Welcome Autumn/Fall

This is my all-time favourite time of year. Honest! I love this time of the year because it's nice and cold at night and warm during the day, and I can start planning what I need to do over Winter.

However this Winter, I've got my work cut out for me. 

Neighbours over my back fence threw feces over my fence and now I have to be very careful how I repot anything. I don't know if it was human or animal poo, but it was disgusting and no matter who I spoke to, nobody wanted to deal with it - and I had to clean it up. Living in a townhouse/unit complex, it's not my job to clean up this kind of thing; it the site manager's job. And he wouldn't do it.

So, this Winter, I have to wear rubber gloves, a mask and clothes I'm willing to part with if needs be. I know that sounds like I'm overthinking this, but really, I'm not.

Anyway, I've found that my sun-loving Bromeliad has got a pup. And this time around, I'm keeping the Mum - unlike last time where I tossed her out. Yes, I'm hoping to expand my garden more with plants I do love; and I love the sun-loving breed of this plant. 
And the Agapanthus has got a new pup now too. Now, instead of seven, I've got eight, thanks to all that rain we've gotten over the past couple of months. The Ficus is going well; and it loves being where it is, taking its time to stretch itself to the top of the fence; it's going onto its sixth month being here. 

Just last night, I spotted a possum sitting on the fence looking at me. He's a regular who walks along the fence, and so I went inside and grabbed him a couple of bananas (these were over-ripe ones I have sometimes) and pealed them for him, broke it in half and handed it to him. His little paw touched my hand as he took it from me... so cute! And I lined the side fence with the other broken pieces of the other banana. He spent the rest of the night eating those. Such a busy little guy. I feed him - and other possums - bananas because food becomes scarce at this time of year, and they start really fighting over the smallest things.  Well, until my next post, happy gardening.   

Logan Floods Recovery

I didn't write about the floods here, mainly because my place didn't go under in them. I'm not in a flood plains and so I'm one of the fortunate ones.

However, a lot of people weren't so fortunate.

A lot of Beenleigh was flooded, as was Loganlea and any other areas below the Albert and Logan River levels. Yatala Pies went under (which caused them to create a few new pies in honor of Cyclone Debbie) and then there was the clean-up - which is still going on.

There are still people who don't have homes, who are still looking for beloved things they lost during this horrible time.

However, the gardens and a good part of Brisbane's gardens flourished with the rain we got. From my rain gauge, we got over 300ml of rain in just over 48 hours. That's huge! That's about a months' worth of rain in such a short length of time. We were prepared for it. We were told to take care if had to go out. Shops were closed on the first day of the rain by midday and no businesses or school was open by Friday morning (third day in). 

It's been around three weeks later, and school has started up again. Autumn is most definitely here with the cooler nights and warmer - but not hot - days. And yet, our gardens are still pretty. Yesterday, I found huge wasps nest on my down pipe just outside the window of my home office. I don't know how I missed something this huge hanging off my home, but I did. Isn't it a beauty? Well, my landlord is coming around to take care of it in the next day or so.

Otherwise, during the time of the rains, the Egyptian Sage has grown so much! And my Ficus is going so well! I've had to mow the lawn three times... but the Frangipani might need to be cut into two and repotted - I'm not sure. I'll see what I can do, it just seems to lean so much. Until my next post, happy gardening.

A Hell of a Summer

We have had a heat wave here in Australia; truly we have. Our gardens have suffered and I have seen pictures of what the heat looked like all over Facebook with quotes 'here's the Hellmouth, where's Buffy?'

But really, we did have a horrible time for the past 3 months; and I couldn't really do anything with my garden.

It was either too damned hot to get outside or it was raining. And once it stopped raining, it was twice as muggy and hot again. So, I lived in my home office decluttering the house bit by bit.

It hasn't been until the last two weeks where I've really looked at my garden for what I'll be doing this Winter. 
In the next few weeks, I'll be buying myself an edger from Bunnings (one I've been eying off for the past 6 months and costs only $35). Then, I'll started stocking up on potting mix and buying some lovely pots for the garden to upsize some of the plants that need repotting again in the cooler months. 

I have been seriously thinking of putting the Frangipani in the ground - because it's growing so well in the large pot in the corner. It's sprouted 2 more branches since its transplant last Winter! I'm so proud of how it's grown over the Summer. But I'm not happy it also grew poisonous mushrooms which I had to remove. 

Well, can't win them all!

I am looking forward to collecting more pots - not expensive ones - just so that I can divide up the Bromeliads and help them grow better and make the garden look and feel better too. But in truth, I think I need a bigger back yard to make it all work out better too. Or I could start selling Broms... now that would make some money, right? 

Until my next post, keep on gardening.  

A Stinker of Summer

It's become a real Australian Summer over the last month; and with the storms coming and going, I'm working on making sure my lawn is green and lush - and that's difficult when you have a thief in your unit complex.

Now, I've gotten to a point in my life where I'm not hiding my garden hose anymore. If the thief is going to take my hose, they're going to take it and cut it up into tiny little pieces (and yes, I don't care if they're reading this - I know who they are). But I need to use my garden hose when I want to; not have to stuff arse around with connections for 10 minutes beforehand.

Anyway, the Agapanthus has flowered and so today I've cut the stems off; as the flowers are all gone. The Frangipanni didn't flower at all because I repotted both of them this past Winter and they will need a Summer to become accustomed to their new pots. So, next year, they'll flower - at least they put out leaves; which is promising. 

My brother and his girlfriend is getting a pup from my 14 year old Large Leaf African Jade. It's about a year or so old and looking lovely in its pot. And all they have to do is repot it in a new, bigger pot next Winter - or in the ground - and it'll flourish! 

I do have four others I'm hoping to put into larger pots for when I move out into another place in the next few years.

Anyway, there's others that have flowered this Summer. I'm just hoping it does rain soon... tomorrow, though, I'm hoping to get in and wrap up the Large Leaf Jade pot before it rains. But if it's raining, it doesn't matter... I'll pop it into a rubbish bag and tap it up with a Christmas label on it. No matter what, it'll be given as a present.

Well, that's what's been happening around my place here in Brisbane. How's your garden going? I'm hoping to get more plants next year growing in more pots. The Cardboard Plant is finally happy and sprouting more fronds - if the possums would just stop eating the new growth! But I think I've gotten them to stop that; I'm feeding them bananas. And expensive way of doing it, but at least they're eating something else. Until my next post, happy gardening. 

Been Busy Watching

There's a time in a garden when all you do is watch it. I know that sounds really weird, but it's true. 

Throughout Winter, I work my butt off and get my plants repotted, fertilised and looking their best, mow the lawn, pull every weed there is and trim the shrubs nice and tight. Then, as the days begin to turn longer, become warmer, as the thunderstorms begin to turn our way and water our gardens for us more and more, I start to just watch my garden.

Besides that, I also get in and water the lawn more. Because of the dry dry days that haunt Brisbane and Queensland, it's a must to get outside and water the lawn in the early morning and late afternoons. I have a neighbour who works a lot and so I've been watering her lawn as well - yep, sticking my hose over the fence and watering her piece of green doesn't bother me at all; after all, I'm doing mine, so why not?

Right now, the Agapanthus are in full bloom. There were three blooms, but some possums had a go at the third one and killed it - so there's only two left. Then there's the Frangipanni which I repotted into a huge pot to give it some room to move. This year, it won't flower - so I'm looking forward to it doing its thing next year. There's a little one which hasn't bloomed this year either, as I repotted it as well. so, next year, I'll have plenty of flowers around the garden. But this year, it's mainly just greenery.

The Ficus is growing so fast! It's really wonderful as well it's going. I'm impressed it's reaching up the fence so quickly. 

So, besides the lawn looking like a cricket pitch, my garden it looking good. But then, in Summer the lawn always looks like this, unless I keep the water up to it. Until my next post, happy gardening. 

October Is here

Today is my Birthday, which means we're over a week into Spring and my garden has started its annual growing and blooming time.

I've been noticing the Frangipanni has started to push out new leaves from their normally rounded stumps - and seeing I repotted the taller one - I can't wait to see them both get in and flower this year. 

The garden is looking more lovely as time goes by; but I'd love to get in and move to another place where I have more room to move and a bigger garden to play with - I'm not sure when that'll be but I'm looking into that.

Anyway, I've been sitting back and watching the garden after we had a full day of rain over the weekend and it's been loving the cooler nights and warmer days, just as much as I enjoy getting in and mowing the lawn every week, now it's getting hotter.

Well, I don't have too much more to tell. I'm watching the Large Leaf Jade for the next few months because I'm going to get in and give them as Christmas Presents this year - the bigger ones which are a few years old that is; you can't give them too small, but if you do you, it's best to put them into a tiny pot and leave them for about 6 weeks, so they settle properly, then give them away or sell them. 

Until my next post, happy gardening. 

Woohoo! It's Spring!

Spring has arrived here in Australia!

I think... well, it kinda feels like it sometimes, but the night time temperatures are still on the chilly side at times.

The grass is greener, flowers are beginning to bud on my Jatropha and I've just spent three weeks watching a nest of baby Mickey birds grow from bald little, blind things into fully-fledged birds too big for the nest! All the while I was being swooped on by Pappa and Mamma and told off by another one - who that was I'm not sure.

But it was fun to watch the nest and see those lovely little birdies grow so fast in only about two weeks! 

Otherwise, I've been helping out some neighbours fix up their front garden and gave them a Money Plant to get it going along - freeing up one of my pots to plant a Large Leaf Jade that I'm hoping to give to my brother and his family for his garden this Christmas. It's going to be old enough to plant it in the ground once it takes to the pot. 

And this weekend has been great with all this rain! I don't have to water too much. All I have to do is wait and mow the back lawn and keep and eye out for the bindis which usually pop up around this time of year. Well, until my next post, happy gardening!

Kick Back Until Spring

I know that sounds like I don't care, but really, my garden is just like that.

I get in and fix it throughout Winter - repotting, fertilising and doing all the hard work - then by the end of July, I can mow the lawn, pull out the longer weeds and really kick back and look at my work and wait until Spring comes along.

Spring brings along the hotter weather and the bindi's. I get in and pull them out by hand; and they're usually around the clothes line anyway. So, that's a good thing for me to look out for while I'm hanging out the laundry.

And while I'm waiting and watching my garden sleep for a few weeks before the warmth of Spring to arrive, I'm saving up for a few more little things to decorate the yard with... just pretty things really, nothing to make the plants grow. I'm also saving up for an edger to clean up the straggly bits of lawn from the concrete when I mow it.

Otherwise, the garden looks nice. My folks came around to my place on Saturday to help me out with selling my old dining table and Mum was really impressed with how my little garden looked. She was amazed that I get so much done in a few months; and can't wait until Summer to see it all in bloom and happy. 

You know something? I can't wait either. Until my next post, happy gardening.

Warmer Weather

Over the past few days, the weather has turned warm and Summer-like. This has been good for the garden. It's moved a few things along quicker than expected.

My Large Leaf Jade has been flowering beautifully. It hasn't flowered in about three years - which is something I do look forward to. I've found that when it does flower, it's after I've trimmed it right back and given it time to recover; as well as back-filling it with fresh potting mix. It takes around 6 months for the plant to fully get back on its feet and then it'll bloom the following Winter. For some unusual reason my plant just won't flower in Summer.
But today, I got out there and repotted my Egyptian Sage. I was given this by the Caretaker of my unit complex, who thought it was a weed. But once I repotted it, this plant was happy as a pig in mud! Now, I had to clip off the straggly bits and back-fill it; otherwise, it's going well! I'm not big on touching this plant too much as when you do, it puts off a strong scent which can get a little much if you breath in too much of it.

I'm up to the stage in my little garden where all I have to do is pull out the weeds around the edges and watch it all grow for the next year or so. There's still a few little detail things to get on with, but that's about all... until the next year or two when I plug more big money into the yard.

Isn't it fun to get in and get your hands dirty? I think so. It's the most wonderful thing to just jump in just after breakfast in the early morning and work on the garden, to clean up the small things before they get in become something too big.

The Ficus is going well - it's been in the pot for 3 weeks now and I'm looking forward to what it'll look like in 6 months time. I'll keep a record on Pintrest for anyone who's interested. Well, until my next post, happy gardening.

Every Three Years...

Every three years, I work hard on my garden, spending money on it to make it look great. It's a work of passion and love to move its design forward - no it's never finished. 

Every three years, I repot what needs to repotted. I move plants that have grown so well in older pots into much, much bigger pots and then reuse those old pots (if they can be reused) for new plants that I buy at the nursery. Or if I have other plants that need new homes, I repot the others first.

Every year, I'm constantly writing in my Gardening Journal to record what works and what doesn't. I also write down which plant's I've bought and which ones have lived good long lives, and which ones up and died on me for no good reason - thus I know I won't be getting them again because they don't suit my garden. The Gardening Journal is a great way to keep track of what I can and can't do in my garden.

Every week I mow the lawn with my spin reel mower, and pull out all the weeds. Every Spring I pull out all the Bindis so I don't have a huge crop every year to watch out for. Every day I watch my garden grow and enjoy the small victories of when I accomplish something in it; as it's all a learning experience with it - and always has been. Every month, I prune the shrubs, making sure they look good, neat and proper. Every season, I fertilise the plants to make sure they live at their very best. Every week, I water my plants - unless Mother Nature does that for me; then I watch and enjoy the view of it all working out.

Every three years, I have watched my garden through that camera lens change from being an empty desert of a lawn into a lush, green, flowering oasis of beauty, which is ever-changing and beautiful. And the best thing about my garden is: it's a container garden.

How do you see your garden?