March 2020 Garden News

Prior to the big lock-down due to the Wuhan virus, yes, I have called it that because that is where it originated.

The sooner these so-called wet markets are forced to close the better.

Anyway, prior to this we had a visit from Springdale Garden Club, not a lot of members but those who came really enjoyed the garden.

All or garden events bus trips, presentations are of course cancelled or put on hold.

Wouldn’t it be fantastic if we could open for November and give garden lovers a long awaited garden fix, anyway, just have to wait and see?

I think my immune system is pretty good as I take Bee Pollen and Olive Leaf extract every day and never get cold’s or flu, fingers crossed.

I am worried about Judy as she has Rheumatoid Arthritis which is a disease of the immune system and of course my eldest son Scott who is a paraplegic with impaired lung capacity.

Just hope we can get through this time unscathed.

We have no problem isolating ourselves as we have an acre of gardens to maintain and Judy is still propagating her lovely plants.

I am working hard in the garden doing a big clean up and refurbishing older gardens.

One of the job’s done was to replace some old thatch in the pool gazebo area, a bit of an experiment using bamboo, see how it goes, much cheaper than replacing thatch. As well as that I had to remove some of the decking and replace it with pebbles.

I am 75 shortly and do not relate to the age restrictions advised, Judy feels the same. I suppose you are only as old as you feel and I certainly do not feel anywhere near 75.

Here are some pictures taken in the garden this month to cheer you up.

Please stay safe and we wish you the best of health and of course keep on gardening.

All the best from Ian and Judy.

Garden News February 2020

Well what a wet month we had, over half a metre of rain fell during the month, and was it ever needed as the garden was parched and all water tanks were empty.

The tanks are now all overflowing and what a relief not to spend hours and hours watering the garden.

What a difference rain makes.

On the downside the whole month was incredibly hot and humid, at the end of a days work I had to virtually squeeze the moisture out of my work clothes.

A lot of the crusher dust pathways washed away and will need redoing when it gets cooler.

No garden presentations or bus visits from garden clubs during the month but we did host a meeting of ‘The International Cordyline Society’ which was attended by just over 50 members.

I gave my ‘Aroids Colour and Orchids’ presentation which was well received.

Looks like it is going to be a quiet year for visiting Garden Clubs and Bus trips.

I had to carry out some major work on the pool deck as some of the decking supports had rotted.

It was a big job getting all the old timber out and once it was cleared, I decided to do something different rather than replace the timber.

I have put up a couple more frames for shade cloth to protect our plants from the summer sun.

We went to a meeting of ‘The Aroid Society’ and I took along some spare Amorphophallus to hopefully sell, most sold so that was good.