Saturday 20 December 2014

Bearing fruit

 
Tasted the first apricot from the tree yesterday...
 
So good.

Sunday 14 December 2014

Photo of the week - Joy to the World

Clematis aristata is commonly called Travellers' Joy and flowers in the spring, then carries these delightful twirly seed heads through Summer. It's a climber that twines over shrubs and small trees, with glossy heart-shaped leaves.
 
 
I'm in a carolling mood at this time of year, and can't help but look at them with joy myself while collecting the seeds for the next generation of fluffy beauties!
 

Thursday 4 December 2014

Wattleseed haiku

It's quiet and hot.
The office is alive, though,
with sounds of freedom

Triumphant crackles
As seed pods twist and tighten
Splitting at their seams

The dry husks make way
Exposing a glint of life
A seed of new hope



Friday 31 October 2014

Forest finds

A weekend away a few weeks ago was a great re-charge with family in the forest at Telegraph Point on the Mid North Coast of NSW. This is the scene of campfires and fireflies, both of which I didn't even try to photograph!

I've decided my favourite time for natural photography is late afternoon (and on this day I finally learned how to turn my camera's flash off). My Oma was also there and said that Opa used to call this time of day 'golditops' when they lived in the bush, since the tips of the trees catch all the light as the sun goes down.

Here are some precious finds.











I don't know exactly what they all are, which adds a bit to the magic of discovery!


Tuesday 28 October 2014

Getting more than I bargained for...

I first saw white Waratahs for sale a few years ago when working at a local nursery, and I thought the flower must be the most elegant thing in the world! After we moved in, I just happened to find one when looking for windflowers in May 2013. Months of waiting ensued, as the plant took a little while to settle in, and then began forming a bud. I had high hopes for a first flower and would have been devastated if it had only produced leaves, but sure enough, the white started to show. I was not disappointed in the least.
 
 
 
Watching the flower unfurl slowly was magical enough, but I have been extra blessed to discover that the flower produced 2 more buds from within itself and gave me three for the price of one! 

 
 
 
 
 

This particular variety is called Shady Lady White, and is growing happily on the cool, shady southern side of the house. I've since invested in a Shady Lady Crimson to keep it company, and will wait equally patiently for those flowers! There is a yellow form as well, but it eludes me...for now.
 
I've always been taught that you should prune Waratahs back after flowering, but this one seems as though it has branched from right inside the flower, so I'm reluctant to cut the new 'branches' off.
 
Would you prune it back or let it grow?

Saturday 11 October 2014

To bee or not to bee...

 
We've been enjoying some late brassicas as our spring greens, as the purple sprouting broccoli and Romanesco cauliflower become ready. Unfortunately for me, this means other plants in that family have given up growing leaves and have turned their attention to flowers in the heat, including our kale and rocket.
 
 
 
This year, it's actually been really exciting rather than disappointing to see this happening. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder after all! The flowers are edible and make a pretty garnish to a salad or stirfry, but it's the wider effect of the flowering that's really drawn my attention.
 

 
I've been doing some beekeeping research since my birthday in July, when we decided that bees would make a great addition to our home and garden. Thankfully there is a beekeeping shop and club nearby in Newcastle, but as luck had it, on the day we ventured out to buy our hive, the shop door closed right as we drove in. Not deterred, we went to a local bookshop and found a book on the subject instead. Here is where things got interesting, as I soon realised this was a major undertaking including checking the hive fortnightly (involving a full bee suit and smoker) and processing huge amounts of honey at just the right time... not to mention the fact that we're in a normal suburban street with neighbours on either side and swimming pools to deal with. Once I got to the section about swarms and stings I was pretty intimidated, but thought I might check out the Hunter Valley Amateur Beekeepers website for inspiration. There I found links to information about stingless bees, and all my problems were solved.
 

 
The Upsides:
 
1. Environmentally friendly
These stingless bees are Australian natives, and the species we are getting lives naturally in this area. This means there are no concerns about introducing more European bees into the area and the various problems they bring.
 
 
2. Low maintenance
It's best not to open your hive at all, except a year or two down the track if you want to split them to create more hives.
 

 
3. NO STINGS!
Just in case you missed the point earlier! Apparently they can bite you with their little jaws, but it's only if the hive is disturbed and not nearly as painful as a sting. This means no bee suit, no smoker, and no cranky neighbours.
 
 
4. Fewer pests and diseases
Many of the pests and diseases affecting European honey bees are not an issue for these little fellas, so you don't need to constantly be checking their hive. They are excellent guards, so many pests attempting to enter the hive are destroyed.
 
Tetragonula carbonaria (note the white fuzzy face)
 
The downsides:
 
1. Sensitive to extreme temperatures
The European honeybee can live and function at both higher and lower temperatures than many of the native bees. Tetragonula carbonaria are the species most commonly kept, and I wasn't sure they would survive here due to the cold winters. You can imagine my excitement when I saw them feeding on our rocket and kale, as they only forage 500m from the nest, that means they are alive and well, not far from here!
 

 
2. Lower honey production
European bees are so popular for their epic honey making ability, which outperforms the native bees by many times. A stingless bee hive may produce 1 to 1.5 kg of honey per year, provided the temperatures are suitable and there are plenty of flowers to collect honey and nectar from. This pales in comparison to honeybee hives, but is also more convenient to collect and process.
 
I'm convinced that they're a much better option for us, and we've ordered our first hive!
 
We attended a workshop this week with Tim Heard and Tony Goodrich to learn about the bees and how to keep them, and were all the more excited and inspired to meet our new 'pets'. Pictures were taken on a phone, so apologies for the quality, but that spiral hive is such a beautiful creation.
 
Tony demonstrating splitting a Tetragonula carbonaria hive.
 
 The top half of the hive
 
 The bottom half
 
If you're inspired (and I hope you are!) Tim's website is full of great information, and his workshop was invaluable. John Klumpp's book Australian Stingless Bees also has lots of great information, and I highly recommend it.

Now to find the perfect place for our hive while we are waiting for it to arrive!

Tuesday 23 September 2014

Because weeds are flowers too


 
I've studied a bit of weed science and have always found it funny that it's near impossible to define a weed beyond 'a plant growing in a place it was not intended'. The dandelion for example, is a plant with edible leaves, bright flowers that attract and feed insects, and a strong tap root that helps to aerate compacted ground.
Not to mention the joy it brings to children (and adults like myself), blowing the seeds and making wishes...
What a thing of beauty! Such a shame that we chase them out of our gardens...
And don't get me started on clover chains.
 
(PS I say this with full disclosure that I sprayed my Bindiis a few weeks ago, but they are a whole other creature).
 
1

Friday 12 September 2014

Photo of the week - celebrating Spring!

 
My favourite sign of Spring - the generously fragrant Jasmine. 
 
And from the native garden:
 
Hardenbergia violacea
 
Lechenaultia biloba 'Big Blue'
 
Homoranthus decumbens -  first flowers!
 
Rhodanthe anthemoides

Monday 1 September 2014

August is for - taking new ground

It's the first day of Spring, and I'm SO excited. We all know that winter is not my thing, which might be part of the reason I haven't been motivated enough to write the August post until September... oops. But that doesn't mean nothing is going on!

We've been up to our eyeballs in snow peas and sugar snap peas, with plenty of kale to go round as well. Cabbages and broccoli haven't matured in the strange winter weather, so I'll give them a bit more time to see if they do anything, and probably throw them in the compost to make room for summer tomatoes.

The veggie beds have benefited from the compost, with a scattering over followed by a good layer of Lucerne mulch to keep in the moisture and hold back the sneaky spring weeds. The last few weeks have brought some great rain and everything has grown beautifully.



Earlier in the year we added the new native garden, and I loved the effect but felt it just didn't sit quite right in the yard. The square edge jutted against the lawn and it seemed like there were so many different areas that didn't connect. Our solution was to extend the garden to meet the pool area, with a large curve that swept around the clothesline. Here are the before and after shots:

Pool corner

 
 
Garden corner

 
 
I can't believe how much it's grown!

 
 
 We sprayed the grass and built up a layer of garden soil from the landscape yard after it started to yellow off. The plants are similar to those in the native garden, with a few new favourites and some from the pool area to tie the two together. Think more Poa, Westringia, Brachycomes and kangaroo paws. Hopefully they come up as fast as the others, and it'll be a complete garden in no time!
 

Sunday 10 August 2014

Photo of the week - Winter rose

The cold snap has come... maybe all it needed was some teasing from me? In any case it has bitten with a vengeance and the apricot and nectarine trees are bare, the apples are finally starting to look a bit shabby.
 
I won't pretend to like Winter, and I'll admit to a touch of melancholy on cold dark days. So when I find a reason to celebrate the cold, I'll cling to it.
 
This is the beautiful Hellebore, or Winter Rose. I planted a few of them on the shady side of the house and almost forgot they were there. One was just a slip collected from the garden of a friend, and I doubted it would survive. Now it has grown incredibly, and has plenty of lovely, delicate flowers. I love the way they hang upside down like lanterns, but the inside is lovely too.
 

 Helleborus sp. 
 
As they grow and multiply, I'd love to pick a handful and float them in a bowl of water inside... but I might need to grow some other colours for a real show (there are black, white and all shades of pink and purple to choose from...)

Thursday 31 July 2014

July is for - breaking down the barriers

It's winter, and for me that means woolly beanie and gloves on the way to work in the morning, and wrapping up on the lounge in a blanket at night. Hopefully at least one of the cats will join me as a living hot water bottle. The real struggle for me comes when I have a day off - though it sounds exciting or relaxing, or both, often it isn't either. The house is just too cold during the day. I'm all for getting out in the garden to warm up, after taking the dog for a brisk walk (often with a bacon and egg roll stop) and maybe painting the walls for a while. But there's really only so much tea you can drink, and so many warm things to do.
The main issue is the house design, as there is only one window on the northern side (where all the sun is at this time of year). We are hoping to add another window in the bedroom  when time and budget allow, but for this season we have simply made better use of the one window we have.
Without boring you with the details of our strange house layout, let me just say that the living room is far too small and entirely the wrong shape, and along it runs an equally unusable and oddly shaped 'bedroom'. I'm sure you COULD fit a bed in there and my neighbour tells me that many years ago two young brothers shared it (a lesson in making do, if ever I needed one).
 
 

After taking a climb on the ladder into the roof, we confirmed that the wall separating these two 'rooms' wasn't loadbearing, and took to it with the nearest tools.

 
 My hammer hardly made a dent, and we discovered that it was composed of 2 layers, with thick gyprock covering horsehair plaster at the top, and plywood on the bottom half. Progress was slower than we expected, but the light that began streaming into the dingy living room was wonderful. Now at the centre of our house is a large, lightfilled room. 

Let there be light!


  Unfortunately, the walls and ceiling of the two rooms don't quite match up, so there is more work to be done disguising the join or at least making it presentable.
 

 
But we don't care. At the moment it's just nice to sit in a sunny room, have a read and a cup of tea. By summer we will hang some curtains to keep it cool, but that can wait. Before then there are floorboards to sand and polish and walls to paint. At least now our precious sunshine isn't wasted on that funny little side room, and we have a lounge room that can actually fit our lounge in it. How luxurious!

And here is a sneak peek of what we have planned for next Winter: