What's Been Happening Around the Garden....

The weather around here has been so hot one week and then rain and cool the next, I wish it would make its mind up! Also, my thoughts are with all those in QLD that have been affected by the floods.

 

Thankfully I didn't get the really heavy rain that others did in NSW, it was a constant light rain.  By looking at my crepe myrtles you would think that it had really poured down. I think all the flowers made the branches top heavy and they all drooped, some just snapped.  I think I will have to end up cutting them all off.  It's a shame as this year they were flowering lovely.  I can't complain, I came out on top considering.

 

 

 

I finally got the garden bed all filled and planted out.

  

But unfortunately, me being impatient and wanting to get it all planted (I also had to as the seedlings were starting to look sick and needed planting out), and with the rain we had it has sunk a bit, but not to worry. Also some of the seedlings didn't make it, I have 2 types of zucchini, dwarf butter beans and silverbeet.

 

I found I had 2 zucchini's growing...yippy...my first time at growing them!

 

 The corn is growing well too.

I have started to get a lot more beans since the hot weather has gone and my first zucchini!

A few weeks ago I was given some elk horn plants, I had to put some on wood to hang and I also put 3 on the tree out on the front nature strip, I hope they grow ok and most importantly I hope they don't go walk about!!



I picked my beetroot and pickled it.

A few weeks ago I purchase dwarf orange and lemon trees.  I finally dug the holes last weekend and planted them. They got a good soaking from the rain just after i put them in which will help them along. I have a few small fruit on the lemon tree, can't wait for the fruit. I miss having a lemon tree.

I have been a bit slack with the cooking lately so I made Lasagne to put in the freezer.

My window awnings are being done this week so I will share photos soon.

 Enjoy your day!
xx

 

 

 



How Lucky Am I.....

 

 

Wow... how lucky am I!

 

I am so honoured to have my home "Voysey Cottage" featured in the House Tours section of Rick Rutherford's Country website!

 

Rick has done a great job on the story of my home, I am very happy with it.

 

For those of you who don't know about Rick, he used to be the Editor of the wonderful Country Collections magazine.  I have just about every copy of this great magazine, well the older issues used to be great.  Since Rick left the magazine years ago the magazine hasn't been as good and has moved away from the country themes that I love to look at and read about.

 

He has a lovely Country Store at Lawson in NSW which is a cottage house and it is packed full with wonderful treasures.  Each room has a different theme.  If you ever get the chance the visit you will not be disappointed.

 

Rick has a website which you can browse at your leisure.  If you would like to take a look at the website and my home in his House Tours section, here is the link, at the bottom of the page click on House Tours http://www.rickrutherford.com/index.html

 

Hope you enjoy!

xx

 

New Toys To Play With....

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and New Year!  I sure did, it was one of my best in a few years.

Boy, has it been hot here in NSW and all Australia in fact.  Last Tuesday, 8 January we had 41 degrees in northwest Sydney and even Sydney was 42 degrees and it is always hotter out our way. We are to get in the 40's again today and tomorrow.

I had time off work over Christmas and I ended up getting some things done around home and a couple of new purchases.

My first purchase was dropped off on Christmas Eve....new window awning frames, 18 of them.  This is only the frames as I wanted to paint them before they are put up, to make it easier for me to paint. I have painted half of them but had to stop with the heat we are having. They will have a miniorb roof, I hope they will look good once they are up, they will certainly help protect the windows from with the heat.

Once they are all up I will show you before and after. I have just had all the windows painted ready for them to go up.

On to purchase No. 2.....a new Breville Food Processor. I waited until the Xmas sales and received free Breville Kitchen Scales which includes a thermometer stick...wow now that's real fancy!!

 I have to be honest I haven't even used it yet....but I will. I got it out of the box and found a spot in a cupboard, after moving the whole cupboard around to fit it in....don't you hate that!

No. 3...which wasn't really a purchase is this large garden bed which is from my Dad's, my sisters and I bought for him last Christmas but he hasn't been interest in gardening anymore so I have acquired it....yippy!!

It's so big and is taking me ages to fill it, I have it about 3/4 full, I have been putting in lawn clipping, sugar cane mulch, garden clipping, mushroom compost and neighbours garden clippings too.  I have a heap of seedlings that were given to me for Christmas from my nephew who works at a nursery and I haven't been able to put them in yet. I am hoping to have it full by this weekend and get them planted.

I have already planted the corn behind the old fence where the sweet peas were and they have double in size in over a week....love fresh corn.

 

The tomatoes are still giving me fruit but are starting to die off a bit and the beans behind are growing like crazy....I have had lots of beans...yum!

The beetroot is growing great and I should be able to pick it soon to pickle again.

For Christmas I received a worm farm...I'm slack and haven't even taken it out of the box yet but I will get to it.

One of the eggs in the nest in my lavender plant hatched the week before Christmas, for some reason the other 2 didn't hatch.  I was able to keep an eye on the baby through the bedroom window. I checked it on Christmas night and then the next morning it was gone...so sad..I was so disappointed.  I checked all around the plant in case it had fallen out, but no where to be seen. It was still so small and its eyes weren't even open.  I don't know if a cat or maybe a rat might have taken it.  The nest wasn't disturbed...so it remains a mystery.  I haven't felt like moving the nest or the other eggs so I have left it in the plant and trimmed the plant around it.

On that sad note, I hope you have a good day!

xx



HO HO HO...Merry Christmas...

 

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy 2013!!