It’s National Tree Day in Australia today, a day when folk are encouraged to plant a tree. We have planted 19 trees on our suburban block to add to the five we inherited, so although we won’t be planting a tree today, I think we’ve managed to add something to Australia’s tree count. The special…
Author: Jane
Disaster and Delight: SoS July, 28
After two weeks away, I was anxious to get back to the garden to see how everything had coped with the cold weather that has been occurring in Mudgee. I knew that there had been many frosty mornings, and in fact, two of those mornings had been around -7.5C, which is decidedly chilly. As far…
Into the Outback
Following our March road journey to Melbourne and back, and encouraged by the enjoyment we experienced on that occasion, we set out just over two weeks ago to South Australia, a trip that covered 4500km, and provided us with many wonderful experiences, from strikingly diverse scenery to dining on delicious seafood and much else in…
SoS, July 7: Small Bright Spots.
Although some bulbs are making an appearance, much of the garden is having its Winter rest, so this week’s post is more about small spots of colour rather than any overall abundance of the kind that Spring will hopefully produce. Most plants need to rest at some time of the year, so I’m grateful to…
SoS, June 30. Winter colour
We’re in the throes of Winter now and the cold mornings seemed to arrive earlier than they usually do. I think perhaps this was due to a long dry period and lack of moisture in the atmosphere. Last Sunday we had a low of -4.5, a white lawn and a birdbath with a thick layer…
Rain Tumbled Down
Rain fell today. We had 27ml of steady rain, not the sudden over-in-a-minute kind, but the sort that sinks into the garden and refreshes. It was a proper Event. The hills behind our house were enshrouded with mist, as sombre as the grey sky, and the rain tumbled down for most of the day. In…
Six on Saturday, June 16.
Here we are! It’s Saturday again, and I’m joining in with the Six on Saturday crowd to see what’s happening in gardens near and far. If you also have a hankering to see what’s going on in other gardens, do visit The Propagator’s blog where you can also join in if you wish. It’s worth…
Singing Saul
This week I’m departing from the topic of gardening because I’ve just had a wonderful weekend during which I had the privilege of singing, along with 599 other people, in the Sydney Opera House. Each year, for the last thirteen years, Chorus Oz has provided enthusiastic choristers with the opportunity to take part in a…
Six on Saturday, 2 June: Winter is here
Winter has arrived! During the week we had some longed-for rain and on that day, the top temperature was only 13 degrees. Let’s not become over-excited though, the rain gauge measured only 14 ml, but we were very grateful. Nothing refreshes the garden like the water that comes from the sky, and the recent rainfall…
Tropical Glasshouse
Recently, whilst enjoying the Royal Botanical Gardens Melbourne, we visited the Tropical Glasshouse. I’ve thought long and hard about writing a post about the glasshouse, because what I know about tropical plants would fit on – I was going to say a tropical plant leaf, but they seem to have quite large leaves, so it…