Four Years Later

 It's been four years; and a lot has been going on in the world. 

This is one of the reasons why I didn't post here - or on my other blogs either. We were all going through the same things; and I didn't want to repeat everything back to you.

It's been four years, and my garden has been flourishing like nothing else. I've gotten into a routine with it every year; and when the pandemic hit, I asked my landlord if we could install an awning on the back of my townhouse; and he said yes. 

The awning is steel and makes my backyard look so cute! And I've got lights on it as well - which are solar powered, so no big electricity bills for me. Then, I installed an arch, which wasn't one of the expensive one (but really it should have been) and I had a great time putting plants on it and lights and it really made an entranceway into another part of my garden - which was to the greenhouse.

The greenhouse was two cheap $50 ones put back to back and tied together. I couldn't afford one of the $700 ones, so I had to put up with the cheap ones until I could afford one of them. And it was a good thing to do this as I could grow vegetables and herbs in the greenhouse without the possums and other animals getting to them. It's so good to be able to go into the back yard and collect something from there, then cook it up in the kitchen! 

This all happened in 2020.

Then, at the end of 2021, I got very sick; and my garden took a back seat in a lot of ways. Over the next year, I found that I spent a lot of time in hospital... and it was awful.

It's been a long time since I was in a hospital - and I'm proud to say I'm at home more than in a hospital room. And my garden has been my solace since I returned home in mid-2022 and I jumped in and fixed it up in a huge way. Garden lights, more plants, more work in the greenhouse and other plants included. 

Then, my folks sold their house, and they're beginning to give away things and in the last year, they offered me their old fernhouse - which is twice the size of the greenhouse! So, of course I said yes! In the past two weeks, Dad and I installed it and there were a few casualties in the plant world in my garden - but nothing a few new seedlings couldn't fix. And I have found that my strawberries are pushing up to the sky more, the spinach is climbing faster, and the capsicum is actually putting out larger fruit! 

I did have to get rid of some plants to make room for the fernhouse. There were some Agapanthus I had to give away, and a few other Frangipanni as well. And a 4 year old cardboard plant too... but it was all worth it, to have the fernhouse.  I also got rid of a Yukka, which was getting too big for not only the yard, but the pot it was in too.

It's been four years - and the garden isn't the only thing which has been growing. I have replaced the arch with the more expensive one; and my outdoor setting (the two chairs and one table) have been upgraded to another one; as the chairs became rusty and one broke. 

It's always lovely to see a garden jump ahead after a bit of time. I didn't mean to abandon you all, but when your health slides, that's what happens. I'm just happy my garden is making me so happy now - if not happier. Until next time. Happy gardening.

Major Ripping Out of Plants!

Well, things have changed since I last came in there! Woah!

Okay... no more fonts I like to pick from, the colours are probably going to be really, really basic too. I'll see.

Anyway, this week, I've been eying off a delicious, new green house at Bunnings - but it's a very expensive one as well! Yep, my old green house is falling apart and I've been patiently waiting for the next government Covid-19 payment to get it... and today, I checked my balances and - OMG! - it came in!So, next week, I'm getting my butt to the bank and moving some serious dough to order it in. You see, the really expensive greenhouses at Bunnings are Special Order items and they take a month to come in. I don't mind, it'll give me time to get my butt into gear to buy more pavers, move some plants and get in and work on the rest of the yard to move everything around. 

So, what have you been up to lately with your gardens? 

Over the past weekend, I ripped out plants - as my title says - and threw three away. My two limes were dead, no thanks to wasps laying their lavae in the branches and it being too late for me to do anything about it! And my Ficus? Well, that bastard of a plant really made itself at home running roots in 3 different directions for 1.5 metres and wrapping its main root ball around the paver I had put underneath it. 

I did repot some plants around the place. 

I repotted Little Miss Stevie's memorial plant in one of the Lime Tree's pots and it's looking happier less than a week later. The Fiddle Leaf Plant is now outside in a larger pot and next to the front door, where it's totally enjoying the sunlight, the rain, the warmth off the wall behind it... yep, it's just happy as hell! And it's stopped dropping leaves too.

The little weird indoor plant I bought from Coles, which I don't know the name of was put into the little brown pot which the Fiddle Leaf Plant started its life in... and it's happy too now. I'm pleased to say all the plants in my house and garden are looking great.Well, that's except the ones upstairs in the bathroom and the terrarium in my master bedroom - but that another post for another day. Until my next post, happy gardening! 

Winter Garden

I haven't been in here for a while mainly because I haven't had to do anything much in the garden. The sun doesn't reach to the back of house; and as the temps drop, the garden 'goes to sleep'. 

But that's not all it does. 

In Winter, my Jades burst into bloom! They're just the most lovely at this time of year and they show how pretty they really are. 

It's always so lovely when this kind of thing happens in the garden, isn't it? One large part of the garden goes to sleep, and another part of it wakes up. I love it when this happens when I'm not paying much attention to it... it's as though my garden is telling me 'hey, you've done something right!' 

Well, until my next post, happy gardening!

Getting Stuff Done

It's been trying times on everyone, hasn't it?

With this Covid-19 pandemic, it hasn't been easy to socialise, to do anything around the place that we normally do, or to enjoy going out - especially when the government has said to stay at home.

Hey, I love to stay home.

So, what I've done is get right into my garden. I replaced some herbs, potted up some tomato seeds, told a neighbour to leave me alone (and to stop coming to my house) and I started planning what to do next in my yard this Winter.

Oh... yeah, I told my neighbour to stop coming around because she took a hack saw to one of my 6ft Jades outside my house while I was house sitting at Brighton - on the other side of Brisbane. It took a while, but she got the message - kind of. She still thinks we're friends. We're not.

Anyway, this week, I bought an arch for the garden - and I keep forgetting how big these things are! Mine is over 6ft tall and metal. I bought it for $40 at Bunnings and got another neighbour to help me move it into place.
Then, on Thursday this week, I bought what I thought (and was told was) a Jasmine; but it was from the Jasmine family. Anyway, today, I was at Bunnings where I bought a large pot, feet for the pot and a 50Lt bag of garden soil and a bag of stones (for drainage). Now, that little climber is all potted up and happily trained to the arch; and by Christmas, I'll have a gorgeously flowering creeper with pink flowers. 

So, this is what I've been up to in my garden. I've also asked my landlord if he can get an awning across the back of my house... but even after the quote, I haven't heard back from him. Oh well, one step at a time I guess. Until my next post, take care and happy gardening. 

Gardening Update

I've been very busy in the little garden of my townhouse - busier than I normally would be at this time of year. Usually, I do all my work in Winter, when all my plants have gone dormant, and have gone to 'sleep'. But with this Coronavirus around, I've been working my butt off to get my garden ready for a lock down - one where I can't leave my house.

Or one where I'm not allowed to go out very often.

I'm not leaving my place often anyway, but that's just a preparation for not being able to leave at all.

Well, I've been dropping tomato seeds into pots, and they're growing well. And birds are eating the growths. So, I've had to put plastic bags over the top to protect them and make them grow better - even in the green house. 
I've  got a butterfly chrysalis and it's just lost its translucency and turned a dark green colour. I've never watched this transformation before - it's so fascinating! 

Now, I've got my herbs growing again and it's going really well. I'm hoping to repot my spinach, but I'm kinda worried that if I do, it'll die off. So, I'm leaving it alone for now. 

I think I've said in a prior post that I've frozen some of my veggies and I'm hoping to do more freezing when the time comes around. 

So, what are you up to in your garden? I did score a second lime tree and some good pots to repot the Tahitian Lime - which went well - and I potted up the 3 feet of small leaf jade I found that my neighbour cut off out of the front garden of my town house. It's going really well so far too. 
And I have a new addition to the garden in the way of a bargain buy from Bunnings: a $10 Frangipani! What a little beauty it is too! It was getting too big for the pot and I potted up into a bigger one and now it's happy and starting to lose its leaves - can't wait until next year when it'll get lovely white flowers with pink tips. Well, until next time, happy gardening.  

April 2020 and the Coronavirus?

Well, isn't this a change for the new year? 

We all get told to stay home and us gardeners are in heaven - right? 

I am.

But I wasn't home for long in December - about a month actually - as I was off to my brother's house to house sit for 6 weeks; and dog sit, when this virus hit on a global scale.

Well, when I arrived home, I had a lot of work to get done in the garden... there was so much clipping back, weeding, and repotting to do, that I just couldn't wait to get to Bunnings and collect what I needed.
But it's not that easy anymore, is it? There's restrictions on when we can go out, what time to go out who can start shopping; and social distancing as well. 

So, I've been working on my garden, and it's been great therapy for me. I just hope I can let it go for a few weeks until the next time I go back to Bunnings - if they're still open to the public. 

Anyway, I hope your garden is going well in these uncertain times around the globe. Take care of yourselves and happy gardening.

Cooler Days... Let's Hope!

Well, after the dreadful heatwave last week, and over the weekend of Australia reaching over 40C, we're all breathing a sigh of relief to have a few days of under 30C.

But I know it's not going to be very long until it heads towards that dreadful heat again.

Well, while I was on holidays at the coast, I had some neighbours care for my garden, and they did a great job! I finally have new lawn coming through - finally! And now, all I have to do is keep the damned cat from a few doors down away from it - from crapping all over it!

And this where Cayenne Peppers come into play. A good friend of mine told me about this need little trick to play on cats. You see you sprinkle this piping hot peppers where you don't want a cat, and they come over and burn their feet, butt and nose and never come back. I know, I know, you're gonna say: 'But this mean!' However, a cat's pee and poop destroys your lawn and kills your plants.

So, this is my last resort in keeping them out. I tried 'Scat' and I tried vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Neither of those worked. So, the Cayenne Peppers is going to work this time around. It's a spice, it's non-toxic and birds won't go near it - they can smell it's too hot for them.

Also, my garden is going so well! The Hydrangea is almost ready for planting into its new pot, but I think it's best to put it over at the back fence, instead of the side fence - seeing the leaves are getting burnt already. 
I have so many herbs, I don't know what to do about them all! And the Agapanthus are thriving! However, I don't have any flowers on any of my Franigpanis... now that's curious... and weird. 

Well, until my next post - which may well be in the New Year - I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year. Take care and I hope you get into your garden, no matter how dry it gets here in Australia. 

End of the Year

It's been a few months since my last post, but I haven't forgotten about you.

I've been busily trying to keep cats out of my garden. Yep, they've been shitting in my yard, and turning it into their own personal kitty litter. The problem has been that I haven't been able to figure out which cat has been doing it - not until the past few weeks. I did talk to the neighbour who owned the cat and told them to keep their cat inside and away from my house. 

Well, as we all know, that's easier said than done... and when I came home from the coast the other day, there were big lumps of cat crap in the yard; which I had to clean up. 

It looks like I'll have to get out the big guns of my deterrent.... yep, I'll be going to the Spice Mart and buying Cayenne Peppers to sprinkle around the lawn to keep the cat out. This not only burns their paws, but it burns their butts too. I'm trying to grow lawn, not cat shit.

Anyway, while I was away, I got another neighbour to look after my yard, and he and his girlfriend did a great job. There were some good storms and so the containers filled up with rain water and I could use some of it with the green house plants when I opened it up. And did the herbs grow? You bet they did! I've got a lot of Oregano. The Basil has really come on and so has the Mint! 
The Hydrangea is looking wonderful! It's going to be repotted before New Years Eve; and the water will be kept up to it so it does take to the new pot I'll be getting over the next week or so. 

I've yet to mow the lawn this Summer, but we just haven't had enough rain - storms yes, but good solid rain, not as yet. The bush fires really did a number on the country. And to think our government really didn't think about it when they stopped back burning our national parks. I hate to be political about this, but it's been done for centuries by the indigenous people and suddenly we stop it for some stupid reason, and our country goes up in flames. 

Oh well, that's how things go, right? 

Anyway, the Lime Tree has been attacked by the caterpillars and I've been spraying it with some good white oil and then I have been looking at the Agapanthus too... they've been going well. My Frangipanis have yet to flower - but then, there hasn't been enough rain for them to flower as yet. Give it time, they'll get in and flower. So, how's your garden going? All good and beautiful? I hope so.

Yesterday

Yesterday, I went out to Bunnings and scored myself a bag of potting mix for the Tahitian Lime Tree, a bag of 'Snow White' stones for the front garden, some Command Hooks for the home office and a box of Munns blue lawn seed to put out on the lawn.

Yesterday, I got everything unloaded from the car, and sorted out before the stinking heat hit us... and that included putting the stones into the front garden.

Also yesterday, we were hit by a huge storm here in Brisbane, and it was a right hum-dinger! It wasn't the first one for the season, but it gave us some much-needed rain! I'm thankful I didn't put out the lawn seed, it would have been washed away!
But the storm was a great light show, with thunder and lightning playing the game of give and take as it normally does. Wind howled around the place, and rain poured from the darkened clouds!

Today, though I put out the lawn seed - which is blue to stop the birds from eating it. It's got a coating on it so when the birds eat it, it tastes bitter and they spit it out. It's not poisonous and it'll stay where it's supposed to (in my yard and not in a bird's stomach) and I'll have a good lot of lawn this year. 

So, how's your garden going? All good? I hope so!

October

It's Spring - I think it is anyway!

Over the past week, we've had Summer and Winter within 48 hours. So, who can say what season it is?

Anyway, it's been stinking hot, freezing cold and raining - along with some thunder rolling overhead. Yeah, our weather doesn't know whether it's coming or going - and that's Spring in Australia, right? Yeah, it sure is!

I'm not well at the moment, and am in the process of losing my voice - I'm always the last to catch something,  but I'm not fussed. Anyway, today, I got to catch up with what's going on in my garden.

I moved a few things around and made room for the new pot I'll be buying in the yard for the Tahitian Lime Tree - as it's really wanting more space. Then, when I moved my Ficus, I found it needed a new pot too! So, I'm up for 2 new pots. But the Lime Tree needs it more than the Ficus; mainly because it's putting out fruit - or it's doing its best to do it. and it's got long branches. So, yeah, I'm going with the citrus first. 

Anyway, I moved the massive pots first and some of the smaller pavers out of the way, and then shifted the metal steps to where the large pots used to be. 

I looked at the big black pot that the large leaf jade is living in happily and almost pulled it out... but then, realised: no, not a good thing to do that to a happy plant. I shifted it to where it was going to live and left it well alone.

The Dracaena Plant next to it and then shifted everything else back into place. 

I put the Ficus on a large piece of paver to stop it from pushing another root into the ground and reorganised the solar lights again. The other Frangipani was shifted next to the fence - and I realised it needed a new pot too - and then I added a third pot to the list of pots I'll be buying before Christmas.

Yep, this is going to be something I'll be organising in my garden. Big organisation for me today - and over the next three months - because I'll need to. So, how's your garden going?