In My Garden ... in June

We've spent the last few weeks away from our garden whilst we renovate our Coffin Bay beach house. On a flying visit back home for a few days this is how we found the garden!

Blooming Camilla

The camilla is still blooming. From the number of spent blossoms around the tree it has been flush with flowers this year.

Cliveas

The cliveas - given to me by my late mother - are also coming to the end of their flowering.

Oranges and Lemons

The oranges are ready for picking. They are sweet and succulent!

This dwarf Meyer lemon has a good crop of lemons this year. After being replanted from a pot the tree has struggled for a couple of years but seems to have finally taken off.

Spring Onion Giants

The spring onions - planted from a bunch purchased at the supermarket - have grown into giants since we've been away!

Micro Climates in the Garden

The Capitol Pear trees in the front garden have dropped their leaves, while those in the back garden are holding onto theirs. I'm wondering if this due to the different micro climates in each of these two parts of the garden.

The Raised Bed Garden

From the raised bed garden - well and truly at an end - I still managed to pick some very small capsicums and chillies.

Rhubarb Crumble

The rhubarb is flourishing - and will finally become a crumble before the winter season ends!!!

Escapee Lettuce

This oakleaf lettuce is growing very nicely at the back step in our absence!

A Newcomer

Because we knew we were going to be away for an extended time we have rested the garden. The only vegetable I have planted this season is this single celeriac. I've not grown it before but we do love it as a winter vegetable. I hope it thrives on neglect! We'll see on our return!

Our Next Project

John dug up a clump of agapanthus to transplant into our Coffin Bay garden. These will be a start to renovating and redesigning that garden - one of our next projects!

How is your garden growing this season?

Happy Gardening!

Cheers!

Marian

In My Garden ... in April

Life has gotten in the way of keeping these monthly posts up-to-date - so I'm in catch up mode!

In the Front Yard

These roses produced some beautiful autumn blooms in the front garden in the cooler weather. The red/orange rose is 'Remember Me', the other 'Iceberg'.

Bee Heaven

This blue salvia has thrived, and flowered continuously since Christmas. The tall flower spires look quite like lavender - and the bees love them!

Please Feed Me!

The citrus trees are showing signs of mineral deficencies and are in need of a good feed. I had been reluctant to undertake this task until the last of the extreme hot weather had past.

Back in Bloom

With the cooler weather the mini Lebanese eggplant bush began blooming again!

Fabulous Capitol Pears

The Capitol Pear trees have enjoyed deep regular watering throughout summer and early autumn and have grown accordingly!

Sweet Sweetcorn

The sweetcorn are ready for picking.

Berry Tomatoes

There is a new flush of berry tomatoes now that temperatures have cooled off.

Potted Petunias

The potted petunias are looking bedraggled and are very much past their best - but are flowering on like little troopers!

An Experiment

I pruned the grafted tomato back hard and have been rewarded with some new growth. I'm not sure it will come to anything however.

That Pond - Again!

In the hot weather the pond cracked yet again! We've drained it and are considering our options!

An Intruder in the Garden

This pumpkin is an intruder in the garden popping up of its own accord! It split after we received huge rains in late February and early March.

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Downt Mildew Arrives

Following those same rains the zucchini and cucumber bushes are developing downy mildew and will need to be removed.

The Raised Garden Bed

This little raised garden bed has yielded more produce than I thought possible from such a small area. I am sold on them as a gardening system.

Memories

Finally, this little bird house  sits in the peach tree. It was made by my late Dad and so has great sentimental value. Do you have something similar in your garden?

Happy gardening!

Cheers!

Marian

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

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

In My Garden ... in February

Our Weather

It's the first week of February and we've recorded the highest February temperature on record for Adelaide - 44.7 degrees Centigrade or 112.5 degrees Fahrenheit. It's hot - and taking it's toll on the garden.  The tomatoes in pots are really struggling.

Beating the Heat

In my garden ... in February we are using umbrellas purchased from IKEA to shade parts of the garden from the viscious heat. I'm sure many of the plants would not have survived without the shade they provided.

The Raised Garden Bed

In my garden ... in February the raised garden bed is still growing well despite the heat. The plants are nowhere near as productive as they are when the temperatures are mid to high 20's.

What We're Picking

The heatwave conditions have had a significant impact on what the garden is producing, however I am pleased that we are still able to  pick enough produce from our garden to keep us from buying much from the supermarket - which is the purpose of the garden after all!

New in the Garden

I planted another patch of bush beans to lengthen the picking season in my garden. With shade on the very hot days they are growing well!

Attack of the Bugs

Recently the mini lebanese eggplant suddenly lost its vigor and the leaves became increasingly limp. A close inspection of the plant revealed the sap sucking bugs in the photos below. I hadn't seen bugs like these before. They resembled giant stink bugs. I sprayed the plants and bugs with Eco oil and seem to have got rid of them for now. The plant returned to normal after the bugs were defeated! Can you identify these bugs for me?

Companion planting

My companion planting experiment has been interesting. The climber beans are rampant in their growth and have proved to be too heavy for the sweetcorn, strangling and breaking quite a few the sweetcorn canes. To assist both types of plant I have now erected a frame for the beans to ramble over. Now for some cooler weather so that the beans can set fruit.

Rhubarb

I love rhubard and so planted  my first ever rhubarb crown in November. It appears to be growing strongly at the moment. How am I going to resist picking those beautiful red stems for a year!!! They tease me every day! Oh, the things I could do with them!

Blackjack Zucchinis

The zucchini bushes are just beginning to bear fruit. I have a number of bushes in the garden and one in a pot. It will be interesting to compare these two ways of growing this crop. I have begun supporting the vines with ties attached to frames in order to train each bush to grow vertically and therefore take up less space in my small garden.

Eggplant Trials

I am also trialling growing eggplant in both containers and in the garden. I purchased two more mini lebanese eggplant bushes, and have three white eggplant bushes given to me as seedlings.

Russian Red Kale

My three plants grew strongly until the five day heatwave in late January. Subjected to the scorching conditions they succumbed collapsing within days. I had hoped to collect seed from these plants for next year but was thrilled to find a packet of seeds at my local Bunnings.

Edible Weeds

I have found that two weeds in my garden are edible! The plant on the left is Amaranthus - Vlita to the Greeks, while the plant on the right known to me since childhood as Waterweed is Purslane. Many thanks to Celia at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial for her post on this plant - I intend trying her Purslane Salad recipe. What edible weeds are found in your garden?

An Apple a Day

The Royal Gala apples are ripening - and there is no Coddlin Moth this year. Last winter we pruned the tree back severely and we have been rewarded with our best harvest of apples yet! One of life's pleasures surely is biting into a sweet, crisp apple picked straight off the tree!

Look What I Found!

Our garden is also a play area for our active grandsons - serving as a cricket pitch and mini football oval depending on the season! The boys lost their last cricket ball the other day so I know they will be pleased that I've found it!

Pond Problems

The Orange Jessamine or Mock Orange (Murraya Paniculata) which overhangs the pond is flowering and fills our garden with the most beautiful perfume on these hot summer nights. Unfortunately the petals fall into the pond and quickly pollute the water. Because he couldn't immediately find his rubber boots John put on my polka dot boots the other day to clean out the pond yet again! I don't know how he got the boots on - but we nearly didn't get them off!!! He does look a treat though doesn't he!

Over the Fence

I have watched this particular plant for years. Our neighbours have the most spectacular dwarf pink bouganvilla growing on their western fence. It flowers profusely almost all year! I wonder if it would strike from a cutting - I'd love one in my garden!

What are you watching grow in your garden in February? I'd love to hear no matter where you are in the world!

Cheers!

M