Saturday 15 March 2014

In My Coffin Bay Garden... in March

I am fortunate to have two gardens! The second is at our beach house at Coffin Bay. So it is my pleasure to welcome you to my Coffin Bay garden!

This garden needs work - serious work! It is suffering from the ravages of heat, no water, grazing kangaroos and our long absences.

Now that we are retired however, this is all about to change! We have a renovation of the beach house planned for mid year, after which we will spend more time here at Coffin Bay - putting some much needed work into the garden.



Tough Plants
The plants that have survived in this garden with minimal care are tough! Among them are several oleanders. These shrubs are much maligned as all parts of them are poisonous, however they bloom profusely - the flowers exuding a lovely perfume on warm summer nights.



I has always thought that fushias were delicate plants. This large and leggy fushia however is amazingly tough. It grows in competition with a healthy oleander and has received watering only when it has rained.


 


Several years ago I transplanted some agapanthus from my home garden to this garden. They look like this after 45C days, weeks of heatwaves and no watering. I think I must over water at home!



Under the glory vine covered pergola out the back is this tall scraggly red geranium. It sits in an old pot. What is remarkable about this plant is that it survives in shade, with no watering and was in that pot in that position when we purchased the property 25 years ago! Now that is tough!!! It's destined to be a family heirloom I think!




Violets are another plant that I had thought delicate! Not this patch! There was even a lonely flower peeping up to greet me!




We share our garden with the local kangaroos and emus - and there are lots of them. This friendly group are sitting just metres away over the back fence. In summer they graze the lawn to the roots, leaving bare soil and the noxious Lincoln Weed.  I guess it saves on paying for mowing - but I want that lawn back! Might need to rethink the fence!




Many years ago we cut down a very large pine tree to support local efforts to rid the district of pines which were naturalising and taking over the local bushland and conservation park. This stump remains. You can just see the intials of my niece 'KMc' made of nails hammered into the stump when she was about 10!
Great memories, Kelly!



Over the front fence our neighbours have several stunning hibiscus bushes. They add a touch of colour to the view!



Autumn must be coming! The leaves on the glory vine are changing colour, as are those on the necarine tree.




These are the amazing views from the deck. When we plan the front garden not spoiling the view will be a priority!


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Thanks for dropping by! Should you have any suggestions, ideas or advice regarding seaside gardening I'd love to hear from you!

I'm going to love watching this garden grow! Cheers!

Marian


Wednesday 5 March 2014

In My Garden... In March

The Raised Garden Bed

While the plants have survived the heatwaves they have stopped producing - flowers are not setting fruit. As the weather cools I'm hopeful we will see a last flush of produce!

This bed has been so successful however, that I want another one! It's probably time that I broke that news to John!




What's Producing in My Garden

Elsewhere in the garden the zucchini are now flowering profusely - I just need a few more female flowers!




What's Blooming in My Garden

These candy striped petunias have flowered profusely since before Christmas. With regular watering they have coped with the extremes of weather we have experienced over the last weeks.




What the Heat Frizzled!

I've been growing a most beautiful quince from seed. It had done really well until the last blast of heat in the last heatwave. Hopefully it will recover with some TLC!






Oh, the Weather!

Not only have we had heatwaves - between them we've also had flooding rains here in Adelaide! The picture is of the River Torrens which is nearby.






Foiled!

These little guards foiled the birds! They had previously picked the juicy stems of the Laurentia plants off at the base. Clever idea, John!





 A Success!

This white eggplant is growing very happily in a large pot. This is our first fruit almost ready to pick!




The Rhubarb is Teasing Me!

These gorgeous red stalks continue to tease me every day! My mantra has become 'I must stay strong! I must stay strong!'






Over the Garden Fence

This gorgeous sunflower is growing in a garden nearby. It is gi-normous! Is that a word? I am inspired to plant some next season!





A Budding Gardener

Charlie - gorgeous grandson Number 3 - is a budding gardener! He loves his rake and gardening gloves - and helping with watering the plants! Pretty cute isn't he!





How's your garden growing this month? What are you doing to prepare for the next season? 

Do share your plans with me! Happy Gardening!

Cheers!

Marian