Rainy Days

I'm not complaining you understand. I live in a drying part of the world so any rain is welcomed, preferably heavy soaking rain showers without strong winds which is what we're experiencing today. Even better is that I was able to go out between showers and pull up some of the thistles which seem to spring up in moments at this time of the year.

Thistles aren't the only fast growers in my garden at present. The Flanders poppies are also taking off after a slowish start. You might just be able to see the first bud peeking out in this photo.

While the poppies may be doing what they usually do in other areas of the garden it's been an odd year in many ways with a lot of the winter bulbs yet to flower when they should already be in full bloom. There's still no sign of flowers from the paper white jonquils which I'd expect to be the first to appear and even the common jonquils in the front yard have only started to flower in the last week instead of in mid June.

Then there are the totally confused roses like those in this pot. I'd normally be giving them a winter pruning by mid July but as you can see, although they're looking a little bedraggled having just had a soaking rain shower, they're still flowering and the perfume is glorious.

Why this is happening I have no idea. All I can put it down to is the general madness that is 2020.

Gardening - At Last

Not that I got much done before the rain came. Still something is better than nothing, I suppose, and although my surgeon has said I can start to do some gardening he did stress that it should be 'gentle'. I am trying very hard to be a compliant patient because the last thing I want is to have to go through all this again.

Bearing his instructions in mind I pulled on my red wellies, grabbed my spade, trowel and loppers and headed out to the veggie patch. I have been pulling a few weeds every day and went over some of the ground with a dutch hoe but this is superficial stuff and I knew I had to take on the biggie if I want to get any winter veg at all.

The problem is that because my veggie patch is heavily composted, fertilised and mulched it has become a magnet for invasive roots from my neighbour's garden. They have a curry leaf tree, which is very lovely with its delicate, fern-like leaves. It's a great flavouring in curries, too, but in the garden it's highly invasive which is why the one I have in is a pot and will be staying there. My neighbour's one is not so confined. Its roots come under the fence (which is sunk over a metre deep), then come up beside it and spread across my garden. The roots consist of quite substantial ones up to 3 cms in circumference as well as masses of fibrous roots - some bunches of these that I pulled out today were 45 cms long and 10 cms around. Both of these suck the nutrients and moisture out of the ground and block the roots of anything I want to grow. They sucker like crazy, too - the furtherest sucker I've found was 30 metres into my yard - so at the change of every season I have to go along the fence line with a spade, uncover the roots and cut them off, knowing they'll be back in a few months.

So that's what I've been doing - very carefully - this morning. I was hoping to do more but the rain has arrived  - and truth be told, it's probably just as well because once I start working in the garden I tend to find it hard to stop, doctor's orders not withstanding. I did do one other thing though. See. Here are the seeds I sorted ready to plant. All I have to do now is to put them in their punnets or into the ground. I might wait until the storms we're expecting later today and tomorrow pass before I do that, though.

Been a Bit Quiet, Haven't I.

That's because Christmas, New Year and big birthday celebrations and hot - very, very hot. Well, I live in the south western Australia so of course summer is hot. Even so 44 degrees C is pretty hard to take. I've just been outside watering the vegetable garden and even before 9:00 AM it was baking. Amazingly even those plants I haven't put shade cloth over are doing well. Whether they'll be so full of life after another day close to 40 degrees C is something w'll just have to wait and see.

I like growing at least some of my own food so the vegie patch is an important part of my life. This year I was late putting the summer crops in because the dividing fence between us and one of our neighbours was in danger of falling down and the earthworks required to put a new one in involved digging up much of where I usually put my vegetables. As soon as it was finished I planted but everything is now behind. Usually by now at the least we'd be harvesting enough beans, tomatoes, spring onions, cucumbers, zucchinis and lots of herbs to feed us and freeze for later. Never mind, though, because there will be at least another four months of warm weather and the current crop will be in full production soon. When I went out this morning the still small zucchini and butternut squash plants were a blaze of brilliant golden flowers and they, along with some basil and nasturtium flowers and leaves, can make a pleasant part of a meal.

Hmm, I just realised I should have taken a photo because they were lovely. Ah well next time.