August 2022 garden News

 

Not much to say about August as we had no garden presentations and one bus trip.

The Sub Tropical Garden Club came here from the Sunshine Coast and they were all plant lovers who really enjoyed the garden. This club is all that is left of ‘The Tropical Foliage and Garden Society’ which used to be quite active a few years ago until petering out some years ago. It was a shame as they produced some really good and informative information.

It was a bit of a worry as I had mislaid the information about their visit so we only found out a couple of days prior to them coming.

What a rush to get ready but we did it and the garden was looking great for our visitors.

I suppose the biggest job of the month was to take my Amorphophallus out of the shed where they have been stored dry over winter and to repot them.

Judy has started to repot the Caladiums and we are using so much potting mix that we have been twice to Centenary Landscapes to purchase one metre of their platinum mix each time.

We have been down to Jacobs Well a few times to see our gardening friend who is not well and always bring her some home cooked food and a bundle of books to read.

Otherwise it’s all been about maintaining the garden.

June and July 2022 Garden News

 

I have not posted for a month due to Judy being hospitalized for two weeks with a serious foot infection, driving every day to the hospital meant little gardening has been done.

The good news is that she is recovering, it will be a slow process but she is back to potting.

As for me, I have Covid and am presently isolating, not feeling the best but hopefully will get through it without any side effects.

I am on anti-virus tablets at $1000 a bottle, thank goodness for the PSB scheme where I only have to pay around the $6 MARK.

So, in-between driving to Greenslopes Hospital every day I have been pruning all the fruit trees, so much extra growth this year with all the rain we had. I have cut them back hard this year as it is getting too hard to climb up with a saw.

The gingers are all dying back with the cold, in my opinion this is the coldest winter we have had for many a year, the garden is looking quite cold affected.

A lot of Coastal Python activity this year.

For the first time we will have Beehive gingers available at our Open Garden.

A lot of pathway gravel was washed away during the rain so I had to replace that.

We are still planning on opening in November, it will be our 20^th ‘Open Garden’, I thing that is quite a feat, we are still feeling it will be our last.

While Judy was in hospital, I kept my word to the Bribie Island Garden Club and drove up there to give a presentation, very friendly and provided lunch at the local bowls club.

The turf I put down last year needed a top dress, so I went to my local landscape yard and they recommended a Botando top dressing, I would have preferred the Candy one but they no longer stock that brand.

Well, was that a disaster the top dressing went as hard as a rock and killed all the grass, I did complain and the owner came around with some flowers for Judy and some sample soil for me which turned out to be quite bad.

Anyway I spotted turf at Bunnings going out for $2 a roll so bought 50 rolls, then tilled the area and levelled before laying the new turf. End result very good.

Amorphophallus Konjak appeared in the garden.

 

May 2022 Garden News

 

We had a bus tour here from ‘Pelican Waters Garden Club’ of 50 members who stayed all morning and really enjoyed the garden. This was our first bus trip for ages.

 

I had to cancel a presentation to ‘Ormeo Garden Club’ due to the wet weather as it was being held in a member’s garden.

It’s been a poor year for us re presentations and bus trips, perhaps it is the Covid hangover.

We had more rain in May 280mm, the garden is soaking wet.

I have for the first year potted up a great selection of beehive Gingers ready for Novembers Open Garden.

Everything has grown so much that I am constantly pruning to let light into the garden.

I am still changing things in the garden, it is never the same year to year.

April 2022 Garden News

 

Still making improvements to the garden with six minor garden renovations this year which means old plants dug out and new ones in, it never stops.

The biggest job was to dig all the Caladium bulbs out and then raise the garden wall ready for next year.

The BIG news was receiving over one metre of rain, we are soaking wet and all seven tanks are overflowing, it's gumboot time in the Giving Garden.

 The Caladiums are cleaned and stored in the garage dry on a layer of vermiculite ready to plant out in the spring.

Good that all the garden show are starting up again, we went to the Bromeliad show and bought a few plants, must admit it gets harder and harder to find something new.

Judy and I went to ‘Logan City Garden Club’ to give a presentation on Aroids, not many in attendance and quite aged in average. I often wonder what will happen to garden clubs in a few years’ time as most are made up of members over 60.

Bought some terrible soil from our local landscape yard, it was told it was premium soil, I think or rather know that this soil is absolute crap.

We had a break to see our son and family at Agnes Waters’, nice to have a break away from the garden.

March garden news 2022

 

Well March was certainly different.

Rain, rain and more rain, more than we have ever seen, in all we had over one metre fall from the sky.

The garden was waterlogged but no problems as the drainage system worked very well.

The trees all had a great spurt of growth so much so that I have spent quite a bit of time cutting back to let some light into the garden.

We went to a Cordyline meeting at Lagoon View Nursery and it was nice to catch up with other fellow gardeners.

I have been doing a lot in the garden and have replanted in four areas, looking for colour and variegation in the new plants.

Bunnings are getting in some interesting aroids so once a week I go searching there and have found some beauties.

There has been a few Carpet Pythons around and I have had a couple of close encounters.