New Projects

Spring is here and all of a sudden there seems to be a dozen jobs calling for attention every day: seeds to be planted or watered or set out; perennials to be tamed and propagated;  lawn to be forever cut and raked and composted; fertilizer to be applied; mulch put out; lawn chairs put out and sat in for long coffee breaks.
The back yard is looking nice this year.

 A new gravel path around the front and side of the house has finally finished the surrounds and given me a clean walkway. New cuttings are in and now I just need it all to grow.

Some puppies will climb into anything with wheels, just to have a ride!

Play, play, play, collapse

New canopy over back door, works a treat.

Reflect on that!

Spring: Mini movie

After countless hours of editing formats, updating programs, reading 'help' files and annoying little pop-ups telling me I can't do things, I have finally arrived at my first very mediocre  movie. If this wasn't the third day of rain I would be wracked with guilt over wasting so much time. The next movie will be much better and take vastly less time. Hope you like it!

Spring at Last

 Kate Llewellyn is one of my favourite Australian authors who writes beautifully about her gardening experiences and thoughts. I remember her saying in one of her books how she would wake on a spring morning and feel like a horse champing at the bit wanting to be out in the garden. How that resonates for all gardeners, I'm sure. Spring has come to Nanne's Garden and every day brings new delights as something else shakes off its winter sleep. 

Cuttings in the garden shed that have just sat there all winter are suddenly leaping out of their pots, including my hydrangea cuttings that I am dying to plant NOW, but patience is needed just a little longer till the back of the house gets some more warmth. The sun has just started hitting there in the late afternoon.

 The orchid has been dragged out from behind the garden shed to just outside the kitchen window where I can admire it throughout the day.

The solar clothes dryer: cheapest on the market at $5 for the rope 

and a cup of coffee for the workman

 My lovely Wisteria: only 5 fronds last year. nearly 70 this year. 

 I know these plants can pull down sheds if left to run away, but I'll face that when I come to it.

 Done all my 'pruning wisteria' reading!!!

Nanne's gardening companion, Molly 

And finally, the rhododendron comes to life, brilliantly, as usual.

Lambs and Calves

It's nice when school holidays and baby animals arrive at the same time. The grandchildrens' hand reared ewes both produced healthy twin lambs, two boys and two girls, and are proving excellent mothers.

            

Playgroup

       It's also calving time and the juniors are aiming to raise ten heifer calves this year, four                        already in from the dairy farm next door. Little 'lovey' below.

       Young engineers re-routing the creek bed and adding a reservoir. Mostly just having fun                          getting covered in mud

Two weary girls, two exhausted puppies.

September 13th Bella and Tom.

We have visitors, very big ones. Bella and Tom, Clydesdales belonging to friends,  are staying for a few weeks in our paddocks while theirs regrow after a hard winter. The spring grass is already pushing up, so we have grass to spare. Bella and Tom's paddock mate, Gary the ram, also spent a few weeks here, for a different purpose, the product of which will be in next week's blog.

     The juniors have been hard at work erecting more recycled post and rail fence and laying old       sleepers around the garden. The results have been amazing.

                               Site of the old hay shed, now new shed and future vege garden 

     The ancient apricot, peach and nectarine trees, which I have been gradually reshaping each     year to restore something of a vase shape and lower the height. The apricot had a great year     last, but the peach and nectarine  need to pick up their act.

    And spring bloomers promising warm weather is on its way.  The 90 Tree with bluebells in                  bud below.

               The ancient plum, always beautiful and always bountiful, and which I photograph every year just for the pleasure it gives.

     The port wine magnolia, doing a little better this year after a light prune last year. (A light              prune for Mark means it still has limbs, for which we can thank Sharon!) 

      And finally, the very unimposing little Boronia, nuthin' to look at, but oh the scent!. To walk along the back path is to inhale continuously. I often leave the kitchen window open, even on cold days, just to enjoy it.

Some Winter Colour

The lovely Hardenbergia, or Happy Wanderer

One Daffodil

common old Statice, but I like it

One Terrier, two terrors. Molly and Lola, the new kid next door.

Aug 1st A Bit of Sun

3 rugs on fence: 3 happy horses

After more than a week of freezing wind and rain, the sun shone brightly on the farm for 2 lovely days. Three happy horses had their taken rugs off for a few hours to run and roll free. 

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And of course, sunshine means burning off, this time the old gum behind the house that came down in the last storm. I've always been worried it would land on my lovely garden shed, but it went the other way and landed in the creek. 

When we burnt the pile of rubbish beside the old trunk, the latter caught fire either by sparks or radiant heat, giving us a fine show for the rest of the day. These old girls have often had 2 or 3 lives, with original trees dying off and new trunks

 growing up alongside. In this case the original was dead and dry, burning quickly, while the live part is still holding the tree up. Getting rid of the massive trunks is always the hard part.

At first

At last

Three truck loads of mulch were delivered by the council men working along the roadside in our area.... just ask, they say, so we did. Now to spread it, first along the arena garden. Can't wait for a growth spurt in spring to kick it along