’s greatest delights.  The weather was perfect with a cool south westerly blowing I had problems with the light when taking photos so some photos were discarded.

There were lots of tourist buses around with some big queues to get into a couple of the gardens, I seemed to time things just right and missed out on all that.

This one used to be a nursery many years ago:

 

Here is a shrub with a spectacular perfume, it’s common name is Yesterday Today and Tomorrow:

The inscription on this reads” In memory of all the beautiful plants that died here at the hands of my husband:

A beautiful view from this garden on the southern end of the mountain, in the distance you can see the peak of Mt.Warning. Over the edge is the land warfare centre at Canungra.

Driving around the mountain there are many spectacular hedges of May:

Here’s an assortment from various gardens:

A spring arrival

Here is a new arrival, a bluetongue lizard at the front door, they are great to have around as they eat snails. I used to have another bluetongue living under the hot water system a few years ago.

It just stayed there as I walked around and opened the door and wasn’t perturbed by any of my activities.

The Vernal Equinox

The Spring (Vernal) equinox is approaching and the life in all things is especially active. In the southern hemisphere it is the time of the festival of Ostara which is connected to the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre. I haven’t actually seen anything like what is in the drawing going on in the garden but the effects are there, the beans have a few leaves and the sweet corn is just above the mulch.

As a result of all this my garden beds are rapidly becoming full. I planted some beetroot today after soaking the seeds overnight in a solution of epsom salts, this helps the germination no end, according to those who know such things:

 

This is a nice creeper hanging down over a wall, when it covers all the wall it will be quite colourful when there is a full cover

These are a couple of Shirley roses taken from cuttings at Hely’s a few years ago. I was wondering where to put them and noticed a big blank spot on the back wall of the house so I will train them across the bricks.