Covering Old Ground

So there I was, standing in the unfinished small garden . . maybe I should start officially calling it the Unfinished Garden . . and I realised I was saying the same old things . . I don't even remember what, was it that level ground should look actually, you know, level, or that ag drains should actually, you know, drain somewhere . . and I realised I was done. 

I said I was done and I went around to the big garden and I lay on the lawn in the shade and listened to the rustling of the leaves and the chirping of the birds, and I remembered why I like being in the garden. 

After a while I went back around and retrieved all the plants that obviously would not get planted in the Unfinished Garden that day because there was too much prep work to do over and I found alternative places for them and I dug and planted and transplanted and mulched, and I remembered why I like working in the garden.

At 9.30pm I marched inside, marveling at how adrenaline can make one unaware of the stiffness and soreness of an old gardener's body. And I've barely looked at the garden since. I just need to put it aside. I need to nag about argue about concentrate on the inside. And if and when I go back to being a gardener I need to love it again, like I did before it became an extension of the stupidity of the inside.

Winter

Canberra has had its equal warmest winter on record, the previous one being 2011. Temperatures were above average throughout the season and July was the warmest on record. Only four days dropped below 10℃  50℉, the average is seventeen. Thirty two days reached at least 15℃ 59℉ and the warmest day came in late August at 20℃ 68℉. Nights were also warmer than average and only thirty were below freezing, the average is forty three. Rainfall was well above average in June, average in July and below average in August, giving an overall result of slightly above average.

Here are some photos from late August.

I Said Don't Use The Ladder

It was a windy day, in fact by the time Hubby came inside there was a severe weather warning. I was glad he went out to do some pruning. He is a very reluctant pruner and we had another conversation about what pruning is supposed to achieve. His version is minimalistically keeping branches off paths while mine involves apparently incomprehensible concepts such as dense foliage and nice shape. So I was glad he was going to do a little more trimming and then gather all the prunings so we can have someone come and take them away. We usually take the prunings to the green recycling depot ourselves but this big pre-spring effort has produced too much to fit in the boot of our car. However with the windy weather and his lingering cough I did not want him up a ladder. Some shrubs needed a really good haircut which could be done from the ground, and the ones that couldn't would have to wait for another day. 

So I was in the throne room when I heard outside the window @#$%....@#$%....@#$%.... CRASH!....@#$%.

Are you alright?

Yes, I, um, jumped.... more or less.

Were you up a ladder?

Um, yes.

You were up the ladder?

I have to. It's the only way I can get this done.

(Can I just mention here that the particular shrub he was working on was one I always did from the ground and it looked much better when I kept it regularly trimmed.)

So off he went to do another shrub.

And a little while late he appeared outside the window saying 

I think I can fix it. Oh well, at least he's alright.

A Solar Passive Disadvantage

As the garden has matured I have realised there's a downside to having a solar passive house with most of the large windows facing north (in the southern hemisphere). In winter when the sun is low the edges of the garden disappear in the shade. The seasonal view wasn't something we thought of to plan for, we just made sure that trees near the house are deciduous to allow the winter sun into the rooms. 

Midwinter

We have just had the warmest July since records began. The average maximum was 13.4℃, two degrees above average. That's 56℉. Only eight nights dropped below freezing, the average is seventeen nights.

Today was cold and windy but the garden can sense spring coming.

Crab Apple

Sedum

Weigela

Daylily

Eucalypt

Autumn Update

We had a warm dry autumn, the fifth warmest and fourth driest on record. 

The mean maximum temperature was 21.8℃  71.2℉. 

The temperature reached at least 25℃ 77℉ on 24 days, with the hottest being 31.8℃ 89.2℉ in mid March. 

However nights were cooler than average. 

The highest total rainfall, though only half its historic average, was in the south, and the airport recorded 43.6mm which is less than a third of the historic average.

It was sad to see on the news the terrible storms and flooding in other parts of the world.

Autumn Foliage

Berberis

Crepe Myrtle

Coral Bark Maple

The Rules of Geometry as They Apply to Garden Beds

So this is the garden bed where the ajugas failed. It was interesting to read on another blog that I am not the only person to have trouble growing the so-called bugleweed. Weed indeed, hah! 

We decided to try Grevillea lanigera as a groundcover. Now that I've had a chance to go and take a photo I'm updating this post.

I would have planted the two plants an even distance from the front. The way I see it, that would make it more likely the plants will look reasonably even at the front. If a third plant turns out to be needed then an infill grevillea would look less conspicuous at the back, or there's the option of planting something else, perhaps a small strappy ornamental grass for contrast.

Silk Trees

Our silk trees (Albizzia julibrissin) have been making their usual autumn mess. Hubby spent yesterday afternoon sweeping the paving and cleaning the gutters, and the strong winds overnight brought a whole lot more leaves down.

My Early Autumn Garden

As the first month of autumn draws to a close, here's a quick update. Some of the plants that suffered in summer's heatwave are showing signs of recovering. I bought a few, just a few, plants at the annual plant fair last weekend, I still have mixed feelings about whether it was a good idea to curb my impulse buying so much. It looks like last year's green manure crop has self seeded, though the flat leaved plants might be weeds. The leaves of the trident maple already showed some colour change in late summer and it's becoming quite noticeable now. There are leaf curling spiders all over the garden (the spider photo is larger so it's worth clicking on it for a better look if you are interested). 

Things That Go Bump In The Night

I love cats, but I'm getting a little tired of the fights in the middle of the night that have been happening lately. I worry about the cats too, one of the cats we had when I was a child needed surgery for a wound sustained in a fight, not a nice experience for any of us. 

Hottest Summer on Record, and Then It Was Like Someone Flipped a Switch

The Bureau of Meteorology says it has been the hottest summer on record in Australia.

In Canberra this summer was the equal 9th warmest on record. The average maximum temperature was 29.1℃, 2℃ above average. (That's 84℉.) There were 36 days over 30℃ (86℉) and 12 days over 35℃ (95℉). January was the hottest month on record, with a record high of 42℃ (107℉) on the 18th. Minimum temperatures were also slightly above average in December and January. Rainfall was below average although January was wetter than usual.

And then I woke up on the first day of autumn and it was cold! The water out of the tap for a couple of mornings was noticeably cooler. But March can still be hot. Today was warm and sunny again and we are expecting temps around 30 later in the week.

The brightest crepe myrtle is looking gorgeous and the others have also produced a few flowers. The daylily and the dianthus I planted last spring have finally decided to do something too.

Watch This Space

One of our crepe myrtles is looking good this year, it should be spectacular soon. Funny how the vibrancy of the pink varies though, not just in the photographs but in real life. Sometimes I glance out the window and think was it always so pale and other times I think yes, that's the amazing colour I remember from a few years ago.

I Wonder

I wonder why some crepe myrtles are already in full bloom and some, for example mine, are not? I wonder why some crepe myrtles, for example mine, take a holiday from flowering in some years? Hoping for more flowers this year though.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

I'm rushing this post a bit because I'm late and it's the middle of the night. I was starting to wonder if I'd have anything flowering in late summer but suddenly some of the plants have recovered from the heatwave and are putting on a show. I was especially pleased to see how many hebes are flowering. Check out other gardens at May Dreams Gardens.

Abutilon

Albizzia

Aquilegia

Brachycome

Hebe

Hebe

Hebe

Hebe

Hebe

Kniphofia

Liriope

Tulbaghia