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? 

Spring At Last!

Well, at long last, this season of rebirth is here! I know that sounds weird and kooky, but really it's a great circle of life in the world of nature.

I've been looking forward to Spring, as it's when the bees come into the garden to pollinate the budding flowers. Then the Rainbow Lorikeets go crazy over any berries and food on the Moch Orange - and they have too - which is sitting around. Every morning for the past week or so, I've seen these lovely, noisy and crazy birds have a go at the two shrubs in my back yard and they're just gorgeous little guys! I've also had a pair of very shy and illusive Fig Birds enjoying themselves too. 

Well, the garden is looking great now too - even after the dust storm and the bush fires which followed. And early this morning, I woke to rain, and more rain. I really do hope it sticks around for not only us city-dwellers, but also the farmers out west who really do need it more than we do. 

But over the Winter, I've been just maintaining the garden looking after it. And it's been looking great! I still need to repot a few little plants, otherwise they're looking wonderful. 
The discounted herbs I found in the past week or so have begun to grow back in the greenhouse. They look great! The Basil and Oregano are looking lovely too - they're bought herbs though. It's all looking great. My cuttings will take time to get their feet, but I've got faith in them. And the bees have found the flowers in the greenhouse - and I spotted a few happily enjoying them.

In the next week or two, I'll be getting some lawn seed for the back yard. After I put down Dynamic Lifter, and prepared the lawn for Spring and Summer, it's absorbed the rain and any water I've put into it lately, and now, it's a matter of adding more cheap potting mix and Dynamic Lifter and then lawn seed to get it growing for this Summer and - hopefully - it'll see through next Winter better than it did this year. 

So, how's your garden growing? Mine is getting better on its first year after its facelift. I hope it gets better and better. Well, until my next post, happy gardening!

August

Well, Winter seems to not want to leave us just yet, and this has given me a good chance to get in and do what needs to get done around the yard that I forgot to do.

The Agapanthus have been taken from their original pots, separated and put into their new pots with Brunnings Garden Soil - and after a bit of rain, they are happy little plants. They're sitting up and enjoying the afternoon sun when it touches their leaves at around 2pm onwards.

My Lavender flowered early, and so I took the flowers off to encourage it to bush up more - and it's going really well. And the Verbena Ka-Pow is going very well too! The possums just don't like that plant very much - and I'm glad I'm getting flowers in the middle of the colder months now. 

The Tahitian Lime Tree has been getting some great growth on it lately. But the damned grasshoppers found those tender little leaves yesterday! So, today, early, I sprayed it with Yates 'Nature's Way Citrus and Ornamental Spray' to keep those little bastards at bay. I'll spray the plant again before the day is out; then do it again tomorrow morning. I have found 4 flowers on the tree this year - I may yet get limes on it by Summer. 

However, a damned cat has been crapping in the middle of my yard - and I mean right where I walk! So, I pick up the poops with a little shovel and throw them over the fence to show where he/she is allowed to poop. And today, I mixed up a strong bottle of vinegar and water and sprayed that everywhere - as I've heard cats hate that smell - and tied up a warped paling where that cat has been getting in with a strong length of wire. 

Well, everything is going so well right now. However, the greenhouse really needs a good going over... as my herbs aren't looking great. 

The goals I need to get set by October are:

* Solar garden lights - need not be expensive ones.
* New herbs for the green house.
* Lawn seed and 'Feed & Weed' to work the lawn up for Summer.

Yep, just those three things... and my garden will be ready for Summer. Like I said at beginning of the year, it's a maintenance year - and I really haven't spent a lot of money on the yard this year; which is great. So, how's your garden going? Until my next post, happy gardening!

Budgeting

I've been budgeting for this month - and the next and I'm going pretty well. And I've found a great little nursery not far from my place which is far cheaper than Bunnings too! 

Well, I have a large bag of Brunnings Garden Soil - which for $7.95 is an absolute steal! And I'll be buying more bags of that for this next month of July. Then, I've recently bought a 'forever pot' for the Dracaena plant and have recycled the black stones from the rose pot I pulled from the front garden and put them in the bottom the new pot; in preparation for next month. 
The massive ants nest in the Dracaena plant is gone now - where I don't care, so long it's not there anymore! And this will make it far easier to get the plant out without being attacked by a nest of angry ants.

Then, I've been looking at bringing back birds to my garden; so have bought a bird house to attract at least one family into the garden. And in the past two weeks I've had a few birdies looking into living in it. Now, isn't that cute? I think so. And with the platter of water nearby, it's a real attraction too.

Now, the little nursery I've discovered is called Chadwick Nursery. It's about a 10 minute drive from my place and the plants are a quarter of the price they are at Bunnings and the pots are far, far cheaper than at Bunnings too! So, I ended up buying a pot there (a terra-cotta one) for $13.00 with a plate for $8.00 and it saved me about $10.00... now that's great. It's such a quiet place and it's got all kinds of soils, statues and every plant you'd ever want to have in your garden - and the place doesn't sell bamboo. They consider bamboo a weed, and they don't grow weeds. How cool is that? I could totally relax in the place due to my allergy to bamboo.

Well, that's what I've been doing with myself in the garden - besides feeding my plants just on Winter with dynamic lifter. Otherwise, life in the garden is well and truly slowing down with this cold snap happening around South East Queensland; and the snow at the border of New South Wales. Until my next post, happy gardening!

Winter Comes Early

Well! Here comes the Winter months - and I'm happy to say that I love this time of year simply because of the cold, and that I can get into my garden so much.

Right now, here in Brisbane today, it's raining; which means I can get in and do planning instead of running out and buying things. 

But so far, there's an extra bag of Brunnings Garden Soil, I have almost finished with the pavers in the garden, and I've yet to buy a large 'forever' pot for the Dracaena plant... then I'll get in and divide the Agapanthus up and it'll look great for next Summer.

I'm looking outside right now at the chilly day and am pleased to say that I'm happy to stay inside all rugged up and away from the rain. Yep, I've had a big week of shopping, op-shopping, cleaning out, donating unwanted goods and vacuuming the house.

So, chilling out and having a day to myself is in the cards today - oh yes, and planning my next move with the garden. 

What are you doing with yourself this Winter? Planning your garden for next Summer or saving up for something big in your garden? I'm hoping to also save for few new seats in my garden too - you know park benches to replace the ones I have already which aren't looking too healthy. I want my place to look classy. Until my next post, happy gardening!

Phew! Busy Morning!

Wow! I've been busy lately.

First off, I paved the area in front of the greenhouse and it looks great! Seriously, it looks fabulous! I then waited until this pay and bought more pavers of the same colour and half-paved the other section I have my eye on. I could only afford 10 pavers this time, but that's okay, I'll get the rest next pay. 

Today, I ended up at my folks' house asking Dad if he could help me move the large pot from out the front to out the back. Well, I was in a grumbly mood (I know why, and didn't mean to be snappy at them; and it wasn't related to anything they said). Well, while I was repotting a small-leaf jade - which had rooted itself into the ground - I spotted that Dad had arrived to help me out. 
Well, we moved the large pot, with the Dracaena Plant still in the pot, out the back and put it in the place it's going to stay. Dad laughed, saying I have to stop buying big pots. I told him that I had the really big rose pots since 2013, and they're being moved to be reused for the Agapanthus... he said that's a good idea.

Otherwise I've been thinking about what else to save for this year. And I have to replace the lights in the garden, get a few more statues (when I find the right ones for the right price) and work on the street sign.  Otherwise, the garden looks good so far. Until my next post, happy gardening.

Indoor Gardens

I've been a big fan of terrariums for years; and it's taken me time to get in work their mojo successfully. But once you do get into that world of the enclosed garden, you become addicted to them very quickly; and you look for places around your home to put one.

I've got two in my house, and their in the most-used room in the house - my living room and my bedroom. And the best thing is that they're a set and forget kinda garden. 

My first one is made from Italian Glass; and they're hard to come by and very expensive in this day and age of the throw away society. And so, when you're looking for a terrarium like this, you have make sure it's properly sealed and the cork in the top is working. If not, it's good to know where to find another one. Here in Brisbane, there's only one company at Bardon (behind the Mt Coot-tha Lookout) that supplies corks for bottles. And you have to take in terrariums to be fitted. They work from a home and they're well worth the drive too! I bought mine in 2014, and ended up having lunch at the Mt Coot-tha Lookout Restaurant; and what a place to chill out at! I loved it - and it turned out to be a great day out just to buy that cork.

But when you do get your terrarium sorted out with the right plants - and not ones that flower otherwise the whole thing rots - you'll find your fascination for that thing will be big. When you're rugged up in your Winter woollies, it'll be warm, moist and raining inside that bottle, like a real rainforest does in the tropics. So long it's not in direct sunlight, the terrarium will survive perfectly.

And the history of these things goes further back than people think. A lot of people think these were invented in the 1960's; but really they just came into popularity in that decade. They were created in the mid-1800's through a scientist, Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward, who left one of his enclosed gardens unattended and one of his plants grew and threw spores. This turned out to be a great discovery about these things he had gotten built for him; as he lived a sheltered life in the UK. Well, that's what I've heard and read about. 

A lot of people are getting back into terrariums as people don't have a lot of room for outdoor gardens anymore; but they're not only sealed ones, you can have open ones as well. I don't see the point in having an open one, as to me they're just too much like pot plants. So, I'd rather have a sealed terrarium and watch it to its thing over the years... or just ignore it and it'll become its own little rainforest as I live my life around it. 

So, do you have a terrarium? If so, how big - or little - is it? Is it open or sealed? How long have you been interested in them? Until my next post, happy gardening!

Winter Planning

Well, it's Autumn and I'm right into planning what I'm going to do with my garden this Winter. Yes, I plan, I have to seeing I'm living from pay to pay.

Okay, last year, I spent so much money on the back yard - renovating it - and now, it's all about maintenance. It's all about making it stay the way I want it to, repotting, updating and making sure the Agapanthus doesn't strangle itself in the pots they're in.

So, I'm bringing the large rose pots from out the front to out the back and using them for just that plant this Winter. Yep, I'm splitting up the Agapanthus this Winter, and it'll all flower by next Summer - if not? Well, it'll do it late 2020. 

Then, I'll get two bigger, taller pots for the Lime Tree (which is really spreading its wings) and the Dracaena plant to let them really do their thing this year. I'm hoping they'll work out this year. 

Out the front, I'll get two more bags of ice white stones into the garden and make it look better, more even and pretty. It'll hide the roots of the Small Leaf Jade and make my townhouse look prettier and house proud and tidier (I know, it's pride thing for me but that's how it goes). 

Well, that's the plans this year. It's not much, but I'm getting in and saving some money for it all. Well, until my next post, happy gardening! 

Autumn Arrives

Well, it's finally cooling down here in Australia - and it came with a bang and not a whimper! One day it was stinking hot, the next there was a cold enough night for us to pull out our duvets and put on our Winter pajamas. 

Yeah, it was that fast... it showed up that quickly that it's also begun snowing in the Australian Alps too!

This has gotten me to really look into the garden faster than I normally would. Today, I mowed the lawn; before it rains tomorrow, and then I hacked back the Mock Orange too. It only flourished twice this year due to us not really having any storm season - which is unfortunate, because we didn't get much rain over Summer. 

I'm looking forward to getting in and fixing up and maintaining the garden this Winter while I save up for something else I really want which isn't for the garden... yep, it's gonna be a fun thing for me.

Anyway, I've got flowers popping open in the greenhouse, there's new Oregano and Thyme and I've clipped back a few plants to stop them taking over sun space from others underneath them. This will help them kick forward next Summer.

I'm going to repot some of the ones I've clipped back into bigger pots I've got laying around the place and start the others into the ones which are left from those I've repotted (does that make sense? I hope so!). 

Well, that's my Winter. It's all maintenance around the garden, seeing my garden got the much-needed facelift last year. and I'm really looking forward to it too! Until my next post, happy gardening!

Late Rains

Over the weekend, we had a line of storms hit South-East Queensland; and they went all the way down to Sydney as well. And just as well! 

We really needed it! 

But it really started up on Thursday afternoon. Man, that was a stinker of a day, and it was also right in the middle of the World's Greatest Shave - and the day I got my head shaved and I donated my hair; which really helped me to deal with the heat.

However, over the weekend, the rain cooled things down, and greened up the yard. We had over 100mm of rain and I got in and replaced the herbs in my greenhouse; as they'd all gone to seed. No matter how much I pruned them back, they kept on flowering. And I didn't have any other pots big enough for them to transfer them to.

Anyway, it's been great to listen to the storms grumbling overhead and the rain pouring onto our roofs - and about time too! I really have been wondering how we were going to get through our Winter if it was going to be a dry one. But the news reports have said that we have scored ourselves a month's worth of rain in the past few days; which is a good thing - but can be a bad thing - because it can cause flash flooding in parts.

So, how is your garden going? Has it taken up all the lovely rains? Or hasn't the rain reached you yet? Until my next post, happy gardening!

March Rains

Well, the seasons are changing and the winds are up, along with everyone I know having hay fever and itchy eyes.

But seeing we're finally getting rain - after the driest Summer we've had in a very long time - my garden is starting to look lovely.

However, my Moch Orange hasn't flowered much, which is something it hasn't done in around 5 years - not since about 2015 or so when we last had a really dry Summer and a freezing cold Winter (gee, sounds familiar doesn't it?). And seeing how long and cold the Winter has been in America, I'm thinkin' we might be in for a cold snap here in Australia again.

Well, my garden is still looking lovely and I'm looking at picking up some potting mix over the next few months and a taller, sturdier pot for for my Draceana plant. This Winter, I'm pulling both the pots in from out the front and putting in more white stones to plump up the garden out there. It'll look better and keep the weeds away - well, let's hope! - and then I'll be putting other plants into those pots I've got into the back yard (which I'll have emptied to take out the back). 

Then, I'll get some small square pavers for the little area in the garden path area I never got finished in near the Tahitian Lime Tree and near the fence - just to finish it up. I'll need to seed the lawn again seeing what the horrible heat did to my lawn; which was kill it off completely! 

Then? Well, seeing it's all just maintenance, I'll kick back and watch it grow. How's your garden going?

The New Year

It's been so dry over the past few months, I haven't thought of coming in here and writing anything.

My lawn has almost dried right out. So, every morning, really early, and every afternoon - just before sunset - I've been outside watering it hard for around 20 minutes each. Then, I'll water everything in the pots to keep everything alive.

And it's all just hanging on. 

The greenhouse is going really well, though. I've reorganised it completely so I have more space in it to grow other things. 

I've ripped out the tomatoes which grew wild when I was down the coast. And I'm trying to grow strawberries like my Pop used to - through using the skins on top of the soil.

The Greek Basil is growing so fast I've clipped it back twice already and just yesterday, I gave it another hair cut, bagged it up and gave it to one of my neighbours who love to grow things to eat. He and his girlfriend had friends over for Australia Day and were about to have something to eat for dinner - and my basil arrived just in time for their salad! How great was that? And the first thing she did was open the bag and take a big sniff! She loves the smell of the stuff. He said he missed grabbing some from my greenhouse when he was looking after my place... I said he's welcome to some herbs whenever he needed some, just knock on the door and I'd unlock the garden. 

But it's been so damned dry here in Australia, that the storms we normally have at this time of year are absent; and we're boiling instead. Temperatures are getting up to 40C and in some parts of this country, they've had past 40C for the past 40 days and beyond. It's a horrible part of our Summer - and we've yet to hit our hottest month!

So, I hope to get out into the yard when it does finally cool off. But this does indicate one thing: a boiling hot Summer shows we're in for a freezing cold Winter.