Time for a wash

Well it certainly looks like it is time to give Issy a wash. The thing is, I only washed her 5 minutes ago...

Hot and dry

It has been a hot and dry summer. The plants are sweltering and so am I. Since I last posted in December I have managed to tidy up the plants that had gone to seed and get a few more seeds in. They are coming up, which is surprising given the lack of attention they have been getting... watering every few days and the odd bit of new mulch.

This picture is of one of the most successful beds at the moment. Sad, I know. The mulch is due to go down in this photo, so you can see the new watering system I am trialling on some of my beds. This is a sprinkler hose turned upside-down, to direct the water straight into the ground rather than up and into a gorgeous mist, perfect for running under if you are 4 or 6 (or 33 and it's a really hot evening). A layer of mulch can be used to cover the sprinkler hose and soil and keep the moisture in.

The big tank has now run dry, so I am at the watering dilemma. It hasn't run out this early in the season before. We are now on town water for watering the vegies, which is not ideal.

The carrots are doing surprisingly well and the corn should give us a crop. I do have some capsicums and chilies ripening up and some nice looking tomatoes both in my garden and in the self-seeded patch. The pumpkins are creeping and looking promising, although I lost the first plantings of zucchini, cucumber and sugar baby watermelon (caught out by a few hot days). More zucchini and cucumber went in, but we won't get a long harvest season out of them as they are not yet even flowering.

So we'll continue to spend the days out of the heat and get some gardening done in the cool of the evenings. And hope for rain.

Onion seeds

As part of our sustainable garden, we let some plants go to seed. Lately it has been a few more than necessary, mainly because we're busy and just haven't had a good day in the garden for some time.

We have had some spring onions go to seed recently and I love their big bauble flowers. I collected a few heads for the seeds and found some lady beetles crawling around in them. What a nice surprise. I love the good bugs in the garden!

A sad day

Yesterday my sweet little Button tragically died after being hit by a car. She was a wonderful cat and will be dearly missed.

Today we will be adding some special plants to our garden to honour our four-legged family member.

Spot the Cavoodle

I was attempting to groom my Cavoolde, Issy, today. When I got half way through, she'd had enough and frankly so had I. Until I get to finish it off, it looks like I'm stuck with a bobble-headed spotty dog wearing fur flairs. Oh dear.

Love in the mist

As a child, when I had dreams of being a florist, I thought Love in the Mist was one of the most beautiful flowers. I have finally grown it in my garden this year!

Mmm... Strawberries

And here they are! The first bowl of strawberries for the season. And the flowers and buds. So many flowers and buds! What ever shall we do with all the berries to come. Eat them in fruit salad and freeze them, probably, but surely there will be a strawberry pie or two to enjoy!