Bloomin' Lovely

There isn't a lot flowering in my gardens at the moment but I thought I would share some pictures of what has been over the past few weeks.

Oxalis purpurea and oxalis hirta have awoken from their summer slumber to provide a splash of colour in the garden.

Oxalis purpurea

Oxalis hirta

 I have no idea what the name of this rose is as it was here when I moved in. The buds are a very pale apricot and as you can see it opens up to a soft blush pink.

 One of two minature roses in the garden but once again I don't know it's name.

One of my favourites, Woburn Abbey.

Grandma's Rose, I love the slighty antique look to the petals.  It is thornless and has a beautiful fragrance.

Lavender

Blue salvia

Seaside daisy just now starting to recover and flower after the hot summer.

 A late hollyhock.

Correa "Dusky Bells".

Cape Mallow, it has flowered constantly since I planted it almost two years ago even during the heat waves we have experienced here in South Australia this past summer. It is a definite favourite with the bees.

Stock that I had collected seed from thinking it would die down but it surprised me by flowering again.

And last but by no means least my dwarf Buddleja "Ivory".

What is flowering in your garden now?

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February/March

The last two months have passed by in a blur and I can't believe that we are already one third of the way through the year.

The offer of a new job meant a sudden (but not totally unexpected) move to Queensland for my eldest daughter and her family at the end of February.

 I was sad to see them go, but excited for them at the same time as it is something they had been talking about doing for a while now. I did get to spend an extra week with my granddaughter, though while her parents went on ahead to set up their new home. Saying goodbye to her was especially hard.

February also saw the passing of Ruby, I have no idea what the cause was but she is missed.

In March family and friends gathered to celebrate the 21st birthday of these two beautiful babies.

It's hard to believe looking at them today that when they were born they weighed a tiny 1430g (3lb 1oz) and 1465g (3lb 2ozs). I am incredibly proud of the young women they have become.

I continue to make my own bread, sometimes it's a hit, sometimes it's a miss and sometimes it's just peculiar.

After 3 months of making only bread I thought that it was time to try something slightly different. Pizza dough, so much easier than I thought it would be.

 I have been making my own soft spread butter for awhile now and it is so easy to do. I'm not sure that it is cheaper than store bought butter but at least I know exactly what goes into it.

 The cooler nights have meant that we have been able to enjoy some really beautiful sunsets the last few weeks.

 I will be back soon with a garden update.

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The State of Things

It's has been hot here, intensely hot for days on end and despite my best efforts my vegetable garden is for the most part DEAD.

                                          My zucchini which had just started to flourish is no more.

There will be no butternut pumpkins for soup this year.

The kent pumpkins put up a valiant fight but finally succumbed to the heat a few days after this photo was taken, as did the watermelon.

 Despite being covered with 75% shadecloth the blueberry didn't make it.

What's left of the mint bush.

All thoughts of homemade passata, pasta sauce and sun dried tomatoes flew out the window as I watched the 50 or so basil plants that I had planted slowly shrivel up and die, and while the tomatoes have produced, there is barely enough to make a salad never alone anything else.

It is so disheartening, especially when I see the produce other gardeners are harvesting despite having had similar temperatures to those that we have had here.  It has me seriously contemplating whether is really worth the effort to try to grow vegetables in the summer at all.  To top things off I think my nectarine tree has died but I am still watering it in the hope that it will make a comeback. I am not holding my breath though as I lost my apricot tree in similar weather last year.

Lest you think it is all doom and gloom here there are a couple of things that are growing despite the heat.

 Kumara/orange sweet potato, grown in one half of a 44 gallon drum. It looks like I might get a decent crop this year.

After 3 years of trying I finally managed to grow ginger.

It's even sprouting new shoots.

The orange and mandarin trees all have new growth appearing,

and the avocados are once again covered in bright green leaves.

I am so over summer, but there are still a couple of hot days to get through, by the weekend though the temperatures will drop back down into the high 20's.  I am really looking forward to some cooler temps as there is much to do to get the garden ready for the autumn/winter growing season as well as some changes that need to be made to my hen's accommodation.

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Harvest Monday - 20th January, 2014

With the horrendous heatwave of last week, which for those of us who live in South Australia looked like this, 42.8, 45.7, 46, 46.4, 44, I honestly didn't think that I would have any vegetables left never alone have anything to harvest. But as always the plants continue to amaze with their resilence and while it isn't much of a harvest it is at least something to show for all all the time, energy and water I have put into the garden.

Mostly cocktail tomatoes, 1 green zebra and a lone grape tomato. The chillis are yellow hot wax and cayene. Drop by Daphne's Dandelions to see more harvests from around the globe.

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Hello 2014

Well, here we are, the first day of a brand new year, time to wipe the slate clean and start anew. And as it's the first today I thought I would share a couple of firsts with you.

The first loaf of bread,

made in my shiny, new breadmaker which was part Christmas present, part birthday present, (my birthday falls on the 19th).

And the first of what I am sure will be many bowls of ice cream made in the ice cream maker that my youngest daughter Samantha picked up at the Boxing Day sales.

I know it doesn't look very appetising (bad lighting) but trust me, it was good.

It was rich and creamy and very chocolaty but I think I will cut back on the sugar next time as it was just a little too sweet even for me.

I am hoping to add to my list of firsts this year with cheesemaking being top of the list as well as making my own soap which I have been putting off as it scares me a little bit.

It was hot here yesterday and we are in for the same again today. The weatherman has forecast rain for today and tomorrow and I am really hoping that they have got it right, because not only could the gardens do with a good soaking, my rainwater tanks need replenishing as well. In the meantime we are all trying to stay cool anyway we can.

The chickens spend most of the day under the coop where it is about five degrees cooler, I also put a frozen bottle of water in their drinking water and a dish of water for them to stand in.  

Grace cooling her heels.

Keeping our rabbits cool is our main concern on very hot days as they can overheat very quickly, one way we do this is to freeze bottles of water to put in their cages.

Willow snuggled up to her ice bottle.

And of course we can't forget about our feathered friends.

Well, that's it, my first post for the new year. Wishing you all a very Happy New Year and I hope that it turns out to be a very good one for all of us.

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