August 2015 Garden News

It’s been a very dry August with only a few mills falling during the last week of the month.

The garden is very dry and I am back to watering, I hate it as it takes such a long time to go around the garden hand watering, especially when there’s so much else to do.

So much to do that I have started to make a list of priority jobs.

Judy has found it hard with all the visitors; she is just so far behind where she wants to be.

It was nice of Warrick and family to come down for Judy’s Birthday, we miss Charlotte and Celeste so much.

They put their home up for sale and it sold in the first week so instead of travelling six minutes to see them we have to travel six hours.

Anyway they seem very happy with their five acres at Agnes Water.

Scott's son Luke is a hard worker, just loves to help out.

A couple of big jobs this month has been to cut out all the old mother Bromeliads and take them to the dump, then it was to prune six Custard Apple trees and one Mango, so I spent quite a bit of time up a tree.

We went to Sandgate Garden Club, Geranium Society and The Gap Garden Club this month for presentations.

Only one more talk and one bus tour left this year then it’s all about getting ready for the ‘Open Garden’.

I refurbished one of my water pots.

I ordered the ‘Open Garden’ flyers in a morning and they were delivered that afternoon.

I sold my boat which was hurtful as I have rarely been without some sort of watercraft, thinking of going to the boat show and looking at small tinnies, we shall see.

All of my Amorphophallus collection has now been re-potted and quite a few had made new offshoots so I will have quite a few for sale at this year’s ‘Open Garden’.

My collection of Amorphophallus is now over 60 different varieties.

With the warmth comes colour.

 We dug up all the Caladium beds, collected the bulbs, refurbished the soil and re planted them.

 The above bed is a mass planting of 'Blood Lily's and a selection of gingers.

Here we have had to place the Caladium bulbs in pots as the palms have such big roots that nothing will grow in the ground.

I picked up several raw slabs of timber from the recent Nambour Garden Expo at the amazing price of $5 each, below you can see what I have done with some of them.

Lady Slipper Vine seems early this year.

 A Vanda Orchid in flower.

 A great winter flowering plant, Red Justicica.

 A couple of Slipper Orchids.