Some vegetables

I have picked a few cherry tomatoes and I am waiting for the Roma variety to ripen.  The vegetables I have been picking most are the different Chinese greens and the chards.  They are so versatile in the kitchen and so easy to grow.  The same can be said for the basil which I have plenty of.

Chinese greens and chards

Pot of basils

The white squash is doing well and one of the squash has grown to the size of a saucer.  This I will allow to mature for the seeds.

White squash

I grew some sweet corns in pots and I can see cobs forming.

Potted sweet corns with a sunflower amidst them.

Last of the flowers

Sometimes we forget that flowers will die and the colours and shapes we enjoy so much will disappear from our garden scene.  Fortunately for me, there are always others budding and blooming. This spring my hoyas have been flowering very well.  I have three pots in my garden.  Two are sheltered by the jacaranda tree and one sits in the corner of the back verandah, with the hoya trained along the post.  This particular hoya was so prolific but I did not get a single picture when there were so many flowers hanging down looking so unreal.  I took a picture of this last hoya, wending its way on to a fern leaf.

The ever so tall budlia bush/tree can be seen from my kitchen window.  Over spring I enjoyed watching butterflies making the most of the nectar.  The other day all I saw was the last few purple flowers with the rest looking unsightly deadly brown.  I took my saw and secateur to the bush and brought down the limbs that were at least double my height.  There will be new growth.  In cutting down the budlia I brought more light to the Granny Smith apple tree and the elderflower tree which have enough berries ripening for me to make some cordial.  I picked the remaining budlia flowers and put them in a vase which I left on the front verandah.  That attracted a colourful butterfly.

Cucurbit

I think, vegetables from the cucurbit family are quite easy to grow.  They can be prolific, given the right conditions.  I have growing in my garden, white squash, cucumber and zucchini.  There are some pumpkin seedlings from the compost heap and these I have put in a large pot and hopefully I may get a pumpkin or two out of them.  I have placed the pot in a sunny position and there is room for the vine to grow along the fence.  The roots can wander out of the pot into the ground.

Cucumber vine with flowers and a baby cucumber.

Cucumber, burpless, ready to pick.

There are baby squash beneath the leaves.  I will pick some small and will leave one to grow to maturity for the seeds.

Zucchini, a bit slow but I have picked a couple of tender young ones.

Apple trees

I have two apple trees in my garden.  One is the Cox's Orange Pippin and the other, the humble Granny Smith.  I came across the Cox at a heritage apple event and liked the look and taste of the fruit.  If I am not mistaken I planted the two trees seven years ago.  They have blossomed but never set fruits.  This summer I am seeing a few fruits growing bigger and I am protecting them from the birds and possums.  My intention is to see them ripen on the trees.

 The Cox's Orange Pippin.

The Granny Smith.

Jacaranda

The jacaranda tree is looking pretty but is not suffused with the purple blue that I am seeing in some places.  In the summer of 2011 the tree did not show a hint of the green leaves at all.  Whatever the reason for the paucity of flowers the tree is still a beauty, attracting birds and bees.

The panicle of purple blue flowers.