January Garden News 2016

My second go at writing this blog as I pressed control v instead of control c to save the document; of course I lost the lot.

After a very successful Open Garden with over 600 visitors we went for a short break at Agnes Water to see my youngest son and his family, it was a nice break at a really beautiful part of Queensland.

We arrived back to a very dry garden and as we were having a bus load of visitors that weekend were kept very busy watering and tidying up the yard.

The bus trip was from a retirement village and they stayed all morning and enjoyed the garden.

We had a great family Christmas with both ours sons and families and it actually rained on the 27^th which was a great Christmas present.

My youngest son and his wife departed for Agnes Water leaving the little girls with us for two weeks, well was that a busy but beautiful time.

Much more demanding than gardening and we loved it.

I got to watch every episode of ‘Mike the Knight’ and sometimes up to three or four times.

Mum and Dad came to pick them up and it was sad to see them go.

Warrick took a lot our plants home with him and some from Lagoon View and Nursery Traders; he has a good start with his plant selection.

We had a good fall of rain in early January but that was it right to the end of the month.

The temperature has been over 30c most days with very high humidity, quite unpleasant.

Judy and I were nominated for an Australia Day Award for raising $12,523 for disabled children through three ‘Open Gardens ‘but did not get as it went to someone who had already received an Order of Australia award, we could not compete against that.

I was especially pleased with the response I had by visitors to the project I completed last year, which was an extension of the garden under the Neem tree with an inverted park bench.

I decided to replicate this down the other end of the garden and finished it within a week and very happy with the result, all that’s left to do is the planting.

Our first garden presentation for the year is a Caloundra Garden Club on Tuesday 2^nd February, not that many presentations booked for this year, I have no idea why as all we charge it petrol and toll money and we give a great one of six different Power Point Presentations all about gardening. 

Sorry I have not done much here of late but life has been pretty busy these last two months.

We had a great Open Garden and enjoyed a short break at Agnes Water afterwards to see our son and granddaughters.

We came home to a very dry garden and a bus trip visit so it was flat strap making the garden look decent.

The bus trip visitors were from a Retirement Village and enjoyed their morning staying about three hours.

Christmas came and still very dry.

We had visitors stay with us our son from Agnes Water his wife and the little girls, we had a great Christmas with all of our family.

Warrick and Fabie left to go back to Agnes Water and left the girls in our care, well I can assure you that NO gardening was done for those two weeks; we were both flat out looking after a three and a five year old, we did love it though.

We did receive a small amount of rain late December and in early January we had a whopping 92 mills.

The temperature has been in the 30s for almost all summer so any rain has quickly disappeared, the good thing is that we received much needed water in our tanks.

I hate this time of year as the gum trees lose all their bark and leaves and it makes such a mess of the garden, it’s annoying because some of the trees are not even in our yard.

Three trailer loads to the dump so far and more to come.

I cannot compost this as my bins are full and the stuff in there is as dry as a bone.

We badly need some summer rain.

I have started work on a new project in the garden which is going to be similar to the project I did last year under the Neem tree.

I am progressing better than expected and am very pleased on how it is looking so far.

Have about six garden club talks booked in for this year and no bus trips  yet, I do wonder sometimes as when we do go to a club everyone say’s how much they enjoyed the presentation and then we are never invited back (not all clubs of course).

Sorry I have not done much here of late but life has been pretty busy these last two months.

We had a great Open Garden with over 600 visitors and enjoyed a short break at Agnes Water afterwards to see our son and granddaughters.

We came home to a very dry garden and a bus trip visit so it was flat strap making the garden look decent.

The bus trip visitors were from a Retirement Village and enjoyed their morning staying about three hours.

Christmas came and still very dry.

We had visitors stay with us our son from Agnes Water his wife and the little girls, we had a great Christmas with all of our family.

Warrick and Fabie left to go back to Agnes Water and left the girls in our care, well I can assure you that NO gardening was done for those two weeks; we were both flat out looking after a three and a five year old, we did love it though.

We did receive a small amount of rain late December and in early January we had a whopping 92 mills.

The temperature has been in the 30s for almost all summer so any rain has quickly disappeared, the good thing is that we received much needed water in our tanks.

I hate this time of year as the gum trees lose all their bark and leaves and it makes such a mess of the garden, it’s annoying because some of the trees are not even in our yard.

Three trailer loads to the dump so far and more to come.

I cannot compost this as my bins are full and the stuff in there is as dry as a bone.

We badly need some decent summer rain.

I have started work on a new project in the garden which is going to be similar to the project I did last year under the Neem tree.

I am progressing better than expected and am very pleased on how it is looking so far.

Have about six garden club talks booked in for this year and no bus trips  yet, I do wonder sometimes as when we do go to a club everyone say’s how much they enjoyed the presentation and then we are never invited back (not all clubs of course).

                                     Happy Gardening for 2016 and thanks for stopping by.

Christmas 2015

Judy and I would like to thank you for your support in making this blog so successful, over 150,000 views from over 100 different countries is amazing.
So from both of us we wish you all the very best for Christmas and happy gardening for 2016.

Amorphophallus paeoniifolius

This is the story of the Amorphophallus paeoniifolius from it's beginning to it's end.
The first photo was taken on 23 November, the full flower on 2 December and the last photo on 12 December 2015.

November Garden News 2015

I have been a bit slack this month and I am a week late in getting this month’s blog published.

It has of course been a very busy month preparing for the ‘Open Garden’ then the opening itself and finally the big clean up, I feel tired just typing this.

I wonder if people realise just how much work, time and expense goes into an open garden, I know both Judy and I start preparing months in advance and work sometimes eight hours a day just getting plants and the garden ready.

As far as expense, I would say it costs a little over a $1000 just to put it on, that includes toilet hire, printing of flyers, postage, signs ect.

It is not a task for the faint hearted.

We missed out on most of the rain, just had a few showers which at least greened up the lawns and it’s not often that we have green lawns for an open garden.

We have had a fairly cool spring and that has made quite a few plants late in shooting especially the ‘Blood Lily’s’, there were none in flower for the opening.

AS usual Saturday was a mad house with the plant buyers coming first to snap up the best plants.

 Jade Vine

 Costus Phoenix

 Hedychium longicornutum

Brugmansia 'Wow' aptly named I think.

Overall we had over 600 visitors on the weekend all of whom enjoyed the garden, just a shame I could not talk to everyone as we were short staffed and I was stuck selling plants.
The Lions Club who we support made over $4000, so in the last three open gardens they have made a total of $12,523, all of which goes to help disabled children. 

 Old RAAF workmate.

 Spencer Howson from ABC radio

Karen Williams Mayor of Redland City

After the opening we headed up to Agnes Water for a short break and caught up with my son and his family who have settled up there.

When we arrived back we had a little rain but the place was very dry so it was back to watering and even worse was a day of gale force winds which covered our garden with the neighbours rotten Cadaghi leaves and bark, what an awful tree this is the leaves are covered in soot and don’t break down and the one close to us has to be about 50 feet high. It’s my nightmare.

My Amorphophallus paeoniifolius was close to flowering by the time we were ready to go on holiday, I suggested to Judy that we take it with us; she said “then there will be two corpses “so obviously I did not take it.

Just as well as it was at its majestic best a couple of days after getting home.

This is how it was prior to going on holiday.
I am planning on doing a workshop in the new year.