Africanaussie

Just like winter is never ending over in Europe and America, so our rainy season is dragging on, well beyond its welcome.  We had the remains of a cyclone head onshore over the weekend, and on Saturday alone had 66mm of rain.  Too much for our already soaked ground!!!  My little seedlings that I planted would like some sunshine and their long leggy growth is not making for very strong plants.  I might have to rig up a light for them - can you believe that?  In the tropics? I looked out on Sunday morning to see that my tree fern had become uprooted.   The ground too soggy to support its shallow root base. I took that as an opportunity to re-think that section of the garden, and it is now planted further back alongside the fence.  That spaces the curry tree, the fan palm, the fluted fan palm and the tree fern all along the fence nicely.  I did not have the path around...

At some stage I talked about how a bit more white in the garden would be nice.  I think that was before I put in the path, and the garden had seemed rather deep and dark.   I saw these lovely white and green caladiums  at the market and popped them into the garden.  Then I forgot about them - well it seems they were just having a little rest,  because they are back.  I love how you see the veins, and how the white seems to pop right out at you. .    One of the reasons that I started this blog in the first place was to be able to look back and see when things flowered or fruited.  All the caladiums are looking so lovely right now, so they must like the wet season.   Oh!  it is all a guessing game.  Like this bush that I purchased to attract Ulysses butterflies.  I have never noticed it flowering before, and look how the flo...

" It is when you stop wanting things out of your control ........... that you can be truly happy "  I read this in an article, and then went back and read it again,  and again.    I will never have one of those huge gardens with a water feature, or rows of concrete arches repeating one after another to create a wonderful symmetry.  Heck no, I hardly have room for more than one or two of anything.  Planning and planting this garden was fun and kept me busy and gave me reasons to post on my blog every couple of days. That creativity kept me on a gardening high, but now the work has plateaued, now is the time to just step back and enjoy the fruits of my labour. I have my little rainforesty area, just a couple of fan palms and a tree fern, but it is a forest in its own way. the fluted fan palm loves its location against the fence  and I never tire of watching the tree fern fronds unfold, they start as a furry round ball at the base of the...

The beehive gingers are eventually dying down and forming compost around the base of the plant, just as nature intended.  They have created a lovely show for months now.  I have also been cutting back the branches as they die down and removing the leaves.  I get a lovely strong stake out of each one - it will probably only last one season, but free is good! The Geisha girl is coming alive with colour and I love how it looks against the yellow leaves on the bush next to it.  That bush should have orange berries and blue flowers, but  maybe they will still come.  I do keep cutting it back to keep it small, maybe that is why it doesnt flower....mmmm I will never tire of the tree fern fronds, and it has really shot up this wet season.  I wonder if there will be a slowing of growth now? We went up to visit some friends in the rainforest over the weekend - I dont like it there during the wet season - so hot and humid!  I keep thinking this r...

I was sitting down for a water break on Saturday afternoon when I noticed my neighbour in her front yard.  We began chatting and she asked me what all the blue flowers were on her side of the fence.  My jicama has been running riot so I went over to cut it back.  Only when you cut the flowers and seed pods off does the energy go into making bigger tubers.  While I was there, she asked me if I would like to take her two sago palms that she had in pots, and felt they would do better in the ground.  Well would I?  Would you say no to free plants?   What a question?  Within the hour her pots were empty and I had a re-design! It seems my shady garden that I have been wondering what to do with needed two sago palms!  There has been a  bit more colour and lightness lately with the easter lillies and impatients blooming.  Even the cordelines are showing more colour. The front area just sort of naturally extended out into the g...