Basically I am just keeping the bromeliads, roses and a few other plants alive and am hoping that rain (not a deluge) will arrive soon but the forecast for autumn put out by the BOM isn't looking good but you just never know what's around the corner and they have been wrong before.
The CEO planted some Candy melons a while ago and this morning I saw a Blue Banded Bee
buzzing around the flowers. Such a cute little native bee.
Hopefully these will be ripe soon as a couple of them have been attacked by some pest already.
The broms are so hardy and have survived the summer heat. Most of them are growing under the pecan nut tree so they have been protected from the harshness of the afternoon sun.
I used to have plants on the front verandah but now that it has been painted I have decided not to move the plants back there so now they are sitting in front of the house until such time as I have the motivation and energy to paint the wooden planter they are in as it must now be well over thirty years old. The Flower Pot Hearts brighten up the pot plants a little. These are very easy to make.
Rhonda gave me an elderberry plant several years ago which I have been growing it in a pot as I know how much it spreads and there are berries forming and I just hope the birds don't decide they like them as I want to make some Elderberry Syrup for winter colds. I was collecting berries last year and freezing them as they were ripe but got them mixed up with something else when they were thawed and lost the lot. I wasn't a happy little vegemite!
The Amaryllis Belladonna has just appeared out of nowhere and I can't even remember watering in that section of the garden so it is nice to see a little colour for a change.
I guess it is time to get out in the garden once again now that it has cooled down and prepare the rock hard soil for planting. I just need to get my gardening mojo back once again as it went off somewhere and I haven't been able to find it since the renovations were started last October. Seeing some of my plants trampled by the tradies was a tad disheartening but it is time to start thinking about making a herb garden once again.
So it is goodbye to summer and hello to autumn and I hope that we will get some decent rain soon as our farmers are going to the wall due to the drought. Life is normally tough on the land but it has been especially hard these past few years. Thankfully they are very resilient!
The BOM promised us a hot dry summer but it actually wasn't all that dry so hopefully they are wrong in your case too. I am loving the change of season to be able to get out in the garden and do things without getting horribly exhausted.
ReplyDeleteMy belladonna are out in the mountains but already finished at Kandos. I love the way they "trumpet" the arrival of autumn, along with the ginger flowers which also smell beautiful.
I am so looking forward to the cooler weather and perhaps some rain. I guess it won't be too long before we are complaining about the cold. LOL!
DeleteI can't wait for the actual Autumn temperatures to arrive, Chel. My garden is looking very poorly; I let my veggie patch go quite early in the Summer as it was just so hot for so long. I heard the other night it was 44 consecutive days over 30C! My avocado tree, that was looking quite poorly for a while, has died too. Meg
ReplyDeleteMeg, I think our avocado trees are still alive. The fruit isn't all that good so I don't take much notice of them. The citrus trees aren't looking too hapoy though. If we don't get rain I may not plant anything for a while.
DeleteI love your flower pot hearts.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to hear that your weather is getting cooler.
I'm not sure what's going on here - some days it's too hot and another day it's too warm. And we had a couple of rainy days too, which I like because I don't have to water the garden. :)
Nil, it has been quite cool these last few days which is a nice change. Some very light rain is falling this morning so we live in hope that we will get some heavier falls during autumn which starts today.
ReplyDeleteAfter the shocking heat of a couple of weeks ago, the mid 30's we are getting now, seems quite cool. The ceiling fans are off at night. There is a definite change but I dont think any rain is going to happen anytime soon. It is still too hot outside during the day to be working in the garden. I am getting the garden sorted out but only in the late afternoon. I love your Belladona. Hippeastrums to grow down this way but they only last a couple of days and then are gone for another year. Our candy melon is not quite as close to ripe as yours. I am very much looking forward to finally getting to eat it. Hope you get some cool weather.
ReplyDeleteJane it is quite cool again today and yesterday was only 23C. A bit of a shock after weeks of heat. There was some light rain overnight but not much at all. I hope it cools down for you soon and isn't too muggy on the coast.
ReplyDeleteI think we're all well and truly over this summer Chel. It's 40C degrees here today, and will be again tomorrow. That's a week of above 37C degrees with no memory of rain for ages. I'm thankful we have water coming from our taps because our gardening rain water expired months ago, even so, the only good looking part is the vege area. It's always such a joy to sight a Blue Banded Bee as they are solitary creatures. Well spotted and photographed. We had one here last week but of course no camera on me.
ReplyDeleteSally, I saw the warnings on the news about your current heatwave. It is so hard to function in that kind of heat. I am glad your veggies are doing well. I have given up on ours at this stage. I will just buy them at the farmers's market for the time being.
DeleteI went to Toowoomba today, and actually got a chill! I went looking for the sunshine, to go stand in. Went to the new RSPCA op-shop near Kmart, at Kearney Springs. Cheapest prices I've seen around. Best get in, before they start hoicking them up again.
ReplyDeleteI used to have bromelids, until the kangaroos developed a taste for them. The only ones I have now, live in a permanent cage. I really hope BOM is wrong. We haven't really had any serious rain for over a year. Our gully hasn't flooded once. Today is overcast, so maybe we'll get some wet stuff again.
Chris I have a jumper on at the moment and there wasn't a lot of sun around today which was a change, it will heat up again next week though apparently. I can only imagine how hard it is to grow any plants down at your place with all your wildlife around looking for food in the drought. I hadn't heard of that new Op Shop so will check it out.
Deletecontinuously muggy for the whole of summer sent me almost insane! not a break once! temperatures up in the low 40s for much of the summer as well! it's no wonder we're all so miserable, the last couple of days have actually been quite nice & we even got a sprinkle of rain! not enough to soak the ground but it cooled things off.,. can't wait for autumn to really start, looking forward to a spot of gardening as well.
ReplyDeleteyour lilies are gorgeous!
thanx for sharing
Selina, yes it has been dreadful weather where you live. Hopefully you will get some cooler days soon and some more rain as well. I love being out in the sun in winter looking after the garden.
DeleteThinking of you, I had no idea the weather has been so awful there this summer, losing lots of plants is heart-breaking too xxx
ReplyDeleteHi Sue, it's been quite a hot summer with hardly any rain or storms for that matter which is unusual. Our farmers are in a bad way due to the lack of water for their crops and animals.
DeleteJust a pop in to say hello!
ReplyDeleteHi Chrissy, good to see you back on deck once again.
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