Garden News January 2020

After a very successful Open garden with over 700 visitors it was time to clean up the garden and return all unsold plants back in their place.

This process took over a week, let no-one tell you that opening your garden is an easy task, it’s not.

Judy and I had been working for months prior to opening to get ready then more work to clean up.

Just prior to Christmas our son Warrick and his family came to stay and Just after Christmas they went To Byron Bay leaning the two girls with Judy and I.

We love it and the girls think Grandma’s cooking is just the best.

You know when you spoil your Grandchildren when they tell everyone “This is my Grand-Dad, he doesn’t know how to say no”.

Well one thing I can tell you for sure is that NO gardening was done during the School Holiday period instead I took the children to see every suitable movie, went to Bounce and even went Ice Skating.

I went to Ice Skating with the idea that It would be just like riding a pushbike and I would carry on just like I used to 55 years ago.

I soon learned my lesson with a couple of heavy falls, I think that will be the last time in my life that I put on ice skates.

During mid-January we had some great rain, enough to fill all our tanks and make the garden grow like crazy as I put four bags of Nitrophoska Blue fertilizer in and around the garden.

January has been extremely hot and humid; I am soaking wet at the end of each day and have to jump in the pool to get my body temperature down.

Had the best Mango crop for years, our tree is a Schnyder's Pride which is a cross between a Glenn and an Irwin. Great tasting Mango. Judy saving all the seeds to grow on then graft from the mother tree.

Kaspar Schnyder passed away just prior to our Open garden', we will miss him and his knowledge of fruit trees.

The end of the month has come and I am in clean up mode, so much rubbish has fallen into the garden especially from the gum trees and I am having to mow twice a week at the moment although I don’t mind that as it’s nice to see green grass after being so dry for so long.

This year has started off very slow with our garden presentations and bus trips. At the moment we only have two booked for June and a Cordyline Society meeting here in February.

A few beehive Gingers in flower and other plants.

Not forgetting the wildlife in our garden.