I always smile when I see my garden from the kitchen window

It’s Gracie’s birthday today, she’s eight years old. I gave her a bath this afternoon so she’s not really talking to me but she’ll get over it soon because I bought BBQ chicken for her birthday lunch. She’s a wonderful companion and I’m glad we found each other.

I'll brush her soon.

I’m taking a break away from the internet. I’ve been holding on by a thin strand for the past couple of weeks and now is a good time to go. My sister, Tricia, is coming for a visit next week and we’ve got a lot of catching up to do. I’ve planned family dinners, picnics, fish and chips on the beach and we’re both going to be researching our family tree. I’ve been doing it on and off since 1980, when Shane was born. It was then I realised I was part of a long chain of family members and not a solo individual. Ancestry.com makes the process very easy now - as opposed to the very slow searching of microfiche and waiting for letters of enquiry to be delivered and returned. This is important information that we both want to pass on to our grandchildren before it’s too late.

In this little flower pot I have mainly foxgloves (my favourite flower) as well as Queen Anne's Lace, snapdragons and violets. I have two big pots of foxgloves which survived two years of neglect, and in this pot I have large foxgloves, mini foxgloves and I noticed the seeds germinating as well. Rest assured, there'll not be a shortage of foxgloves.

I promised you some photos of the garden when it was finished. It’s not finished and it will be one of those gardens that never is. It will change due to the heat of summer, the requirements of shade, the botanical look and feel I want and budget constraints. As I don’t have unlimited money to buy what I want, I’ve invested in mostly long-term, hardy plants such as roses, foxgloves and salvias. I know all of them will grow well here, even during summer. I’ve also planted Buddleia (butterfly bush), Gaura, Lavender, Violets, Queen Anne’s Lace, Snapdragons, Alyssum. Most of the roses are old English heirloom roses and I have one two climbing roses and three Cecile Brunner climbing roses.

The budget constraints I mentioned above have led me to a good way to stop my spending. I am one of those gardeners who WILL buy what I love unless I make some rules for myself. So I’ve decided I can buy the plants I want but I’m not allowed to buy anymore pots. I have two plastic pots which I dislike so when the terracotta and ceramic pots are all full, that’s it …… until one becomes available if a plant dies. 😎 I think I have four terracotta pots in the bush house. But overall I’m happy with the garden. It’s not the garden I once had but it’s enough for me. This afternoon, Kerry is coming over to help me in the garden with a couple of things I can’t do and then it will be watering, weeding, cutting flowers, pruning and fertilising from then on. I’m glad I have a garden again. I always smile when I see it from the kitchen window.

I’m not sure when I’ll return but when I do I’ve have the names of the roses for you, along with photos taken in the next few weeks. Take care. xx

Just a word about oranges and some photos

Just a quick blog to let you know about these oranges and to show some recent photos.  I hope you’re having a good week.

I bought a 3 kg bag of “half time” oranges at Woolworths this week, they were $6.95. Their oranges are usually pretty average but these are the best oranges I’ve bought from any supermarket. Get some if you can. I doubt you’ll have any left after a few days. Shane and his kids are visiting on Saturday so I think I’ll pop over to Woolies to get another bag for them to take home.  I mainly used mine for cordial and I’ve eaten a couple. They’re really delicious!

There are a lot of kookaburras calling the backyard their home. I think there are two families of them in this area. They all seem to get on well and they’re a fantastic bird for eating mice, small snakes and lizards <— not so good. This young pair, probably brothers, visited me during the week and sat in the tree for a couple of hours.

I made soy and honey pork with vegetables the other day for lunch. I wish I’d made rice to go with it but when I thought of it, it was too late.  Next time …

This is the You Tube guide I followed for the pork dish. I also used the vegetables I had in the fridge.

And last, this little vase of hawthorn flowers which grow in my front garden. They last a couple of weeks in a vase and I always like having them in the house. Simple pleasures.