A little surprise and more blooming marvelous

For the past five years I have enjoyed the fragrant flowers from my pot of lily of the valley.  They will open in the last week of October and will still look good on Cup day.  I have left the corm untouched but would add compost and feed the plant seaweed solution. In late winter I did not see any sign of life from the pot.  I was going to look for new plants but imagine my surprise when I noticed new life shooting through the soil.  This picture is of  my one and only stalk of lily of the valley and it will see Cup Day.  I shall look for more corms and will plant them in the ground beneath the jacaranda.  I have to pick the pot up to enjoy the sweet fragrance and it is worth it.

The flowers are opening up everywhere.  The blue sage flowers and roses look so good together.  The poppies are braving the heavy downpour but their delicate petals seem to survive.  The mauve and red poppies look after themselves.  They self sow and I try to thin them out but I hate throwing out seedling so they are transferred to different nooks and corners of the garden.  I cannot say I have a neat and tidy garden but at the moment every inch seems to be blooming marvelous.

This dark red pelargonium is producing masses of flowers this year.  I have a few shades of red of this easy to grow favourite.  It grows so easily from cuttings.  A neighbour came to ask for some cuttings and I am only too happy to give them away.  That way I keep the bush pruned.

The joy of gardening

In spring I know why I garden, in spite of the aching joints after a day of digging and kneeling on damp ground.  Being greeted by the happy faces of colourful flowers at the entrance of my driveway and then again, more of them as I head for the steps leading to my front verandah.  At this time of the year I am surrounded by flowers.  With all the drenching rain of winter and spring, and the regular feeding, the annuals and perennials are bursting out in brilliant colours.  Their brilliance are so giddying on a sunny day with clear blue sky.  That is the time when I am happy to just sit and absorb the clours and fragrance of spring. 
This year the two year old granny smith apple tree has produced some blossoms.  I'll be happy to have a couple of mature fruits in autumn.  The tree was struggling last year so I moved it in winter and added plenty of compost to the soil.  It looks quite happy in its new position.
The two year old lemon tree is finally keeping its fruits.  In the first few months of planting the top shoots were ravaged by possums (there are a few of them haunting my garden at night).  I need to feed the tree, judging from the colour of the elaves but at least the fruits are not dropping off.

My garden beds are a mixture of flowers and vegetables.  It is impossible to see in this picture, but the patch of pea straw is protecting  chilli and capsicum seedlings.  Before too long the lavendar and roses in the background will be sending out flowers.  I am not one for neat rows and my vegetables enjoy as much showing off time as the flowers.