This is the first foxglove flower I've ever grown. I just love them but always thought our climate was too harsh for them to grow here. This one is in a pot in the bush house and is really healthy. Other seedlings planted in the garden are tiny and I doubt they'll produce flowers. I'll have to change my strategy next year but in the meantime, these two plants are a real joy.
I've been in the garden a bit this week because it's much cooler and I wanted to do a few things before the rain starts - this is our wet season and this year is supposed to be WET. That's good news because Australia has been officially in drought for ten years. Out in the garden, the passionfruits are growing well and there've been many blue-banded bees visiting the flowers. These bees are one of the over 1700 species of native bees in Australia and they are capable of buzz pollination, which is particularly useful if you're growing tomatoes. Most Australian bees don't produce honey because they are solitary and don't live in hives. Some live in holes in trees and some in the ground. We also frequently have honey bees (introduced from England), and native leafcutter, stingless, carpenter and teddy bear bees in the garden.
Above: This is a female blue-banded bee - with four blue bands, males have five bands. She was hopping from flower to flower and seemed quite happy to have me there, although I usually watch them from a distance.
Below: This is the second time these two passionfruit vines have flowered this year. We're looking forward to a long harvest of fruit, possibly till April.
Another pleasurable task this week was knitting dishcloths. I finished off the large blue cloths for a friend and started on a set of large cloths for myself in this organic Japanese 5 ply cotton. Being thin cotton, I'm using two different colours together. I imagined it would be more difficult to knit, but I'm enjoying it.
The schools here in Queensland have started the long summer holidays so there's a lot of traffic on the roads and from all reports the shops are full. After months of having our borders closed to other states, they're open now and tourists are flocking in. We've had no community transmission of Covid-19 where I live for three months. Everyone is pleased to have the freedom to do what they wish but social distancing, masks in crowded situations and handwashing/sanitiser are still advised.
I know it's not the same in other countries but I hope that wherever you are, you get to see your family over the holidays. Even if that is on a screen do whatever protects all of you and gets you through to the end of this pandemic. It will set you up for happier holidays next year
Take care and stay safe. I send my love to you across the miles.
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