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.

Decent Rain

Well, after a week of resting up my foot, and some decent rain, the garden is going really well.

I bought a box of grass seed - and this stuff has blue seeds inside it. Yates put out this seed with a coating on it to deter the birds and stop them from eating it! It doesn't poison them, it just tastes bad. And I've seen the birds try to eat the seed - they spit it out, looking at the ground as though to ask 'what the hell was that?' Funny though. I wondered how many times the company go it wrong before it only tasted bad; and really, I didn't want to know.

Well, the seed it taking off, and I've mowed it the larger area which is lush and green a few times - it's just a matter of the rest of it to catch up now. 

The greenhouse is really happening.

My Oregano is gorgeous is bushy, so is the Thyme; they look wonderful and are delicious! And the Black Cherry Tomato Vine has been clipped, so it can put all its energy into ripening the fruit its got. I'm looking forward to harvesting them all - but I'm wondering if I have to buy a new plant next year, or does it refruit? I'm going to have to find out when it all happens, I guess.

Well, I'm off to make a doctor's appointment. You see, I think I'm allergic to a bamboo mahl stick a fellow artist gave me today. First off, my hands began to bleed and I didn't think much of it... after wrapping it up in paper tape, I came home and showered to stop any other further allergic reaction I may have. However I'm starting to itch all over now - not a good sign. I really hope I'm not allergic to bamboo. Anyway, happy gardening. 

Resting A Little

Well... I'm resting after breaking a toe. Yeah... sounds tiny, but those things on the ends of feets can be the most delicate of things at the best of times.

I'm so glad the lawn has grown through. I got the Green and Feed onto it and trimmed back some of the leaves in the greenhouse so the fruit of the tomatoes could ripen properly before I turned into a complete clutz and hurt myself.

The solar lights are charging up properly and they're looking great at night. I'm so pleased with them - but I'm looking forward to getting more literary-themed items in the garden, which is great! I've also thought of 'Little Red Riding Hood' (wolf) and 'Hansel & Gretel' (the gingerbread house)... I can't wait to get in and find those things around the places I would normally find them over the next year. 

Yeah, I'm giving myself a year or so to find those items and really make my garden into what it's going to turn into. You know, it'll be a really great thing to see its bigger transformation; as we all know that when you really want something to happen, it's when you can wait for it to happen and be patient enough for the right things to show up at the right times that the garden (or whatever you're working towards) will work out well. 

I can't wait for the theme to make the garden into what it's going to become... and yes, it'll take time, but it's going to be a great waiting game for me, something I don't mind waiting for. Until my next post, happy gardening.

Leveling Out

Well, it's the last month of the garden facelift and I'm so happy with what has happened in my back yard so far. 

1. The unwanted plants were pulled out and tossed - after I offered them to family and friends.

2. The shade area was sorted out; and I found plants I thought had died were still hiding out and alive! 

3. I bought a greenhouse from Bunnings and built it and started growing herbs and tomatoes again!

4. When my folks were at my place to help me out with building the greenhouse, I gave them 2 Agapanthus - as promised - and Mum loved them! 

5. I re-organised the garden so it would grow and look better; even put in a pathway to the back fence so I can get to the rain water gauge easily.

6. Bought new plants to replace the old, tossed-out ones to fill in spots which now lay bare.

Yep, I did a lot of work for such a small area; and now, I've just bought some cheap potting mix for $2.95 a bag to throw on the lawn to level out my wonky lawn... how cool is that? I really do think I need another bag though. But, that's okay. I'll get that and work it out as this month progresses. Once I get the lawn growing again, the garden will look lovely, lush and green again just in time for Spring and Summer. 

I still want to put in large stepping stones in it, but that may have to wait until next year... I'm not sure yet. Until my next post, happy gardening!

Plans For August and September

Now, I'm coming to the pointy end of my Little Garden Facelift and this has worked out so well! I've recycled pots and made the garden look great! New plants are starting to flourish, the backfilled ones are looking good and then the ones which have been upgraded into other pots have begun to take on a new lease on life too.

The greenhouse is going so well too! The tomatoes are growing fast and the herbs are looking and tasting wonderful! However, the possums have tried getting into it, very unsuccessfully I must say! 

Anyway, I've got to work on the lawn as the days become longer and warmer and Spring is about to show its lovely warm face to Australia. And seeing we haven't had much rain, but it's been cold, it'll be up to me to get in and water the lawn more as the weeks go by.

First though, I'll be looking into buying some good quality lawn seed, Feed'n'Weed and lawn food as well. Before any of that goes down, I'll have to spread out some potting mix (cheap stuff) to level out the surface of my lawn first and make it look the way I want it to. This will be the first thing I'll be doing next week - buying the $2.95 potting mix to put out on the the shallow parts of my lawn and then putting out the lawn seed. 

After that, I'll get in and get some 2nd-hand pavers and pave the garden bed and a bag of white stones. The white stones will be for the front garden (to cover up the roots of the trees out there and make it look better). And then, I'll get in and put in some lawn food over the lawn seed and water that in - otherwise that'll burn the seed. 

By the beginning of September, I'll hopefully have a nice level lawn and a pretty garden to walk out into for the rest of the year... and lawn should be nice and lush and strong for the hotter days to come. Then, once it's established, I might get in and lay larger pavers into the ground leading out to the greenhouse. Those pavers will be right at ground level so that when I mow, the blades won't be grazing the paver.

It sounds like a lot of work, but all the hard work is done. This is the easy part... the touching-up part of the garden. Well, let's hope it is. Until my next post, happy gardening!

Been Busily Gardening

It's been a fortnight and the Little Garden Facelift has been chugging along really well. So far, I've installed a lovely little greenhouse to protect not only my most delicate of plants, but to get in and grow other plants too! 

Yep! I'm back into growing herbs and tomatoes again - isn't that great? I'm so pleased to be able to close it up in that afternoons and know nothing will get into it at night.

In the past two months, the large Sun-Loving Broms were removed and thrown out - and nope, not even my family wanted them, so I couldn't give them away. And then I had 2 pots which were useful to me as well. I potted up some lovely plants, repotted others into larger pots and tossed out ones which had lost their bloom and use around the place; reusing their pots for other plants which will be for the garden soon.

I bought a Camellia and a large pot for it, and recently planted that up for next Summer... it's looking great! I can't wait to see it in full bloom next Summer! And I'm planning on getting some pavers as well to put down, as I've made a pathway into the back of the yard to the fence... and because it'll get really muddy, I want to be able to make it a lovely little path through my garden. 

Last night, I pulled apart the solar light strings and pulled out the flat batteries for them and looked at what kind of batteries they were. You see, as the lights are okay, I'll just replace the batteries and get them charged up as the days become longer and the sun moves around. It'll look great again and light up my garden again for the next 6 months - and besides, the batteries only cost around $5.95 per pair. So, that's a saving for me in the longrun.

I still have a few things to get in and do for the garden. There's still a plant to put in, pots to put away and other things to clean up around the place. I want to add in some succulents for the frame next to the back door and re-do the stones in the front garden area (as they're not looking great and need refreshing) so the townhouse looks nice and clean for Summer. 
All of this will come in the next month; and by Spring, the gardens - front and back - will be all ready for the warmer month; and all I'll have to do is watch it grow and enjoy it all. Then, there's the lawn to care for too - as it hasn't gotten out of this without some damage. My yard gets no sun over Winter and so it's now a little muddy... and so I'll be getting in and working over it with some Feed'n'Weed and lawn food as well as September comes through.

So, there's what I've been up to over not only the past two months, but what's going to happen over the next two. Yeah, there's still some things to get into, and other maintenance to get into before Summer hits us again. Until my next post, keep gardening!

First Month In!

It's the first month into the Little Garden Facelift and so much has been done! 

So far, I've cleaned out the Broms - all of the ones I don't want anymore - and the whole garden looks and feels so much cleaner; not to mention, I've scored some big pots to recycle! I've also cleaned out a cane I no longer need, and that left behind a nice terra-cotta pot too!

In one of the pots, I planted 4 cloves of garlic before the Winter Solstice. Which is good. I've got year to wait until that comes to harvest. I'll have to keep and eye on that! 

I then bought some bags of potting mix and started looking around for a rose for my dear friend, Hannah. I also bought 2 bags of rose potting mix - which is good for camelias too - and over the past few weeks, I've hesitated buying a rose bush because it may not grow properly in the place I'm currently living. So, I might give Camelias a try; as they're a nice plant and don't have thorns. They also attract the bees - which is good for the planet. 
I also bought a Geranium to support the Breast Cancer Foundation - and it's a hot pink one! It's jumped in and flowered in the most gorgeous way! But it's been in a bird cage to keep the possums away from it.

I have a solution for this - and another plant which was struggling with this problem too - and that was to buy myself a greenhouse! So, I did. I went out this week and bought myself a Naturallife walk-in greenhouse. It's a nice little one and it cost me only $44.90; and I have posted my day yesterday putting it together on Earth Gardeners on FB. A few people on there have advised me to save up for a better one - that this one is okay for now, but it will fall apart once the days get really hot. 

So, I know what I'm getting myself for my birthday this year! Yep, a bigger and better greenhouse! I'll be able to grow everything I want to eat in it and have it bolt together.

But for now, this one will have to do as it's what I can afford. Dad is stoked at how much my garden has jumped forward in the past year; and was amazed I offered him and Mum a couple of Agapanthus. Mum was so happy! She loves the plant and asked what colour they flower - as they flower either white, blue or purple - and when I said purple, she was so happy about that too! 

Truthfully, I can't wait to get in and grow vegetables again without the possums helping themselves... I really do miss eating my own herbs without fighting the possums for them... and getting to my tomatoes before the possums and flying foxes do. Well, until my next post, happy gardening! 

The Shade Area

Yesterday morning, I was out in the garden pulling apart the shade area to make it grow and bloom next Summer. 

I hadn't had any breakfast and had put on a load of washing; it was 8:30am and the chill was still in the air. 

After pulling out the table and chairs from the shady area, I then picked up a nice plant I didn't know the name of and repotted it into a larger pot. It had grown pups over the last 6 months, and I knew it needed room to move. When I pulled it out of the pot, I found the roots had become rootbound; so I had come by it just in time! The pot I was putting into was twice the size and perfect for it to have room for the next year! It looks great!

The next thing I did was pull out all the broms I had let go from the past 5 years... they were just getting too much and I ended up throwing them over the garden gate and into my car port to be thrown in the bin - as it was collection day yesterday. I found my Desert Rose and repotted that dear little thing - as it didn't flower last Summer and I thought it had died. So, that's got a bigger pot to expand into.

I pulled out more broms and found some pots that I had 'lost' amongst the forest of weeds and overgrown broms and plants... and then, I came across a very grumpy Blue Tongue Lizard who was trying to hibernate. Poor little guy! He showed me how ticked off he was and bit me... and I well deserved it for interrupting his sleep and put him back where I found him. 

Once it was all done, I put the table and chairs, left the lizard alone to his sleep and hung out the laundry... with a happy note that I had gotten rid of a good lot of plants I didn't need and now have plenty of room there to add some I'd like to have in that area during the facelift. This is going really well! 

One Step Forwards - Two Steps Back

Sometimes I wish I had a credit card - but only sometimes - as I would never be able to handle the payments. Anyway, this week, I had a good lot of purchases towards the garden for the facelift it badly needs.

Yesterday, while I was out and about after doing the grocery shopping, I bought 2 bags of potting mix and a large grate for what I've decided to be as the climbing rose - Angel Face. It's hopefully going to be a purple range of rose (my favourite colour) and very pretty.

Now, I have the rose potting mix, the grate and the next thing I need it the pot - but really it just needs a big pot; which might just be one of the pots from the garden I already have. You know one of the ones which the Broms I have to get rid of live in now? Yep, one of those ought to do until I move and then I'll transfer it into another pot or better still into the ground! 

And, well, that's all I can buy for the garden - as that's all I can afford right now - until next pay, where I'll be buying just 1 bag of potting mix and a rose in a bag (which will be okay so long I keep it out of the sun and away from anything which might eat it). So, I might have to keep it inside near the door, or in the shaded area - I'm not sure yet. Otherwise, I'll have to look around at the yard this weekend and see what I can pull out of the pots and toss out.

Yep, it's going to be a busy weekend. What are you up to? Until my next post, happy gardening!

The Little Garden Facelift!

It's been a couple of years since I last did a facelift on my garden - and it's high time I did another one.

This is where I go looking through my yard and pull out all the pots and find out what the plants need - do they need repotting badly, do they need to be tossed out, do they need to back-filled? - it's on for young and old when it comes to this kind of facelift with my little garden, and so I call it The Little Garden Facelift - mainly because my garden it little and it really does need the facelift.

I'm really looking forward to this and so what I've begun to do is collect bags of potting mix... so far I've got 2 bags of Rose potting mix (for the rose I'm going to plant in the yard next month) and one bag of ordinary potting mix. I've also replaced 1 plant with a new one, repotted a plant from the shade area which was really reaching out for the light and ready to flower in the next week or so... and so that's brought me up-to-date with the little ones I'm hoping that aren't too over the top.

But the two big sun-loving Broms are going in the bin along with the cane by the fence - all of these will take over a yard if I plant them in the ground. So, they're out of my garden for good this year. This will give me 3 pots to reuse! Yay! I'm looking forward to this. 
I'm repotting a Frangipani and moving it to the back fence and moving some of the Agapanthus into the front row and seeing if I can get one of them into another pot to expand the family of them (they're purple and look just gorgeous, but last Summer, they didn't flower due to not having enough root room). So, once they're planted into new roomier pots, I'm sure they'll be better... 

Anyway, I'm hoping the garden will look and feel better once Hannah's rose is in. Hannah is a friend of mine who committed suicide and last week was her service in the UK. I'm planting a lovely rose in her memory in a lovely pot... but so far I've only got the potting mix. Over the next month, I'm hoping to get myself together to buy a nice pot for a rose I've picked out... it ought to a lovely memory for her. 

All of this will take part in July/August - yes, the coldest part of our year - so my garden will hopefully recover fully by the time the seasons warm up again; and I fix up the lawn from the Logan City Council invading my yard again to stuff around with the sewage drains again. Last year, that camera they used killed off a huge amount of lawn and the guys didn't put down any tarpaulin to protect my garden; assuming I didn't care, but I did. 

Well, that's all to report about my garden and what's going to be happening this year. Until next time, happy gardening.