...and now into July 2019

I never forget my first garden in Australia. A trial of hope and errors. Ts



Winter is the time to enjoy  Camellias.




Wandering around the garden.











....picked a couple of roses.



You are never closer to nature then in your own garden. You learn to accept the moods and uncertainty of nature. Sometimes kind and beautiful, but also cruel and devastating. Nothing beats a walk in the garden on a beautiful, early morning.  Ts



Camellia are the show offs in Winter.





I replanted many hanging baskets with hardy, simple succulents, as they are much easier to maintain in the hot summer month. Last summer was very hot and dry and I was struggling to keep all the pots and baskets watered. This will make it much easier.







This one shares a pot with a geranium.





A wall pot, this one gets very hot in summer, this succulent does not mind.




Tillandsia likes to grow on certain native trees. This one loves the Clarence river Baeckia, a lovely weeping small tree.

As we only live once, we better make the best of it. Ts

Last day July;

Harvest;









Camellia Pink gold.

Poinsettia winter colours are fading now to a pretty pink-wash look.

I better let July fade away as well, looking forward to August the last month of winter.


I may see you soon.

Photos/Text mygarden Ts Lavender and Vanilla Friends of the Gardens.

My peaceful Garden;

Winter/June 2o19

Poinsettia preparing for winter colour.

Sweetpotatoes growing in the kitchen garden.

The lovely french rose Perle D'or visited by the tiny native bees (Tetragonula bees) I have two hives on the wall of the house. These tiny bees are stingless.

One of many favourites, Salvia, Embers Wish.

Favourite inhabitant in my garden. 

Australian water dragon. Intellagama lesueurii

The Australian water dragon, which includes the eastern water dragon and the Gippsland water dragon subspecies, is an arboreal agamid species native to eastern Australia from Victoria northwards to Queensland. 

....and sometimes I have the cutest visitors in the garden.

....awakening flower of the sour sop fruit. 

Soursop is the fruit of Annona muricata, a broadleaf, flowering, evergreen tree. The exact origin is unknown; it is native to the tropical regions of the Americas and the Caribbean and is widely propagated. It is in the same genus, Annona, as cherimoya and is in the Annonaceae family.

In the herb garden, not just herbs, also playful, makes a happy life.

Humanity needs gardens, the symbols of life and beauty and sadly the cruelty of nature, the impermanence of everything living. Ts

Sometimes I find a little reminder from my youngest granddaughter, in a cookbook. 
(Goi=Grossmammi=grandma Swiss German was to long a word for a tiny girl, she shortened it to Goi and it stayed that way.




Hidden away in a overgrown garden nook I found this long forgotten, sweet Orchid. Unfortunately the name is long forgotten.

quite like the self sown Coleus, enjoying the morning sun.

Hoya cumingiana sits in this tiny pot since 30 years. Flowers profusely in its time.

For now...until tomorrow if and when it comes..

“For you little gardener and lover of trees, I have only a small gift. Here is set G for Galadriel, but it may stand for garden in your tongue. In this box there is earth from my orchard, and such blessing as Galadriel has still to bestow is upon it. It will not keep you on your road, nor defend you against any peril; but if you keep it and see your home again at last, then perhaps it may reward you. Though you should find all barren and laid waste, there will be few gardens in Middle-earth that will bloom like your garden, if you sprinkle this earth there. Then you may remember Galadriel, and catch a glimpse far off of Lórien, that you have seen only in our winter. For our spring and our summer are gone by, and they will never be seen on earth again save in memory.” 
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Ts for Lavender and Vanilla

Autumn/May 2019

After quite a long absence from blogging I had to have, I am back, maybe with new vigour, may be...The garden in May looks lush. Summer 2018/19 was very dry and uninspiring.

7 AM early morning sun in the Living room; 7/may/2019  

 

The kitchengarden provides Basil to make  a tasty Pesto. I used for this one  Tasmanian walnuts instead of Pine nuts.

A highlight are always Alamanda flowers, on top A. Caramel and A. Cherry.

We do not get snow but we still get Snowflakes. Euphorpia leucocephala






A highlight every autumn  are the Tree-dahlia flowers winking from
 above high stems.

In the fruit growing season now
citrus are ripening and providing fine juices. Soursop is bearing fruit and Pinks Mammoth were really huge and delicious.



Custard apples



The earliest very large Mandarins.


Daily native visitors in the garden.
Wonga Pigeons and the smaller crested Pigeons and the ever so naughty, lively rainbow lorikeets.




Simples; recycling at its best. Kintsugi (Japanese) embraces imperfection
and minimises  waste.

...and now,

"Be like a flower and turn your face to the sun."
- Kahlil Gibran

October, vibrant and lively.

Visiting birds;

There is always a cute Galah couple visiting the food bowls. Most of the time they are to late as the greedy Lorikeets have already cleaned up.





Colourful King Parrots.

September snaps...from the garden

African daisies

Dendrobium Orchid

Rhipsalis salicorniodes lives in a very big hanging pot on a window to prevent birds flying into the window.

The blue box  on the wall is home to tiny native bees/Tetragonula.

Tillandsia

Leptospermum, abundance of flowers.

Leptospermum is a genus of shrubs and small trees in the myrtle family Myrtaceae commonly known as tea trees, like the Melauleuca.

Orange Blossoms, the garden is perfumed, as soon as the last fruit has been harvested the tree gets back to produce these sweetly scented flowers and  the next wonderful crops.

Photos September 8. 2018

It was time to get out of hibernation and plant some vegetables, as  green smoothies are a must have every day. Also beetroot smoothies are on the menu every second day. 

Green smoothie, generally I add what I grow in my garden, peppermint, Tarragon, Rosemary cucumber if ready to use, leaves of anything leafy growing in the garden, like Broccoli leaves, lettuce, beetroot leaves, cabbage etc plus Banana, or apple, lemon when I have some! A teaspoon of honey and a tiny bit of salt, add water or milk or anything preferred.

Beetroot smoothie similar just add a whole, small beetroot or half a beetroot plus half an apple and some beetroot leaves, herbs and honey.

Benefits:
Feel great, 

Enhanced Nutrient Absorption. 

Green vegetables like kale, spinach, collard greens, and lettuce are nutrient powerhouses. ...

Increased Energy. ...

Improved Digestion. ...

Boost Your Immune System. ...

Healthy Bones. ...

Heart Health. ...

Get that Glow. ...

cheers.

©Lavender and Vanilla Ts all contents. 2018