We’re only two weeks away from leaving, so the dilemma of what to do with the front garden before we left arose. Although we know it’s not the ideal time to prune roses, we also know any pruning is better than none at all. We had decided to prune prematurely sometime over the next two weeks. Frosts are rare here so they should be okay with the earlier hair cut.

That then left the dilemma of what to do about the seaside daisies that are popping up everywhere and look like returning with a vengence. If you remember, last year when we took possession of the house, the roses were completely buried alive under the daisies. I didn’t want to return to the same thing again.

We’re reducing the size of the rose bed next spring anyway, and are planning to increase the paved, parking area. We’d worked out how best to to accommodate the existing roses, minus all the pretty blue salvia which have been planted to fill up the gaps, and provide a united colour scheme.  We were going to leave the transplanting until spring.

One thing led to another, and hey presto – they’ve all been transplanted. We’ve found a spot for the red roses around the back. All the pink and creamy coloured ones have been transplanted to what will be a much smaller, colour co-ordinated, semi-circular garden bed, once the pavings finished in spring. All the annuals have been removed, and the garden now looks like a big plot of bare dirt. The seaside daisies were predominantly at the front of the garden bed where the paving is going to be, and it looks like that’s mainly where they’re hell bent on popping up again. So, any that come up while we’re away can grow to their hearts content until we get back – all the roses are safely transplanted out of their way.

It won’t be looking as pretty when we leave as it would have been looking had we stuck to our original plan. It won’t be looking pretty at all!  It will, however, look a lot better in spring when we return than if we’d stuck to our original plan (I think). And, most of the hard work is behind us. The rest is now up to the brick paver. Of course, the neighbours won’t know the reasoning behind the garden demolition – they’ll no doubt be thinking i’ve lost my marbles. It was looking pretty….

 

Summer appears to have ended early this year, leaving with a bang literally last night – a cracker of a storm with claps of thunder and bolts of lightning. I do love a good storm.

Autumn is upon us. The garden’s a riot of colour. The bees are buzzing, dozens of them, and butterflies are flitting from flower to flower, seemingly enjoying the roses and salvia as much as we do.

Paul’s begun the painting of the verandah posts, only one side completed yet with two more sides of the house still to complete. The remainder will wait now till we return from our cruise in early April.

My oh my! how time flies. It seems like only yesterday that Paul returned from the UK and we were finalising plans for a cruise, our first. We leave tomorrow. Our bags are packed, and my finger and toe nails have been painted. (I believe you do that sort of thing when you’re cruising.

Firstly, a night with Alice, Paul, Tim and Josh – always a pleasure. Oh, and while I remember – Josh’s band, Raksha, won a second Battle of the Bands last night, this time in Perth. The winnings – a fist full of dollars (but between six band members it won’t amount to much each). Also, I believe the recording of a single, plus some air time on one of the local radio stations. They go from strength to strength, showing a growing maturity of sound, and are accumulating a growing amount of accolades that reflect both their talent and dedication.

Then early Friday morning a flight to Sydney, and after a night there we’ll board the Celebrity Solstice for our nine night cruise in the South Pacific. I don’t know how internet access will be on board, but will definitely let you know what I think of cruising when I return, if not before. My friend Wendy assures me I’ll love it – that only boring people don’t enjoy cruising. I hope I don’t show myself up as being ‘boring’.

 

That would be me! At least, I’m sure my neighbours would say so after witnessing me cut all the beautiful flowers from our front garden. They’re probably wondering if I’m related to the Adams Family.

Because our house is at the entrance of Abbey Green Estate, our garden is both the first, and last, to be seen by anyone entering or leaving the estate. Almost all of the residents have expressed delight as they’ve seen what was an overgrown, untidy shambles slowly turn into a kaleidoscope of pretty colour.

With summer coming to an end now the roses are setting buds ready to burst into their best for the approaching autumn. However, my blue salvia, petunias and vincas were showing signs of needing a rest. So, I’ve done what many would fear to do – I’ve given all the annuals a ruthless cut back. Paul will attest to the fact that once I get a pair of secateurs in my hand, watch out. He doesn’t stand still anywhere within snipping range, fearing he may also get ‘the snip’.

Now with a good cut back, and a mega dose of fertiliser I’m sure they’ll reward me soon with a second flourish. If I’ve timed it right, when the roses are in full bloom, the salvia, petunias and vincas will have recovered their strength and will be providing a stunning final show, just in time to compliment the roses.

Also, in the garden this week we’ve planted a garden bed of ferns and palms in a shady area along our newly erected brushwood fence.

I loved our full time life on the road, but I did miss having a garden to tend. It’s been hard work making a start on the transformation of what was an unattractive jungle into an organised paradise. We’ve still a long way to go – but as I always say, “once begun, half done”. We’ve certainly begun, so certainly it’s half done. Watching it grow, and evolve now- what a pleasure!

The roses looked stunning this morning sending us scurrying for our camera.

No prizes for guessing which song I’ve been singing all day.

I’m so pleased to have asked Alice to mind my bird bath whilst we were travelling. Paul gave it to me for a Christmas Present many years ago, long before the replica piece became overly popular. It’s been the centre point of my gardens wherever we’ve lived, and this garden is now also shaping up around it.

I used to have a woman’s weekly garden book showing garden patterns. The stand out garden in the book for me was a large, lacy blue, plumbago surrounded by a solid border of blue agapanthus. Finally, I have a chance to re-create that pattern in a garden of my own. The Plumbago is just starting to flower, and three of the transplanted Aggies have blooms just starting to open. By next summer I’m sure it’ll be living up to my expectations, with the added bonus of being set off by my lovely bird bath.

While much of our new garden is slowly growing, the border of stepping stones and Sweet Alice has taken off with astounding speed. I just love it!

Another couple of plants I gave to Alice are still florishing. One is the Cane Begonia which I started from a cutting from our friends Bruce and Wendy’s, from their house in Churchlands. It’s still growing strong for Alice, and she’s passed a couple of cuttings back to me which are just starting to shoot. Another is the Elephants Ears which we purchased from the underground car boot sale at Warwick when we first moved into Granadilla Street in 1998. Alice managed to get me a couple of baby plants from the Elephants Ears which are now thriving in her courtyard. It’s thrilling to have plants that come with a history.

A Pygmy Date Palm has been a staple in many of our gardens, so Paul has again purchased one for our side tropical garden. This little side garden area is shaping up to be a quiet and cool place for our morning coffee. In fact we often eat our breakfast out there, and find opportunities to go out there to soak up the developing ambience several times at least on most days. It still has a way to go to equal our past gardens, but it’s well on the way. So far we’ve added a couple of Golden Cane Palms (last photographed in this blog when we planted them at Kelv’s up in Katherine), and an urn with a bright red geranium to add a contrasting splash of colour. The rest of the plants are ones rescued from the existing garden which have been re-potted, trimmed, and fertilised.

It won’t be long till the baby Elephants Ears are big enough to be potted up and take pride of place along the fence line, and Bruce and Wendy’s Cane Begonia’s won’t be far behind.

It’s wonderful to have a garden that has associations with years gone by. I’ve always loved my gardens, and this one is shaping up to be no exception. It brings us both a lot of pleasure!