Garden Club Trip

I was up early Saturday morning to wait for my Garden Club buddies to pick me up for our trip to Pt Augusta. We have 5 Garden Clubs in our region (or zone) and every six months we meet for a friendly get together. We hear news from the Garden Clubs of Australia Inc, visit local gardens, have good food and a great time.

We travelled for about an hour and a half and arrived just in time for morning tea. Yummy home made cakes, sandwiches and biscuits and a well needed cuppa.
The weather was cool and although a bit breezy the showers that we had driven through held off during the day.

The first garden was just a short walk up the road . The lady who owned the garden was in fact in hospital so I thought she was very kind allowing about fifty people to stomp around her garden. She knew we were all gardeners and wouldn't do it any harm!!

She grew the best Citrus trees I've seen in a while and due to being situated on the coast and not getting our harsh frosts, their gardens seemed almost Tropical. Growing Hibiscus, Bougainvillea and one that was my mum's favourite, Frangipani.

A shaded area had some truly beautiful plants in it.

Back to the club rooms we then set off to see the foreshore area and do some shopping in some 'real shops' for a change.
Then round the corner to the club for lunch and more yummy food.
After cutting and eating a birthday cake to celebrate Pt Augusta Garden Clubs 30th birthday we were off to another garden.

A huge shade house with wonderful ferns, Bromeliads and water feature lead out to a garden full of Australian native mainly Eremophilas.

This garden also had a great display of succulent plants that I don't know the names of.

Back in the car for the long trip home, we followed the rain back along very wet roads to find that our own gardens didn't even need watering having had a lovely day of showery rainfall!

Garden Log 26 Apr 07

It's raining today, 4mm already and there should be more to come...
The garden will love it!

On Tuesday 24th Apr I weeded and tidied beds 7&8 and gave the plants here a sprinkling of Blood and Bone.
While I was there I dug up the Catnip volunteers that were sprouting up. These have been potted up and will be ready for Ninja to squash soon.

I'll have to put some in cages to foil her!

Also on Tuesday I cleared Bed 4 of the Moon and Stars Watermelon and picked the last two! Yummy!
Then I attached more dripper line and shaped the bed for rows of onions. Odourless Red Onion seedlings with one row of Gladalan White Onions planted.

Yesterday was ANZAC Day. This traditionally marks the end of the warm weather up here so I have Baled up Bed 3.
The Red Cloud Tomatoes are still producing in here as are some struggling King Edward Potatoes I planted as a trial on the 7th Feb.
These have been topped up with soil and fed with Blood and Bone.
The straw bales have been put around the bed to keep in warmth and the cold south winds out. It will also allow me to cover the bed with plastic sheeting when the frosts come. The frame here is the trampoline turned upside-down.

Bed 6 where the Aquadulce Broad Beans are rocketing along has also been tidied and fed in anticipation of this rain and the Bed 2 greens will slurp up this moisture.

The Strawberry Bed got a sprinkling of Blood and Bone too and these too will love the rain!

These Lemons are growing on what was rootstock of a tree planted long ago and rescued from our paddock next door when we arrived here (before Doc mowed it over!!).
The neighbours said that it would never fruit but for the last 10 years has provided us with what can only be called extremely sour lemons!
These are welcome at a time of the year when sour lemon drinks are used for relief of colds etc.

Strawberry Bed Re-vamp

My old strawberry bed was in need of a re-vamp. Some of the plants were over three years old and that's the time we replace them.

Diseases build up over time and even the runners can't be used as replacement stock.

These diseases are carried from plant to plant by aphids that visit the flowers.
According to Linda Woodrow in her book 'The Permaculture Home Garden' by keeping a couple of plants in a sheltered pot in the shadehouse I am able to use the runners for replacement stock as long as I stop the plants from flowering.
I have managed to do this and have some healthy young plants to plant out.

I have also split the original two parent plants and have selected three strong young runners to continue as breeding stock.

The old bed was made up of tyres and I am replacing these now.
I have discovered that Red-Back Spiders love to live in tyres in my garden and picking early morning breakfast strawberries with poisonous spiders lurking around is something I'd rather not do.

We had an old bed frame left over from the kids bunk beds and have been using this as a garden bed around the place.

I decided to use a piece of cardboard under the frame to slow down the Cherry tree suckers that keep invading the Strawberry area. I don't mind these suckers growing as I use them for grafting practice in the spring. It's just that I'd rather them not grow in with the strawberries as it's hard to dig them up from there!

I covered the cardboard with garden soil, some compost, chook house 'manure/bedding' and new soil. During the next few weeks I watered it regularly.
As a final layer on top I used a mix of soaked coir, topsoil and some acid potting mix as strawberries like a soil slightly more acidic than our general soil.

Then I set up some of the new in-line dripper (spaced at 30cm) that I have left over and a line of drippers in the centre for some Companion Plants of Feverfew and Borage with Lettuce and Spinach in between.

The Moon Planting Guide said to Plant Strawberries under Jupiter on the 22nd April.

So that I did.

I have high hopes for these strawberries and one is in flower already!

Colourful Silverbeet

The Five Colour Silverbeet I grew from seed this year has produced some very colourful plants.

From this bright red form...

through pink...

and yellow...

to this white stemmed form with just a touch of pink...

and then a pure 'white'.

Compare these to the almost green stems of the Perpetual Spinach I'm also growing.

They all taste great when Doc cooks them up with Tomato and then Cheese melted through.
Yummy!

New Digital Camera

We bought a new digital camera yesterday!
So I had to go outside and take some photos!

Flinder's Range Wattle Acacia iteaphylla
These are out in flower early this year over here.
Seem to be flowering earlier each year.

Garlic Chive Seeds.
I intend keeping some of these this year.
They are supposed to be very tasty when sprouted.

Tradescantia 'Wandering Jew'

Even the most prolific pest plants have beautiful flowers!
This one is strictly kept in a pot and dies back each winter.

Last of the summer season squashes.
This Rondo De Nice Zucchini is giving one last fruit.

Grevillea.
I was sure I bought one of these as a golden flowered grevillea
but all three I planted have turned out red.

Another shot of the grevillea.

This is so much fun!! Off to take some more!!

Garden Log 9 Apr 07

Since I removed the netting on Bed 2 last weekend everything has grown well!

The Fillabasket Brussels Sprouts are ready to sprout and I hope the cool weather comes in soon or they'll run to seed.
Ninja loves to explore this jungle and thankfully the plants are now large enough to withstand her presence.

The Toscano Kale is really doing well and even the Giant Red Reselection Celery is growing well. This is planted as a Companion Plant for the Brassicas and I'm not expecting too much from it as it's the celery smell I'm hoping will deter some of the bugs!

Over in Bed 6 the Aquadulce Broad Beans are growing rapidly as are the Purple Peacock Broccoli. I will be able to remove the containers from these soon as they are getting strong enough to withstand the birds scratching the mulch around them now.

In Beds 7 & 8 the Dwarf Earlicrop and Bush Sugarsnap Peas are small but already producing some peas and if I'm lucky I'll actually bring enough in for a meal. That is if I don't eat them on the way!
The netting over these beds is due to come off now so I'll have a chance to weed and rescue a few Catnip seedlings growing in there. Ninja has flattened the only remaining bush so I need some replacements and these volunteers will do nicely!

A small French Purple Globe Artichoke has survived summer over on the Perennial Edge Bed under the Plum and Apple Trees and is showing new growth with the cooler weather.

Herb Spiral Re-vamp

When our Double Herb Spiral was built in 1999 and Kangaroo Apple Trees (Solanum aviculare) were chosen as the centre plantings.


One of these trees blew over within a couple of years and was replaced with a Bay Tree which has continued to grow slowly but steadily.

The other Solanum grew very strongly resulting in most of the herbs at its base dying off through lack of water. It was shading the North facing window and kept the worst of the heat out of the room nearby so we were reluctant to remove it.

The heavy rains in January this year must have loosened the root system as a strong wind soon after resulted in it blowing over.

So the decision had been made for us, the tree had to come out!


Now that access was gained around the spiral I had a chance to clear out old plantings and even resurrect the small pond at the rear, near the window.

With the tree always loosing its leaves the pond was always choked with debris. Now I have cleaned it out and will put some water plants in and later some of the small native fish we have in other ponds around the garden.


I have chosen a small seedling Apricot tree to grow here that I might graft onto this year if it settles in well enough.
I have a few spare herbs and punnets of seedling flowers to brighten up the spiral and bring it back to life.


Doc managed to barter another truckload of Crusher Dust during the week and spent today loading it around the outside of the spiral.

We used more of the packing cartons from our neighbours recent move and the crusher is again quite deep as on the Main Vegetable Garden pathways.