John and I have been working our butts off in the garden for the last couple of months. We started getting the vegetable gardens going. We installed another raised garden bed, above on right side, with a smaller bed inside which we planted the grapefruit tree and strawberries. All growing nicely now, white butterfly is a bit of a pest though. Can you see the potato growing in the zinc bucket next to the rock melon in the green pot. I am very proud of this, I have had no luck growing them before, they seemed to cook in the ground. On the fence at the back I moved a passionfruit vine, which is coming away again now. Just out of view on the left side is a blueberry bush and a lemon tree in a container. Below is the shed John assembled in that narrow space, between the garage wall and side fence about a metre and half wide. We have tiered vege gardens and a screen to separate from the rest of the back garden.
This beautiful rose flowered the best ever in 15 odd years and the damn wind flattened it down on the rubbish bins. We managed to stake and pull it up somewhat, but will have to do a better job when it gets pruned.
If you look real close you will see a wire criss cross trellis we have put on the wall behind the pear tree and planted star jasmine to train up, should look great when it establishes, extra hedging had to be replanted where the other one died due to mealy bugs grhhhh!!!
A mamoth task was pulling all this plant called Lipia out that had spread all through this area, it was so hard to pull out.
A beautiful white Hollyhock that re seeds each year, the wind has blown it over and it is resting under the rose, new flower stalks have sprouted upwards from the bent over stem so all is not lost.
This Oriental Poppy also self seeds and has these beautiful big flower heads about the size of a saucer, I only have the one colour, hope to get some more different colours.
John put up chicken wire on this pergola to hold the rose plant up that has branched right out, the grape should also soon cover it. We aim to have the whole pergola covered with greenery as it is such a hot area in summer and we don't go out there in the middle of the day. There is also a wisteria on the far end which is just starting to flower now. Next to the gazebo is a large pink wisteria tree, which is very pretty at present but the wind is blowing all the blossoms down, just like snow. I often work out here if I am using the dremel and cutting metal for journals, now I won't get hooked up with the rose thorns. And that is our gardens this spring, a place we like to spend a lot of time in when its not too hot. This time of the year it is just a pleasure. We only have a small block but we now utilise every bit of space.
