May 2013 Garden News

Winter is very close as we have had some very cool nights.

A lot of the tropical plants including Caladiums and gingers have all died back leaving a lot of empty spaces in the garden although one thing has really surprised me, that is the Cardinal Creeper is still in full flower it’ s usually well and truly finished by now.

Like the weather the garden is never the same any given year.

This time of the year the ruellia’s come into their own, they provide some nice colour in the garden.

A winter job is pruning a lot of the fruit trees, I have just finished cutting back four Carambola trees, three Grumichama’s and four Jaboticaba’s. A very big job, and very hard on my poor right arm that has a bad dose of ‘tennis elbow’ at the moment.

We had members of Jacobs Well Garden Club visit the garden and a bus load from Glebe Garden Club, all enjoyed the garden the only presentation this month was to my Grand Daughters Kindergarten where I presented ‘Adventure in the Garden’.

We have a very nice crop of Monstera’s at the moment; I love them, no wonder it’s called the ‘Fruit Salad Plant’.

Monstera Fruit.

 Tacca 'Black Bat Plant'.

 Staghorn.

 Star Apple Fruit Tree.

Philodendrum Pink Princess.

 Rose 'Candy Corn'.

Ruellia.

I have just finished ‘winterising’ the garden by spreading sugar cane mulch and spraying all the plants with a good dose of kelp.

We have had a few light showers but no rain of note, garden is getting a bit dry and I will soon have to start watering.

 Brazil Cloak.

Impatient 'Congo Cockatoo'.

We are now starting to think about raising some sponsorship money so our eldest son can travel to Italy in August to compete for Australia in the ‘World Disabled Water Ski Championships’. Unfortunately this is only partly sponsored so we have to think of ways to raise some extra money. I have put a photo on so you can see what a hero he is.