quiet sunday project

I had a very quiet Sunday and finally got around to a little project that was niggling at me.  As I just recently mentioned, that gaura this year is getting very lanky and covering the guem.

I've tried tying it back with string on a stake but it never lasts - the string moves and the stake leans.  So I got out the drill and put a few screws into the brick, which let me secure the string firmly into the wall.  As you can see, it pulled the gaura back into a more compact shape.  The geum actually gets a bit of sunlight now.  The lavender is leggy as it is every year but the daffodils have started to die back under them so it shouldn't matter.  It is satisfying to get little projects done.

november in the western bed

Things were looking pretty dull back here for a few weeks, but the lavender is picking up as the geum is finishing.  The gaura is also starting to come in too but it's a lot taller this year.  I've had to trim back the farther bush and keep tying it back.

The oakleaf hydrangea is also starting to come into bloom.  Those flower caps are looking great and they'll be developing long into the summer.

And under the second hydrangea, Thatcher was having a snooze.  That dichondra must be a nice soft bed.

spring in the garden

I think I can cautiously say that the back of winter has been broken.  We're getting more and more sunny days, and quite a few days of 19 or 20 degrees.  Here are a few photos of the garden's celebration of spring.

The hellebore bed has been going great guns all winter but I decided it was worth sharing again.

The geum are starting their spring flush too.  I'm liking this bed - geum and daffs for the spring, lavender and gaura for the summer.

Speaking of daffs - the first of my fancy daffs opened last weekend!  Sadly, something got to the petals before it opened and nibbled one of them off. But I absolutely adore them, I hope they like this spot so they thrive and multiply.

This isn't quite as pretty, it's more a monstrous triffid.  This is my colocasia I transplanted to the corner of the western garden.  It's now probably 5 or more years old, and look at how massive it's become!  That trunk is as big around as a human leg.

It's also putting out heaps of babies.  We'll see how long it can stay in there before it's just too big!

january flowers update

It's not just the veggies that have gone crazy, the flowers are also loving this weather.  My gaura's coming into bloom now and is looking great.  I'm a little irked though.  It's hard to tell in this photo but the one on the left is a bit more pink than the one on the right, even though the label was the same.

The geum is starting to repeat-bloom as well.  Such a dainty little flower!

The ageratum is still small but a few of them are starting to flower.  I can't wait to see these guys at full size.

The vitex is huge!  It was this big when I planted it last year:

Now it's this big and growing every day:

The hydrangeas are starting to fade to pink.  Since this photo, they've actually faded to a pretty ugly brown.  But there's another set of flower heads still coming in.

And the sunflowers are still going strong.  They're obviously two different types as the one on the left is still going and the flower head isn't near opening yet.  The geraniums are doing pretty well too considering.

geum

After thinking it over for what feels like forever, I finally got plants for the lavender bed.  It ended up being a spur-of-the-moment decision: I saw a little plant called geum "pink frills" at a nursery, liked them, and brought them home.  They have nice bright foliage and peachy-pink nodding flower heads.  I think they'll be a little tender to the hot sun but I'm hoping we'll continue to have a wet summer to help establish them in their new home.  I've dug in a good-sized bucket of compost around each one to help out, the soil otherwise was pure sand that had been under weed mat which meant it was very barren.

Here's the "before" brainstorming sketch for comparison.

Geum is meant to repeat-flower all the way to autumn.  I like the colour contrast with the lavender - both the flowers and the lime-green foliage.  And although you can't tell now, I'm hoping the tall gaura behind them will be another nice compliment with pale pinky-white flowers on long stems.

Here's a close up of the flowers.  Sweet, aren't they?

I just hope they like their new home!

Speaking of the rain, I probably should mention it's been raining A LOT.  We've had the wettest spring in years, which is a mixed blessing.  It's been warm, tropical rain from up north which is unusual for Melbourne.  At first the farmers were happy but now it's rained so much they can't even harvest their crops.  And in the garden, it's meant I've been bolder with planting new things in the summer which is usually a bad idea.  But I've also had some fungal problems - rust has removed almost every leaf from my geraniums so I've been using lime sulfur to save the new leaves coming in. Ah, the joys of unpredictable Melbourne weather!