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Thursday 5 January 2017

My Garden, January; a month in the garden; Happy New year 2017.



JANUARY


Cassia fistula, golden blooms,  behind looming a grey sky. It brought 70 mm of  rain. 
The garden smiles again. 



In the front pink Lagerstroemia, some of them are pollarded to keep them at a smaller size.




In the wild garden/bush garden, Lichen are enchanting.








A few tough pot plants. Front Salvia discolour, its flowers are dark purple/black.





Have a rest here while waiting for the next....

Some gardens leave an impression for ever.
 One of them my mother’s garden. She had two gardens, one a vegetable garden, I still can see her digging potatoes for our dinner, a  green, striped  apron over her lovely, white summer frock. Her favourite, a flower garden surrounded by a wooden picket fence faded to silver grey.  In one corner,  growing a rose bush with small, wonderfully scented white roses. She grew dark red peonies, purple, pink and dark red asters, white lilies and Zinnias in bright Summer colours. An endless blue sky, a hoe and rake leaning on the fence, white socks taken off, small toes feeling the soil, the warmth, the fragrance of a hot summer’s day…never forgotten. Ts


All pictures taken 03/01/2017  Ts






Anita, Fuchsia growing in a hanging pot. Does pretty well despite heat and humidity. I have others which are not so successful  here.








This Melon coloured Daylily is nearly a relique, been here for ever. Tall scapes, floriferous, never shows any rust, a very beautiful and tough baby. This is the second flush.


Gardeners are in general a happy lot. In a relationship with nature’s bounty, sun, wind and rain. One might hear the odd grumble, why does it not rain, oh this wind, I wish it would stop,  it is so hot a bit of shade would be a blessing, it is to cold for this time of year etc etc… But all in all they are trying to keep the planet habitable in a world choking on plastics and unessential consumerism.  

Photos 05/01/2017



Beautiful Kahili Ginger flowering now, perfumed and exotic.

One must not let it uncontrolled grow. 















Alcantarea,is a group of extremely large Bromeliads,some reaching sizes of  1.5m across with flower spikes 2.5m high. In their natural habitat they are often found perched on the beautiful high rocky cliffs of Brazil.    
  
Photos Ts 09/01/2017



11/01 2017

Soursop





Soursop is the fruit of Annona muricata, an evergreen tree. it is native to tropical regions of the Americas and is widely propagated. It is in the same genus, Annona, as cherimoya and is in the Annonaceae family.
Adapted to areas of high humidity and relatively warm winters; temperatures below 5 °C will cause damage to leaves and small branches, and temperatures below 3 °C can be fatal. The fruit becomes dry and inedible.
The flavour of the fruit is flavoursome like strawberry and pineapple, with sour citrus flavour notes,  underlying a creamy flavour reminiscent of coconut and banana. It is  a really  exotic fruit taste.
.



Update preparing Soursop fruit.




#yesterday; I had 4 big Soursop/Anona muricata, to prepare. they must be used as quick as possible once they are ripe. I am so glad to have a Thermomix, on the reverse cycle it takes out all the seed, which are enclosed in little pockets and make a lot of work to take out manually. The fruit pulp is delicious, with a lemony, banana, tropical taste not overly sweet but a very agreeable taste. Very morish. It is also a health bomb which is also a plus. The tree took a few years to bear fruit. The fruit is very big 1-2 kg looking a bit like a jack fruit. The skin is thin and can be easily peeled off. Our smallish tree bears about 5- 10 fruit. It fruits twice a year, but the summer fruit are better. the pulp freezes well and can be used later. To use the Thermomix on the reverse cycle was Lilli-Marlene Clemens's idea, she used it the same way to separate the seed from Passionfruit.) Brilliant!! Saved me so much time and work. Ts

Photos 25/01/2017






Morning light on the beautifully flowering Cassia fistula.


©All photos Ts #mygarden 10/01/2017

😄

Keep smiling...




Summer, hot, humid and sometimes bone dry.






Hibiscus schizopetalum, hanging like lanterns on a tall shrub.






Over summer the herb garden becomes a jungle until mellow autumn arrives when the plants can be pruned  to look tidy and neat again.



Clarence River Baeckia has moved with me from the Clarence to the Gold Coast. It always reminds me of the beautiful Northern Rivers area I have left behind.



Sights and scents of nature  transport you back  to an exact moment of a memory. Ts




I love Buddleia, a summer treat.


Once upon a time…the food my mother cooked was grown in her garden. Some of the vegetables, berries, fruit were preserved for winter time. The cellar was filled with potatoes from the garden. Apples were also stored. 

We did not have much tinned food, or sweets. My father baked a cake for Sundays, he liked to  cook too. In summer when I received 20 cents to buy an Ice cream I was very happy, it was not an every day treat. As a snack after school I ate an apple. Ts

25/01/2017



The end of the month is closing in; tropicals always start to flower later in summer here are a few of these flamboyant exotic flowers.



GingerX orange




Bromeliad Aechmea fasciata








Bromeliad Neoregelia 




Verdant after rain.




Morning walk in the garden with Bobby on a petal strewn path. 

27/01/2017


If you can look into the seeds of time, and say which grain will grow and which will not, speak then unto me.

William Shakespeare


The last day of January 

31/01/2017




These were the sparklers for Australia Day 26/01/2017




...fallen blossoms




Love these showy  flowers of  a tall grass










It was a happy day when I met this beautiful blue salvia. If a simple flower has the power to bring you joy, then nature has achieved its purpose, its message, you are alive. Ts





This dark blue, tall growing Mexican  Salvia loves summer and is in full bloom









....and at last but not at least, Bobby enjoying a little nap in the sun.


Believe it or not;


A heavy shower after a hot day saves many trips with a watering can. Ts


©Photos/Texts mygarden Ts