It was like snow in my garden this morning! White Pyrus petals were drifting, tossed here and there by the breeze, flurried across the garden and coming to rest, eventually, on the lawn. Almost overnight, it seems, Spring has really arrived, and I am in an unusual quandary: that of having many plants to choose for this…
Author: Jane
Noble Narcissi: SoS, September 16
For weeks I wondered where all the snails disappeared to. During Winter, with the small amounts of rain we had, I sometimes went out into the garden to find snails, and to my surprise, they mostly eluded me despite searches under and around their favourite hiding places. However, one night last week, with warmer temperatures…
Furled
I apprecite tulips. I enjoy seeing colourful massed displays, but I’m not overly enamoured of them in my garden, partly because they need to be lifted each year and replanted in Autumn or early Winter. I admit I purchased my Tulipa kaufmanniana ‘Heart’s Delight’ from Lambley Nursery because the accompanying information stated that they can…
SoS: September 1: Still frosty.
Today is considered to be the first day of Spring in Australia, although technically speaking, real Spring doesn’t begin until the equinox on 23rd September. It seems, however, that Winter hasn’t quite finished with us yet here, in the Central Tablelands of NSW. We’ve had some rain, a good amount for us, and a cold…
Mintaro: a step back in time.
When travelling on a touring holiday, it’s a good idea to take note of those brown signposts that point to tourist attractions, and it’s exactly what we did when driving through the Clare Valley area of South Australia recently. Having already passed a sign to the historic town of Mintaro before we realised what we’d…
SoS: August 18
It has been quite an miserable day here in the Central Tablelands of NSW. There was a -3 degree frost to start with. I have to admit that it was very pleasant early this morning sitting in the sun at the Growers’ market sipping excellent coffee, eating a bacon and egg roll and chatting with…
Fit for the Climate
In the very south of South Australia, at the bottom of the Eyre Peninsula, we spent a couple of days in Port Lincoln. The climate there is a so-called Mediterranean climate, so rain falls in the winter and the summers are very hot and dry. We were astounded at how green everything was after the…
Arid Botanics
As you might guess, the Australian Arid Lands Botanic Garden in Port Augusta, South Australia, is devoted entirely to plants that grow in the driest parts of this continent. To the casual observer, the arid areas might seem dull and lifeless, but there’s plenty to see: discovery requires careful observation. The Botanical garden was established…
Something Stirred. SoS August 4
Winter is not over yet. Although the days are becoming noticeably longer, it’s still very chilly overnight, and I know from experience that it’s quite possible for us to be faced with frost well into September before we can say for sure that the cold weather has finished for this year. A large percentage of…
Silverton
Only 26 km from Broken Hill is the historic almost-ghost town of Silverton. Its origins also lie in the silver mining industry and in fact, silver was discovered there first. In 1885, 3000 people lived there. Now there are 50, mostly artists and people who cater to the tourist trade. When the mines became established…